Teams: Bemidji, Brainerd, Buffalo, Elk River, Moorhead, Sartell St. Stephen, Sauk Rapids Rice, St. Michael-Albertville, St. Cloud Tech-Cathedral-Rocori-Becker
- 2024 Section Champion: Brainerd – 320 pts
- 2024 Section Runner-up: Sartell St. Stephen – 307 pts
Notable Graduates:
- Brenden Brichacek (Brainerd) – 200 IM (8th Sections), 100 Breast (3rd Sections)
- Sam McCulley (Brainerd) – 200 IM (7th Sections)
- Sebastian Tisdell (Brainerd) – Diving (8th Sections)
- Jackson Hovda (Sartell) – 50 Free (4th Sections), 100 Free (2nd Sections/14th State)
- George Larson (Sartell) – 50 Free (2nd Sections), 100 Free (4th Sections)
- Luke Schumacher (Sartell) – 100 Breast (5th Sections)
- Matthew Katkov (Elk River) – 50 Free (5th Sections), 100 Free (3rd Sections)
- Conner Peterson (Elk River) – Diving (3rd Sections/13th State)
- Alex Lucas (Sauk Rapids Rice) – 200 IM (4th Sections), 500 Free (4th Sections)
- Hayden Zabinski (Sauk Rapids Rice) – Diving (1st Sections), 100 Fly (6th Sections)
- Conner Smith (St. Michael-Albertville) – 50 Free (6th Sections), 100 Free (8th Sections)
- Amado Sandoval (TCRB) – 100 Breast (6th Sections)
- Seyoung Son (Bemidji) – 100 Fly (4th Sections)
Team Outlook
One of the tightest section races in the state comes from section 8AA. Brainerd graduated some points and Buffalo did not. Who knows how this will all shake out at the section meet; whatever the case, it should be a fun one to watch.
The Brainerd Warriors’ top returning point scorers are senior Kyler Larson and junior Logan Kuepers. Carlson placed 5th in both the 200 Free and 100 Free, while Kuepers finished 6th in the 200 Free and 5th in the 500 Free. Brainerd senior Nash Gabrielson returns after placing 5th in diving last year at the section meet and will be looking to crack the top 4 this season and qualify for the state meet. Senior diver David Heath was right behind him with a 7th place finish at the section meet. Junior Brooks Brichacek will look to move up from his 8th place finish in the 100 Breast from 2024 and Nathan Chaussee will do the same with his 5th place finish in the 100 Back.
Buffalo senior James Lemus placed 2nd in the 200 Free and was section champion in the 100 Free in 2024. At the state meet, Lemus finished 10th in the 200 Free and 12th in the 100 Free. Senior Rylan Close also had a strong section meet last season. Close was section champion in the 50 Free and section runner up in the 100 Fly. At the state meet, he placed 10th in the 50 Free and 14th in the 100 Fly. Senior diver Mason Evenson finished 2nd at sections last year and placed 7th at the state meet. With three of the top six from last year graduating, he will look to finish his high school career with a top 3 finish. Junior Cam Cich placed 6th in the 100 Free and junior Mason Pilcher finished 6th in the 100 Back last season and they will help bolster the Bison relays.
Sartell St. Stephen will also be in the mix this season in 8AA. Senior Truett Carlson placed 3rd in the 200 Free and was section runner up in the 500 Free. He would go on to place 12th in the 200 Free and 13th in the 500 Free at the state meet. Junior Hayden Lenarz had a solid section meet last year with a 3rd place finish in the 100 Fly and 4th place finish in the 100 Back. He will be joined by sophomore Nolan Snyder who placed 7th in the 200 Free and 500 Free to round out the top line for the Sabers.
Other Notables
Elk River has some young talent that should have a significant impact this year. Freshman Dedric Walczak placed 7th in the 100 Fly and 4th in the 100 Back last season and sophomore Bjorn Pederson finished 4th in the 200 Free and was section champion in the 500 Free. Junior Spenser Damman rounds out the group returning from a 2nd place finish in the 200 IM and 8th in the 100 Fly.
Sauk Rapids Rice Seniors Cash Walz, Garret Borman, and Evan Scapanski will lead their squad this season. Walz was section champion in the 200 IM and 100 Breast and placed 3rd in the 200 IM and 4th in the 100 Breast at state. Scapanski placed 5th in the 200 IM and finished 2nd to Walz in the 100 Breast. Scapanski placed 16th in the 100 Breast at the state meet. Borman placed 5th in the 100 Fly and was section champion in the 100 Back. At the state meet, Borman placed 8th in the 100 Back.
St. Michael Albertville junior Dane Bathel will be the top returning point scorer this season. Bathel placed 7th in both the 50 Free and 100 Free at the section meet in 2024. Senior William McKeown qualified for the state meet in diving with a 4th place finish last season. Sophomore Kyler Williams will also help the squad, looking to build on his 7th place finish in the 100 Back.
Moorhead will continue to build with their young team led by sophomore Sahan Nagodavithana, who placed 3rd in the 50 Free and was section runner up in the 100 Back. At state, he placed 10th in the 100 Back and should be a strong favorite for a top 8 finish this season. Junior Francis Casey placed 3rd in the 200 IM, sophomore Matthew Brendemuhl 8th in the 50 Free, and senior Carter Reburn 6th in the 200 IM to add some section depth to the Spuds.
TCRB will feature double section champion and state champion Micah Davis. Davis dominated the 200 Free and 100 Fly, setting a new MSHSL state record in the Fly. Senior Andy Offerdahl also was a strong contributor at the section meet for the squad. Offerdahl placed 3rd in the 500 Free with a state qualifying time and 9th in the 100 Back.
Bemidji’s John Scherling is the top performer returning for the squad. Scherling finished 4th in the 100 Breast at the section meet in 2024.