Teams: Chisago Lakes, Columbia Heights, Fridley, Hill Murray, Humboldt-Washington-OWL, Minneapolis Edison, St. Thomas Academy, St. Paul Como Park, St. Paul Harding, St. Paul Johnson
- 2024 Section Champion: St. Thomas Academy – 596 pts
- 2024 Section Runner-up: Chisago Lakes – 321 pts
Notable Graduates:
- Will Barth (STA) – 200 Free (1st Sections/3rd State), 500 Free (1st Sections/2nd State)
- Patrick Koegel (STA) – 200 IM (5th Sections)
- Caleb Ling (STA) – 100 Fly (5th Sections), 100 Back (7th Sections)
- Tommy Matschina (STA) – 200 Free (5th Sections), 500 Free (4th Sections)
- Max Schantzen (STA) – 100 Free (6th Sections)
- Vincent Adams (Chisago Lakes) – 200 Free (7th Sections), 100 Fly (3rd Sections)
- Charlie Sprado (Chisago Lakes) – 50 Free (6th Sections), 100 Free (5th Sections)
- Oskar Helgen (Como Park) – 200 IM (3rd Sections), 100 Back (5th Sections)
- Kai Sackreiter (Como Park) – 50 Free (3rd Sections/11th State), 100 Breast (3rd Sections/13th State)
- Garrett Seppanen (Como Park) – 200 Free (8th Sections), 500 Free (5th Sections)
- Isaac Gyurisin (Columbia Heights) – 100 Fly (2nd Sections), 100 Back (4th Sections/14th State)
Team Outlook
St. Thomas Academy is looking as strong as ever and though the section title was never in doubt for 2025, the state title might be in reach. Senior Dane Dow placed 2nd in the 200 IM and 3rd in the 500 Free and sophomore Luke Mechtel placed 4th in the 50 Free and 3rd in the 100 Breast at the state meet in 2024 to lead the way for the Tommies. Senior Sherman Holmstadt scored a 9th place finish in the 100 Back, junior Kayden Greely was 9th in the 50 Free and 100 Breast, and sophomore Leo Ritzenthaler was 13th in the 200 Free and 10th in the 500 Free for the remainder of their 2024 state points. Senior Vincent Audette was a state qualifier in the 200 Free last season and will look to crack the top 16 this year. Senior Charlie Bruner also was a state qualifier in the 200 IM in 2024. Junior Leo Ritzenthaler was another state qualifier last season for the Tommies, qualifying in both the 200 and 500 Free.
Other Notables
Chisago Lakes senior Nate Bear placed 4th in the 200 Free and 8th in the 100 Fly at last year’s section meet and fellow senior Tanner Betts scored a 6th place finish in the 200 Free and 100 Back. Freshmen divers Austin Warner and Talan Koester-Radmann both qualified for the state meet in 2024, finishing 3rd and 4th at the section meet.
Como Park senior Kyle Kosiak will look to improve on his stellar 2024 season where he was section champion in the 100 Fly and section runner up in the 100 Back. At the state meet, Kosiak placed 6th and 14th in those events. Sophomore Joey Schumacher also had a great section meet last year. Schumacher placed 4th in the 50 Free and 3rd in the 100 Free in 2024.
Fridley continues to build on a young team. Quinn Henrikson placed 10th in the 50 Free last season as well as 4th in the 100 Fly. Wyatt Engelman finished 8th in the 200 IM and 10th in the 100 Breast.
Humbolt-Washinton-OWL diver Donovan Timmerman will return for his senior year as section champion. At the state meet, Timmerman placed 18th and will look to grab some state points this season.
Columbia Heights senior Ameer Alt Daoud is the top returning swimmer for his squad this season. Last year, he placed 10th in the 500 Free and 9th in the 100 Back at the section meet.
Hill Murray continues to build its new squad and junior Aiden Kelly will return as the top performer from last year. Kelly finished 16th in the 50 Free and 5th in the 100 Breast.
St. Paul Johnson and St. Paul Harding will look to continue to add numbers to their squads and build around their youth.
Minneapolis Edison senior Colin O’Brien finished 8th in the 50 Free and 9th in the 100 Fly last season and will look for a double top 8 finish in his events in 2025.