Teams: Farmington, Lakeville North, Lakeville South, New Prague, Owatonna, Rochester Century, Rochester John Marshall, Rochester Mayo
- 2024 Section Champion: Lakeville South – 443 pts
- 2024 Section Runner-up: Rochester Century – 408 pts
Notable Graduates:
- Gage Boushee (Lakeville South) – 200 IM (1st Sections/6th State), 100 Free (1st Sections/6th State)
- Noah Cochran (Lakeville South) – 50 Free (3rd Sections), 100 Fly (2nd Sections/10th State)
- Ethan LaBounty (Lakeville South) – 50 Free (1st Sections/7th State), 100 Breast (1st Sections/5th State)
- Porter Woodson (Lakeville South) – Diving (1st Sections/4th State)
- Nate Kram (Century) – 50 free (5th Sections), 100 Free (7th Sections)
- Joe Vesterby (Century) – 100 Back (4th Sections)
- Cooper Krance (Lakeville North) – 200 IM (2nd Sections/12th State), 100 Breast (2nd Sections/6th State)
- Jake Peterson (Farmington) – 200 IM (3rd Sections), 100 Fly (4th Sections/15th State)
- Logan Atkinson (Mayo) – 100 Back (5th Sections)
- Noah Larson (Mayo) – 100 Back (7th Sections)
- Henry Hilgendorf (Owatonna) – Diving (5th Sections)
- Matthew Larson (Owatonna) – 200 Free (3rd Sections), 100 Fly (5th Sections)
- David Rhodes (Owatonna) – 100 Free (4th Sections)
Team Outlook
Lakeville South was the winner in a fairly close battle in 2024, but it looks like Rochester Century will be the favorite in 2025.
Century senior Owen Kelly is the top retuning point scorer from the section meet, notching runner up finishes in both the 50 and 100 Free at sections last year. At the state meet, Kelly placed 13th and 15th respectively. Junior Grady Bargfrede will be an impact swimmer this year along with fellow juniors Eli Holmes, Andrew Linden, and Will Truskowski. Bargfrede placed 4th in the 200 IM and 3rd in the 100 Breast at sections last year, while Holmes finished 4th in the 200 Free and 5th in the 100 Free. Linden scored a 3rd place finish in the 100 Free and 2nd in the 100 Back and Truskowski placed 6th in both the 100 Fly and 100 Breast. Sophomore Grant Garrison also had a strong section meet last year with a 3rd place finish in the 500 Free and 6th place finish in the 100 Back. Sophomore diver Silas Wagstaff qualified for the state meet with a 3rd place finish at sections. At the state meet, it was Bargfrede leading the way with a 9th place finish in the 200 IM and 8th place finish in the 100 Breast. Wagstaff would finish 12th in diving.
Lakeville South graduates a lot of the core from the 2024 season and will look to Junior Grady Evenson to lead the way this year. Evenson was a double winner at the section meet last season in the 100 Fly and 100 Back and went on to place 3rd and 6th respectively at the state meet. Senior Isaac DeMaster fared well last season with a 6th place finish in the 200 IM and 5th place finish in the 100 Breast at the section meet. Junior Brendan Mattson also was a strong contributor with a 5th place finish in the 200 IM and 3rd place finish in the 100 Back at the section meet.
Other Notables
Lakeville North finished third as a team at the section meet last season and will be looking to build on that performance. Senior Jonah Hoffman was a double event winner at the section meet in the 200 Free and 500 Free. At the state meet, he would finish 6th and 5th respectively. Senior Aaron Larkin swam to an 8th place finish in the 50 Free and 4th place finish in the 100 Breast at the section meet last year and senior Isaac Snaza scored a 6th place finish in the 200 Free and 4th place finish in the 500 Free. North also brings back a pair of state qualifying divers this season in senior Alex Byer and junior Caleb Baldeshwiler. Byer placed 2nd at the section meet and 10th at the state meet and Baldeshwiler placed 4th at the section meet.
The Farmington trio of senior Adam Moorlach, and juniors Justin Raymond and Hantruy Nguyen will lead the way for the squad in the 2025 season. Moorlach finished 6th in the 50 Free and 8th in the 100 Free, Raymond 8th in the 200 Free and 5th in the 500 Free, and Nguyen 7th in the 200 Free and 500 Free.
Rochester Mayo seniors Nikhil Kaufman and Neil Tollefson return after a successful 2024 section meet. Kaufman placed 7th in both the 200 IM and 100 Breast and Tollefson placed 7th in the 50 Free and 100 Fly. Sophomore William Leasure will add some strength to the squad this year. Leasure placed 5th in the 200 Free and 6th in the 100 Free last season.
Owatonna will be looking to reload after graduating some of their top 2024 performers. Junior Logan Flynn returns after an 8th place finish in the 200 IM in 2024 to lead the way for the squad.
New Prague seniors Jacob Bisek and Brendan Panka will look to build on their strong finish to their 2024 seasons. Bisek placed 4th in the 50 Free and 2nd in the 500 Free at sections while Panka placed 2nd in the 200 Free and 3rd in the 100 Fly. At the state meet, Panka placed 11th in the 200 Free and 13th in the 100 Fly.
Rochester John Marshall will also be in rebuilding mode after graduating the majority of their section points. Senior Maxwell Nguyen placed 14th last year in the 100 Breast.