Section 5A
Teams: Alexandria, Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, Melrose/Sauk Centre, Morris Area, Park Rapids, Perham/New York Mills, Thief River Falls
- 2023 Section Champion: Alexandria – 490.5 pts
- 2023 Runner-up: Melrose/Sauk Centre – 426 pts
Notable Graduates:
- Erik Reinke (Alexandria) – 50 Free (2nd Sections/8th State), 100 Free (1st Sections/5th State)
- Logan Tung (Alexandria) – 200 IM (1st Sections/6th State), 100 Breast (1st Sections/8th State)
- Adam Wilwerding (Melrose/Sauk Centre) – 100 Free (5th Sections), 100 Back (1st Sections/2nd State)
- Micah Zosel (Fergus Falls) – 100 Free (7th Sections), 100 Brest (3rd Sections)
- Christian Reed (Fergus Falls) – 500 Free (6th Sections), 200 Free (9th Sections)
- Jordan Odor (Park Rapids) – 200 Free (2nd Sections/12th State), Diving (2nd Sections/9th State)
- Cameron Runyan (Park Rapids) – Diving (5th Sections), 100 Free (6th Sections)
- Isaac Zinniel (Park Rapids) – 50 Free (1st Sections/2nd State), 100 Fly (1st Sections/11th State)
- Lealand Vettleson (Thief River Falls) – 50 Free (3rd Sections), 100 Free (4th Sections)
- Gregory Simons (Detroit Lakes) – Diving (6th Sections)
Team Outlook
No changes in Section 5a this season so it will come down to who made the most improvements over the last year. For all the details of the section realignments you can visit our previous article.
The reigning section champion looks to be in a good position to repeat in 2024. Sophomore Kyle Kavanagh returns as defending champion in diving where he also placed 2nd at the state meet. Junior Cooper Running will also return as section champion in the 200 and 500 Free, placing 10th and 9th respectively at state. Senior Eric Peterson was section runner-up in the 100 Fly and 100 Back and placed 8th and 16th in those events at the state meet. Right behind those front-line swimmers are a pair of sophomores and a freshman. Sophomores Adison Newman and Luke Christenson were top 8 section swimmers in both their events in 2023. Newman placed 7th in the 50 Free and 4th in the 100 Fly while Christenson placed 7th in both the 200 and 500 Free. Freshman Andy Wacek placed 6th in the 200 IM and 5th in the 100 Breast in 2023 and will look to move up this season in his events.
Melrose/Sauk Centre will look to dethrone Alexandria this season. They graduate about 50 fewer points and have a slew of up-and-comers returning for 2024. Senior Jacob Robischon will lead the way after placing 2nd in the 200 IM and 3rd in the 100 Fly in 2023. Right behind him will be junior Servin Anderson and sophomore Nolan Fleischhacker. Anderson placed 4th in the 200 IM and 2nd in the 100 Breast, while Fleischhacker placed 4th in both the 200 and 500 Free. Another sophomore, Thatcher Van Beck will have a significant impact in 2024. Van Beck placed 5th in the 200 Free and 3rd in the 500 Free last season. Sophomore diver Andrue Stalboerger returns from an 11th place finish at the state meet and will look to move into the top 8 this year.
Other Notables
Fergus Falls will look to build off of some impressive performances from some younger swimmers last season. Freshman Jaden Kwapinski placed 3rd in the 200 IM and 5th in the 100 Fly in 2023 while Senior Logan Rott placed 6th in the 100 Fly and 4th in the 100 Breast. Joining those two will be sophomore Matthew Tuel, who placed 3rd in the 200 Free and 2nd in the 500 Free. Sophomore Reece Hansen placed 7th in the 200 IM and 4th in the 100 Back in 2023 and fellow sophomore Landon Votova finished 6th in the 200 Free and 5th in the 500 Free.
Park Rapids will be in rebuilding mode after losing a significant amount of their section points to graduation. Sophomore Carter Schiller is the top returner for Park Rapids after placing 9th in the 100 Fly and 6th in the 100 Back in 2023.
Thief River Falls also will be doing some rebuilding and will be relying on sophomore Andy Dagg and senior Nathan Smith to lead the way. Dagg placed 5th in the 50 free and bolstered all three relays in 2023 while Smith finished just outside the top 8 of both the 200 and 500 Free.
Detroit Lakes will lean on a pair of seniors, Micah Barberg and Ryan Erickson. Barberg placed 8th in the 200 Free and 7th in the 100 Back while Erikson finished 5th in the 200 IM and 2nd in the 100 Free.
Perham/New York Mills has a small team, but juniors Bjorn Anderson and Blake Swenson made their presence felt last season at the section meet. Anderson placed 8th in both the 500 Free and 100 Breast and Swenson finished 3rd in both the 50 and 100 Free in 2023.
Morris Area junior diver Carter Pew will look to move up the ranks this season. Pew placed 9th last year in a very competitive diving section and will be eying a coveted top 4 finish this year.