Teams: Dassel-Cokato-Litchfield, Delano-Watertown-Mayer, Hutchinson, Montevideo, Monticello, Princeton, St. Cloud Apollo, Willmar
- 2023 Section Champion: Hutchinson – 406 pts
- 2023 Section Runner-up: Monticello – 400.5 pts
Notable Graduates:
- Rocco Vasoli (Monticello) – 200 IM (7th Sections), 100 Breast (7th Sections)
- Eric Malmanger (Apollo) – 200 Free (3rd Sections), 100 Back (4th Sections)
- Kale Bockelman (Willmar) – Diving (2nd Sections)
- Logan Christopherson (Dassel-Cokato-Litchfield) – 100 Breast (2nd Sections)
Team Outlook
What was already a battle in 2023 is shaping up to be another one this season. Hutchinson topped Monticello by 5.5 points in 2023 and neither team loses much to graduation. Third place Sauk Rapids-Rice is bumped up to Class AA this year with Delano-Watertown-Mayer shifting out from section 2A. DWM does not have the top end swimmers that Sauk Rapids Rice has, but they bring a lot of top 8 depth and a large stable of divers. For all the details of the section realignments, you can visit our previous article.
It’s hard to bet against Hutchinson repeating as section champs since they only graduated 11 section points. Connor Hogan returns for his senior year as section and state champion in the 50 Free and 100 Free. Joining Hogan is junior Cater Johnson, who placed 1st in the 200 Free and 3rd in the 500 Free. Johnson went on to place 8th at state in the 200 and 6th in the 500. Sophomore Grant Kosek was section champ in the 100 Breast and placed 13th at the state meet last season. Senior Riley Yerks will also be a top contributor after placing 2nd in the 200 IM and 5th in the 100 Free at the section meet. Rounding out the lead group is junior Anthony Witte. Witte placed 8th in the 100 Fly and 2nd in the 100 Back in 2023.
Monticello will be led by a strong group of seniors and juniors this season. Senior Paul Fasen placed 3rd in the 50 Free and 4th in the 100 Free, in 2023. Carson Callstrom placed 4th in the 50 Free and 7th in the 100 Free. Jason Jones placed 5th in the 200 IM and 4th in the 100 Breast. Finally, Josh Miller placed 5th in the 200 Free and 4th in the 100 Free. Quite the leadership group they have there. Juniors Ethan Bad Heart Bull and Tyle Grue will also be strong contributors. Bad Heart Bull placed 4th in the 200 Free and 9th in the 500 Free, while Grue placed 8th in the 200 IM and 6th in the 100 Breast. Monti always has great divers, and this year is no exception. Junior Gabe McDermott returns as the top diver in the section and placed 2nd last season and freshman teammate Noah Miller placed 4th at sections in 2023.
Other Notables
Montevideo will be led by senior Austin Dunn. Dunn placed 3rd in the 100 Free and 3rd in the 100 Back in 2023.
St. Cloud Apollo will look to continue to build on last year’s success behind freshman Charlie Bobick. Bobick placed 3rd in the 200 IM and 4th in the 100 Fly. Senior Hunter Jokinen will also provide a boost, building on his 4th place finish last season in the 50 Free and 3rd place finish in the 100 Fly.
Willmar will be led by two juniors this season. David Lammers returns from a 4th place finish in the 200 IM and 8th place finish in the 100 Free, while fellow junior Evan Wallestad placed 6th in the 100 Fly and 100 Back in 2023.
Princeton sophomore Matthew Fouquette should be moving up in the ranks this season. Fouquette placed 8th in a competitive 100 Fly last year and 10th in the 100 Back.
Dassel-Cokato-Litchfield has a young team and will be improving this season. Will Carlson placed 12th in the 200 IM and 7th in the 100 Back in 2023 and there is a group of juniors looking to work their way up into the top half of the consolation heats or into the finals this year.
Delano Watertown Mayer brings in a lot of depth with seniors Tyler Winter and Boston Pryde returning as state qualifiers from 2023. Winter in the 200 IM and 500 Free and Pryde in the 100 Back. Sophomore McKay Hoglund will factor in the top 8 in the 200 and 500 Free and fellow sophomore Luke Grosshuesch will do the same in the 200 IM and 100 Breast. Sophomore Oscar Hoglund will look to crack the top four in diving and qualify for state this year as well.