The meet cracked open immediately in the 200 medley relay, where Saint Thomas Academy’s A group — Parker Miller, Luke Mechtel, Paidon McGuire, and Kayden Greeley — hit first in 1:34.67. Northfield followed with John Tracy, James Graham, Parker Malecha and Odin Bergs in 1:40.80, with Breck/Blake’s Minh Truong, Jackson Wright, March, and Bennett O’Halloran close behind in 1:40.94, setting an immediate tone that the relays were going to matter all afternoon.
In the 200 freestyle, Northfield landed the first individual punch as Will Redetzke ripped a 1:44.11 for the win, holding off Saint Thomas Academy’s Paidon McGuire (1:44.53) and Sartell St. Stephen’s Pascal Zeruhn (1:47.29). It tightened the chase pack early and kept Northfield firmly planted in the team race.
The 200 IM swung momentum right back to Saint Thomas Academy, with Parker Miller taking control in 1:56.04, while Orono countered with a big second from Eli Fish (1:59.40). Orono’s Ben Mitchell grabbed third in 1:59.51, keeping the top of the standings tightly clustered behind the Cadets.
Pure speed took over in the 50 free as Luke Mechtel popped a 20.98 to lead the field. Sartell’s Thomas Runkle followed in 21.92, with Northfield’s Odin Bergs sliding into third at 21.99, and the sprint points once again spread across three different programs.
Diving delivered the first major shake-up of the meet, and Orono took full advantage. Gideon Fish led the way with a dominant 470.25, and Orono doubled up in the top three as Bjorn Jaenchen added another high finish with a score of 386.85, with Melrose/Sauk Centre’s Andrue Stalboerger splitting them in second with a score of 440.80. The board event yanked Orono right into the thick of the title chase and injected real tension into the standings.
The 100 butterfly came down to the final touch, with Paidon McGuire winning for Saint Thomas Academy in 51.40 by just one-hundredth over Northfield’s Will Redetzke at 51.41. Breck/Blake added another big podium finish with Teddy Frerichs taking third in 52.21, but the headline was STA answering Orono’s diving surge with a clutch sprint-fly win.
Northfield kept pushing in the 100 freestyle behind Odin Bergs, who took the win in 48.80. Sartell stayed dangerous with Sawyer Albjerg (48.83) and Thomas Runkle (49.30) finishing right behind him, and suddenly the race for second overall was heating up with multiple teams trading blows.
Distance brought its own swing in the 500 free, where Sartell St. Stephen’s Pascal Zeruhn controlled the race in 4:52.11. Breck/Blake stayed right there with Jackson Wright second in 4:54.71, while Saint Thomas Academy answered with Leo Ritzenthaler in third at 4:56.26 to keep their lead from shrinking too much as the meet entered its back half.
The 200 free relay became the mid-meet hammer, and Saint Thomas Academy swung it hard. Luke Mechtel, Kayden Greeley, Pascal Zeruhn, and Leo Ritzenthaler blazed a 1:26.48 to win the race, with Sartell’s Thomas Runkle, Sawyer Albjerg, Nolan Snyder, and Hayden Lenarz chasing them in 1:28.53 and Breck/Blake’s Teddy Frerichs, Mihn Truong, Bennett O’Halloran, and Ben Sznewajs right behind in 1:30.42.
Breck/Blake’s Bennett O’Halloran took a rare non-STA win in the 100 Back in a time of 54.01, followed by Fergus Falls senior Reece Hansen in 54.90. Eli Fish of Orono scored another top 3 finish in the meet, placing third in 56.04
The 100 breaststroke brought another Cadet highlight, with Luke Mechtel winning in 56.62. Winona’s Matthew Baumgartner placed second with a time of 58.57. Saint Thomas Academy added even more with Parker Miller touching third in 58.79 continuing the theme of multiple swimmers scoring high in the same event.
The meet closed in the 400 free relay with Saint Thomas Academy finishing the job in style. Jaylen Young, Kayden Greeley, Paidon McGuire, and Luke Mechtel won in 3:11.94, with Sartell St. Stephen finished in a distant second with the team of Thomas Runkle, Sawyer Albjerg, Nolan Snyder, and Hayden Lenarz in a time of 3:17.25 and Northfield took third in 3:20.58 behind Will Redetzke, John Tracy, James Graham, and Will Udelhofen. That final relay locked in both the team title and the final podium order.
Saint Thomas Academy dominated the meet from the opening relay through the final touch, winning all three relays, piling up victories across the sprint and stroke events, and pairing that firepower with relentless depth throughout the lineup. The Cadets were able to answer every surge from the field, whether it came from Orono’s diving or Northfield’s sprint speed, and by the closing events the outcome was no longer in doubt.
After the meet, Saint Thomas Academy head coach John Barnes summed it up simply:
“I am so proud of the STA program. The True Team meet is all about racing. Today’s display of Saint Thomas Academy heart, passion, and pride was awesome.”
Final Team Scores
- Saint Thomas Academy — 2128.5
- Orono — 1777
- Northfield — 1767
- BreckBlake — 1618
- Sartell St. Stephen — 1597
- Grand Rapids — 1566
- Delano–Watertown–Mayer — 1344
- Benilde–St. Margaret’s — 1209.5
- Winona & Cotter — 1184.5
- Melrose/Sauk Centre — 1085
- Fergus Falls — 1038
- Mankato West — 1007.5
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