MINNEAPOLIS - The Alexandria boys swimming and diving team continued to cement themselves as one of the best Class A programs in the state as they earned fifth place at the MSHSL Class A state meet on March 2-4, 2023, at the University of Minnesota.
Alexandria scored 148 team points at the state meet to earn a top-five finish at the state meet for the third-straight year.
“This shows that hard work and focused determination can accomplish lofty goals,” Alexandria head coach Kathy Walker said. “We worked really hard this season with the plan to win the section meet and place in the top 10 at the state meet.”
Amongst the many top-eight finishes that the Cardinals had was freshman Kyler Kavanagh’s runner-up finish in diving.
Kavanagh posted a score of 422.60 which helped him earn the highest finish that an Alexandria diver has ever posted at the state meet.
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“We came up with a game plan before the season started, and it played out exactly how we planned for,” Alexandria diving coach Aaron Rooney said. “We’re really excited about the next three years for him.”
Kavanagh placed 14th at state as an 8th-grader last year and built on that this year.
The Cardinals also had a top-three finish in the 400 freestyle relay once again as senior Erik Reineke, sophomore Cooper Running, senior Logan Tung, and junior Eric Peterson posted a time of 3:14.94 and finished third.
This was the last event of the day, and with the third-place finish helped Alexandria edge out Northfield by two points for fifth overall.
“We knew that Eric Peterson and Logan Tung had races very close to the last relay,” Walker said. “Logan jumped off the award stand from his finish in the 100 breaststroke, had some water, and then knew he had to perform in the next race. This group is really close; they've been competing and training together for years. They swim next to each other in training lanes, so they are a family. They knew that the team scores and Alexandria moving up to fifth depended on this relay doing well. They did exactly what we planned and asked them to do.
For Tung and Reienke, they got to end their high school careers with a bang as they placed in the top eight in four events.
These two, along with Running and Peterson, placed eighth in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:39.92.
Erik Reineke earned an eighth-place finish in the 50 freestyle (22.11) and a fifth-place finish in the 100 freestyle (48.22), while Tung placed eighth in the 100 breaststroke (59.71) and sixth in the 200 IM (2:00.53).
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Rounding out the finalists for the Cardinals, Peterson placed eighth in the 100 butterfly (53.43) and 16th in the 100 backstroke (56.85), while Running placed 10th in the 200 freestyle (1:47.57) and ninth in the 500 freestyle (4:53.97).
Breck-Blake won the state meet with 408 points.
This top-five finish is something the program plans on building moving forward.
“The weight training program and our dryland have helped us to become better athletes,” Walker said. “Many of our team members are three-sport athletes, so that also helps their conditioning and athleticism. The support from our parents and families, and alums have created a culture of success. The team believes in their success from the first day of the season and, because they are comfortable with being uncomfortable in competitive situations, they can overcome doubts and then move forward to success.”
CLASS A STATE SWIM AND DIVE MEET -
ALEXANDRIA FINALS RESULTS - 200 MEDLEY RELAY - Cooper Running, Logan Tung, Eric Peterson, Erik Reineke, 1:39.92, 8th; 200 FREESTYLE - Cooper Running, 1:47.57, 10th; 200 IM - Logan Tung, 6th, 2:00.53; 50 FREESTYLE - Erik Reineke, 8th, 22.11; 1-METER DIVE - Kyler Kavanagh, 2nd, 422.60; 100 BUTTERFLY - Eric Peterson, 8th, 53.43; 100 FREESTYLE - Erik Reineke, 5th, 48.22; 500 FREESTYLE - Cooper Running, 9th, 4:53.97; 100 BACKSTROKE - Eric Peterson, 16th, 56.85; 100 BREASTROKE - Logan Tung, 8th, 59.71; 400 FREESTYLE RELAY - Erik Reineke, Cooper Running, Logan Tung, Eric Peterson, 3rd, 3:14.94
ALEXANDRIA PRELIMS RESULTS - 200 FREESTYLE RELAY - Adison Newman, Krew Muscha, Luke Christenson, Andy Wacek, 1:40.43; 1-METER DIVE - Krew Muscha, 21st, 113.75
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