Teams: Bemidji, Brainerd, Buffalo, Elk River, Moorhead, Sauk Rapids-Rice, Sartell-St. Stephen, St. Cloud Tech-Cathedral-Rocori-Becker, St. Michael-Albertville
- 2023 Section Champion: Brainerd – 376 pts
- 2023 Runner-up: Buffalo – 344 pts
Notable Graduates:
- Wyatt Gabrielson (Brainerd) – Diving (4th Sections/13th State)
- Mason Kuepers (Brainerd) – 50 Free (1st Sections/4th State), 100 Free (1st Sections/6th State)
- Cayden Sumption (Brainerd) – 200 IM (2nd Sections), 100 Breast (2nd Sections/11th State)
- Parker Tatge (Brainerd) – 200 Free (3rd Sections), 500 Free (2nd Sections/14th State)
- Trevor Barton (Buffalo) – 200 Free (6th Sections), 500 Free (8th Sections)
- Ty Kosek (Buffalo) – 50 Free (6th Sections), 100 Free (7th Sections)
- Cooper Polzin (Buffalo) – 200 IM (1st Sections/14th State), 100 Breast (3rd Sections)
- David Binsfeld (Sartell St. Stephen) – Diving (3rd Sections/11th State)
- Aiden Carlson (Moorhead) – 100 Fly (2nd Sections/5th State), 100 Breast (1st Sections/7th Sections)
- Joseph Casey (Moorhead) – 200 IM (5th Sections), 500 Free (4th Sections)
- Austin Kantor (Elk River) – Diving (2nd Sections/6th State)
- Jack Davies (St. Michael Albertville) – 200 free (5th Sections), 100 Free (9th Sections)
- Carter Wurst (St. Michael Albertville) – 100 Breast (4th Sections)
- Simon Davis (Tech-Cathedral-Rocori-Becker) – 50 Free (7th Sections), 100 Back (4th Sections)
- Braden Lemke (Tech-Cathedral-Rocori-Becker) – Diving (1st Sections/2nd State)
- Walker Erickson (Bemidji) – 100 Free (8th Sections)
- Noah Blodgett (Sauk Rapids-Rice) – 50 Free (2nd Section 3a/6th Class A State), 100 Free (1st Section 3a/4th Class A State)
Team Outlook
This will be a fun section to watch in 2024. The top two teams should come back to the pack through graduation and the addition of Sauk Rapids -Rice from Class A will mix things up a bit as well. For all the details of the section realignments you can visit our previous article.
It may be another year before Brainerd challenges for the section title again, or maybe not. They graduated a lot, but who knows? Sophomore Logan Kuepers returns after placing 7th in the 200 Free and 5th in the 500 Free and junior Nathan Chausse finished 10th in the 100 Fly and 3rd in the 100 Back in 2023. We will see if their group of freshmen and sophomores can take the next step to help them fill in some points.
I think Sartell St. Stephen might surprise the section this year. They do not graduate many points and have some strong senior leaders to set the tone. Jackson Hovda placed 3rd last season in the 50 and 100 Free and George Larson placed 2nd in both of those events. Larson placed 14th and 12th respectively in those events at the state meet. Junior Truett Carlson was section champion in the 500 Free and runner up in the 200 Free at sections last season. He went on to place 11th in the 500 at state. As always for the Sabres, there is a Lenarz. Hayden is a sophomore who finished 8th in the 200 IM and 5th in the 100 Fly in 2023 and will look to move to the top half of those events this season.
Other Notables
Buffalo will rely on strong performances from juniors Rylan Close and Noah Wittke. Close was section champion in the 100 Back and placed 3rd in the 100 Fly. Wittke placed 5th in the 50 Free and 4th in the 100 Fly and will help bolster the Bison relays. A third junior, James Lemus returns after placing 8th in the 200 Free and 6th in the 500 Free. He will look to crack the top 4 in each this season.
Junior Dresden Adams will be the top returning point scorer for Moorhead. Adams placed 4th in the 100 Free and 2nd in the 100 Back. The Spuds also will rely on freshman Sahan Nagodavithana, who had a breakout 8th grade year. Nagodavithana placed 4th in the 200 IM and 5th in the 100 Breast. He will likely challenge at the top in both this year. Junior diver Vance Kroestch finished 5th last season with the top four divers all graduating. He will be the favorite to win the section this year.
Elk River will be led by senior Matthew Katkov, who placed 3rd in the 200 IM and 6th in the 100 Free in 2023. Like the Spuds, Elk River has a talented freshman in Bjorn Pederson. Pederson placed 4th in the 200 Free and 3rd in the 500 Free in 2023 and will be looking to move up in both this year. Senior Connor Peterson placed 8th in diving last year but is the third highest returning diver in a very competitive section and will be looking to punch his state ticket with a top four finish this year.
St. Michael Albertville sophomore Dane Barthel is the team’s top returning point scorer. Barthel placed 4th in the 50 Free and 5th in the 100 Free in 2023. Senior Conner Smith placed 9th in the 50 Free and 11th in the 100 Free and will look to break into the top 8 this year and help lead the Free Relays.
Tech-Cathedral-Rocori-Becker features sophomore Micah Davis, the section and state champion in the 200 Free and 100 Fly. Davis obviously adds serious power to any relay he is on. Junior Andy Offerdahl returns after placing 6th in the 200 IM and 8th in the 100 Back and will be looking to break into the top 4 in each in 2024.
Bemidji will be led by senior Moses Son. Son placed 12th in the 200 IM in 2023 and followed that up with a 6th place finish in the 100 Fly. Sauk Rapids-Rice will certainly add a twist to the section as they move up from 3a. Junior Cash Walz was section champion in 3a in both the 200 IM and 500 Free. Walz went on to place 4th and 2nd respectively in his events at Class A state. Senior Hayden Zabinski was section champion in diving and placed 5th at the state meet and will be a factor in Section 8aa this season Zabinski also was section runner up in the 200 Free and placed top 16 in that event at the state meet. Junior Evan Scapanski placed 6th in the 200 Free and 3rd in the 100 Breast last season while fellow junior Garret Broman placed 2nd in the 100 Fly and was section champion in the 100 Back. Senior Alex Lucas will also be a top 8 swimmer in their new section. Lucas finished 4th in the 200 IM and 3rd in the 500 Free in 3a last year.