2025 Boys High School Preview: Section 1AA

Section 1AA

Teams in the Section
Austin, Farmington, Lakeville North, Lakeville South. Owatonna, Rochester Century, Rochester John Marshall, Rochester Mayo

2025 Section Champion: Rochester Century – 442 pts
2025 Section Runner-up: Rochester Mayo – 359 pts

Notable Graduates

• Isaac Snaza (Lakeville North) – 200 Free (6th sections); 100 Fly (6th sections)
• Jonah Hoffman (Lakeville North) – 50 Free (1st sections, 8th state); 100 Fly (1st sections)
• Aaron Larkin (Lakeville North) – 50 Free (8th sections); 100 Breast (4th sections)
• Alex Byer (Lakeville North) – 1m Diving (1st sections, 7th state)
• Eoin Porrata (Rochester Mayo) – 200 IM (3rd sections); 100 Breast (6th sections)
• Nikhil Kaufman (Rochester Mayo) – 50 Free (5th sections); 100 Breast (3rd sections)
• Neil Tollefson (Rochester Mayo) – 50 Free (6th sections)
• Nicklaus Gustafson (Rochester Mayo) – 500 Free (7th sections)
• Matias Vega (Rochester Mayo) – 100 Back (8th sections)
• Ben Weingarten (Rochester Mayo) – 200 IM (5th sections); 100 Fly (4th sections)
• Isaac DeMaster (Lakeville South) – 200 IM (7th sections); 100 Breast (7th sections)
• Owen Kelly (Rochester Century) – 50 Free (2nd sections)
• Adam Moorlach (Farmington) – 50 Free (3rd sections, 12th state); 100 Free (4th sections, 16th state)

Austin moves up from 1AA to join this section and to make the room, New Prague will scoot on over to 2AA.

Rochester Century brings back one of the deepest and most dangerous lineups in the section. Grady Bargfrede leads the way after winning the 200 IM and 100 Breast at sections, and William Truskowski adds serious firepower with runner-up finishes in both the IM and 100 Fly (9th at state). Eli Holmes returns as a double finalist and 3rd-place state finisher in the 100 Breast, and also placed 2nd in the 100 Free. Grant Garrison brings distance and backstroke depth with a 4th in the 100 Back and 2nd in the 500 Free (16th at state). Andrew Linden was 2nd in the Back and 4th in the 50 Free (16th at state), giving the Panthers elite sprint potential. The roster rounds out with multiple scorers including James Gilkey (4th in the 200 Free, 4th in the 500 Free), Everett Nord (finalist in Free and Fly), and Aiden Nguyen (5th in the 100 Fly). They also return diving scorer Silas Wagstaff (2nd) and a rising underclassman Jasper Barrone, who made A-finals in both IM and distance events. This roster is arguably the section’s most complete.

Rochester Mayo continues to build on a strong tradition with breakout sprinter William Leasure, who won the 100 Free and was runner-up in the 200 Free as a sophomore (11th at state). The team brings back William Boorjian (7th in the 200 Free, 8th in the 500 Free), and middle-distance threat Nicklaus Gustafson (7th in the 500 Free). Also returning are butterfly specialist Ben Weingarten (4th in the 100 Fly, 5th in the IM), and Matias Vega (8th in Backstroke). While not as deep as Century, this team has podium scorers and youth, which could lead to a surprise title push with continued development.

Lakeville South returns a powerful medley group headlined by Grady Evenson, who was 3rd in the 100 Fly (10th at state) and 1st in the 100 Back (6th at state). Brendan Mattson placed 4th in the 200 IM and 3rd in the 100 Back, giving them valuable scoring in the first two individual events. The Cougars also return rising freshman Aiden Nguyen (5th in the Fly), and a pair of strong divers—Breckin McGill (4th) and Soren Brovald (6th)—along with Matias Silva (8th), forming a very capable diving squad. Grady Bargfrede adds elite talent as a double champion in IM and Breast. Altogether, this team brings excellent event coverage and could challenge for a top-two finish.

Lakeville North’s returning talent is led by Lucas Hoffman, who placed 5th in the 200 Free and 6th in the 100 Free. Kellan Krance returns in the 100 Breast (8th), and Tyler Hultgren placed 7th in the 100 Fly as a freshman. Caleb Baldeshwiler (3rd in diving) also adds strong board scoring. While the team lacks section title threats in individual swimming events, their core group is consistent and could form the foundation for strong relays in 2025.

Farmington returns depth in nearly every event with Hantruy Nguyen (3rd in the 200 Free and 6th in the 500), Eli Montgomery (8th in the 200 Free and 7th in the 100 Free), and Justin Raymond (8th in the IM, 5th in the 500). Adam Moorlach is the top sprinter, placing 3rd in the 50 Free (12th at state) and 4th in the 100 Free (16th at state), while Hudson Maakestad placed 8th in the Fly. Daniel Budde scored 5th in the 100 Back, and the team adds additional freestyle scorers in Tyler West and diving from newcomer depth. This team’s upperclassman core will need relay support to make a podium push.

Owatonna’s top returner is diver Connor McBroom, who placed 7th in the 1m Diving event. He represents the Huskies’ top scoring potential and could push higher in 2025 with improvement on the board.

Austin’s adjustment to Class AA will be aided by the return of Brent Dahl, who won both the 100 Back and 200 IM at the section level, placing 1st and 4th at state respectively. His performances give Austin one of the few returning double event winners in the section. Hunter Peters also returns and contributes important points in the 100 Free and 100 Breast after placing 5th in both events last season.