SO swimmers grab 21 golds

• John Kohls

Echo Press photos by Eric Morken John Kohls competed int he Special Olympics Area 4 Aquatic meet recently, winning two individual gold medals.
• Sonya Nichols

Echo Press photo by Eric Morken Sonya Nichols earned a pair of individual first place finishes in the Special Olympics Area 4 Aquatics meet recently.

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The Alexandria Lakes Area Special Olympics (SO) swimming team hosted the Area Four SO Aquatic Meet March 24 and had a lot of success in their home pool at Discovery Middle School.

The Alexandria Lakes Area team finished with 21 first-place finishes individually, while the 4x25 relay team of Sonja Nichols, Jeff Soupir, Julie Schmidt and Mitch Schulz and the team of Heather Boisclair, Sarah Decker, Brenna Gaugert and Natasha Randall took home first.

That was part of a big day for Soupir. He won three individual championships, coming in the 25, 50 and 100-meeter freestyle events. John Kohls, Chad Mulder, Nichols and Justin Wevley all won two individual events. Colleen Barten, Ryan Frick, Brenna Gaugert, Dan Niedenfuer, Corrie Peterson, Natasha Randall, Julie Schmidt, Travis Schmidt, Mitch Schulz and Matt Senstad each took home individual titles, as well.

The Moorhead Special Olympics Team, Morris Community Prairie Stars and the Fergus Falls Junior Team all swam at the Area 4 meet. The Alexandria VFW participated in opening ceremonies, while the Sertoma Club and Golden “K” Club of Alexandria provided volunteers to host the meet. The Sertoma Club also provided the food and awards for the athletes.

The Lakes Area team will now turn its attention to the SO State Aquatics Meet. That is scheduled to take place April 10-11 in Edina.

AREA 4 SPECIAL OLYMPICS

AQUATICS MEET RESULTS

ALEXANDRIA RESULTS – 4x25-meter relay teams – Sonja Nichols, Jeff Soupir, Julie Schmidt, Mitch Schulz – first place, 1:16.90; Heather Boisclair, Sarah Decker, Brenna Gaugert, Natasha Randall – first place, 1:54.78; Matt Andrade, Dan Niedenfuer, Mitch VanAlphen, Travis Schmidt – second place, 1:36.24; Chad Mulder, Dan Madsen, Matt Senstad, Justin Wevley – DQ, 2:03.90

Kathleen Anderson – 25-meter walk – participation ribbon; 15-meter walk – second place, 23.120

Matthew Andrade – 25-meter freestyle – second place, 19.44; 50-meter freestyle – second place, 45.81; 100-meter freestyle – second place, 1:49.03

Colleen Barten – 25-meter walk – participation ribbon; 15-meter assisted swim – second lace, 1:08.00; 15-meter walk – first place, 19.340

Heather Boisclair – 25-meter freestyle – third place, 26.97; 50-meter freestyle – third place, 1:03.37; 25-meter backstroke – fourth place, 34.72

Davis Reginald – 50-meter freestyle – second place, 1:03.96; 25-meter freestyle – third place, 27.40; 25-meter backstroke – fourth place, 33.12

Sarah Decker – 50-meter freestyle – second place, 1:02.58; 25-meter backstroke – third place, 32.41; 25-meter freestyle – second place, 24.90

Ryan Frick – 15-meter walk – first place, 21.470; 15-meter unassisted swim – second place, 22.66; 25-meter freestyle – third place, 40.19

Brenna Gaugert – 50-meter freestyle – second place, 57.97; 25-meter backstroke – third place, 27.19; 25-meter freestyle – first place, 23.94

Joshua Janke – 25-meter walk – participation ribbon

Faith Kemp – 15-meter assisted swim – second place, 50.37; 15-meter walk – disqualified; 25-meter flotation race – second place, 1:34.19

John Kohls – 50-meter freestyle – second place, 46.40; 25-meter freestyle – first place, 16.17; 25-meter backstroke – first place, 26.25

Daniel Madsen – 25-meter freestyle – fourth place, 28.25; 50-meter freestyle – third place, 1:04.45; 25-meter backstroke – fifth place, 31.90

Chad Mulder – 25-meter breaststroke – first place, 30.84; 25-meter backstroke – first place, 23.67; 50-meter freestyle – third place, 52.94

Sonya Nichols – 50-meter freestyle – second place, 41.77; 25-meter backstroke – first place, 20.34; 100-meter breaststroke – first place, 1:55.87

Dan Niedenfuer – 25-meter backstroke – second place, 32.18; 50-meter freestyle – first place, 47.82; 25-meter freestyle – fifth place, 21.94

Lindsay Ohren – 50-meter freestyle – fourth place, 1:10.90; 25-meter freestyle – fifth place, 29.50

Corrie Peterson – 15-meter walk – second place, 24.38; 15-meter assisted swim – first place, 50.13; 25-meter walk – participation ribbon

Natasha Randall – 25-meter freestyle – fifth place, 21.85; 50-meter freestyle – second place, 52.37; 25-meter backstroke – first place, 29.62

Julie Ann Schmidt – 50-meter freestyle – fourth place, 48.00; 25-meter backstroke – second place, 25.80; 25-meter freestyle – third place, 19.87

Travis Schmidt – 25-meter backstroke – fourth place, 28.26; 25-meter freestyle – fourth place, 19.59; 50-meter freestyle – first place, 51.09

Mitchell Schulz – 50-meter freestyle – fourth place, 50.65; 25-meter freestyle – second place, 17.09; 25-meter backstroke – first place, 21.06

Matthew Senstad – 15-meter unassisted swim – first place, 21.60; 25-meter freestyle – second place, 39.28

Jeffrey Soupir – 25-meter freestyle – first place, 11.66; 100-meter freestyle – first place, 53.24; 50-meter freestyle – first place, 27.09

Mitchell VanAlphen – 25-meter freestyle – third place, 26.70; 25-meter backstroke – fourth place, 40.37; 50-meter freestyle – third place, 1:08.75

Justin Wevley – 25-meter backstroke – third place, 35.49; 25-meter freestyle – first place, 25.66; 50-meter freestyle – first place, 1:03.19

Tags: alexandria sports, sports, special, olympics, swimming