2025 Boys High School Preview: Section 6AA

Section 6AA

Bloomington Kennedy, Burnsville, Edina, Hopkins, Minneapolis South-Henry-Roosevelt, Richfield, St. Louis Park, St. Paul Highland Park-St. Paul Academy

2025 Section Champion: Edina – 612 pts
2025 Section Runner-up: Hopkins – 258 pts

Notable Graduates

• Charlie Rostal (St Louis Park) – 200 Yard Freestyle (5th sections), 500 Yard Freestyle (5th sections)
• Henry Berg (St Louis Park) – 200 Yard Freestyle (7th sections), 500 Yard Freestyle (6th sections)
• Finley Berry (St Louis Park) – 200 Yard IM (5th sections), 100 Yard Backstroke (6th sections)
• Leo Kalvik (Hopkins) – 200 Yard Freestyle (6th sections), 100 Yard Freestyle (2nd sections)
• Joseph Rinaldi (Hopkins) – 1m Diving (6th sections)
• Avery Merfeld (Hopkins) – 1m Diving (7th sections)
• Liam Schons (Hopkins) – 200 Yard IM (8th sections), 100 Yard Butterfly (3rd sections)
• Shea Becker (Hopkins) – 50 Yard Freestyle (5th sections), 100 Yard Freestyle (7th sections)
• Jiarui Xue (Edina) – 200 Yard IM (1st sections, 2nd state), 500 Yard Freestyle (1st sections, 1st state)
• Reid McAllister (Edina) – 100 Yard Butterfly (7th sections)
• Jon Bailey-Zimmerman (St Paul Highland Park–SPA) – 50 Yard Freestyle (1st sections, 10th state), 100 Yard Freestyle (5th sections)
• Tait Johnson (Richfield–AHA) – 1m Diving (5th sections)
• Jack Dzierzak (Richfield–AHA) – 100 Yard Butterfly (6th sections)
• Drew VonRuden (Bloomington Kennedy) – 100 Yard Freestyle (7th sections)

Section 6AA sees the departure of Minneapolis Southwest and Cretin-Derham Hall.  Taking their place will be Burnsville moving over from 2AA and Bloomington Kennedy moving up from 2A.  Edina is still a juggernaut and returning state champion.  Coming within 300 points of them would be a win for a lot of teams at the section meet.

Edina returns a powerhouse lineup loaded with championship-level talent and depth across every event group. The team brings back the top three finishers in the 200 Free—Joe Hemberger, Alex Allocco, and Willy Thurk—all of whom were also state scorers. Their IM group remains elite with Jiawen Xue and Talan Macfarlane returning as top-three performers. Hemberger also leads the butterfly group after winning the 100 Fly and placing top-three at state.  Sprint freestyle is another major strength, anchored by Patrick Curran, the returning section champion in the 100 Free, supported by David Ritter, a finals scorer in the 50 Free, and additional depth from Clyde Anderson and several versatile mid-distance swimmers. Distance scoring is exceptional as well, with Thurk and Allocco finishing 2nd and 3rd in the 500 Free to form one of the strongest long-distance duos in the section.  Edina’s backstroke group is dominant, returning the section’s top three finishers—Curran, Xue, and Liam McAuliff—alongside emerging depth from Kai Mehta. Breaststroke is equally formidable with George Goepfrich, Macfarlane, and Michael Riolo, all top-five finishers who give Edina unmatched stroke depth.  The team’s diving corps is the best in the section, returning Edward Frey, Kingston Kavati, and Niko Yannopoulos, who swept the top three places and all reached the state meet. With elite strength across sprinting, distance, strokes, and diving, Edina enters the season as the overwhelming section favorite.

Minneapolis “TMT” returns a focused and impactful group headlined by Emery Taylor, a top sprinter who placed 2nd in the 50 Free and 3rd in the 100 Free. The stroke group adds more scoring potential through Ravi Elliott, who made championship finals in both the 100 Fly and 100 Back, including a 5th-place and 7th-place finish respectively. Breaststroke is bolstered by returning finalists Rowan Lesmeister and Griffin Larson, providing reliable depth in one of the section’s most competitive events. While the roster is not as deep as Edina’s, MSWR brings back several high-impact swimmers capable of generating significant points and anchoring strong relays.

St. Louis Park returns a small but steady lineup built around developing talent in the IM and sprint freestyle events. Axel Smith leads the group after placing 7th in the 200 IM as a ninth grader, giving the Orioles a promising young centerpiece with room to grow into a major scorer. The team also gets returning contributions in the 50 Free, where several swimmers earned finals experience last season, providing reliable depth for relays and individual sprint events. While the roster no longer features the big senior freestyle scorers from last year, the returning core offers a foundation for continued improvement and emerging sectional competitiveness.

Hopkins enters the season in a rebuilding phase, returning only one sectional scorer from last year’s championship meet. Luca Arcilla, who placed 8th in the 100 Breaststroke as an eighth grader, provides the Royals with a promising young foundation to build around. With all of last season’s upper-class contributors having graduated, the program will rely heavily on developing talent and newcomer growth to regain depth in freestyle, strokes, and diving. While the returning roster is limited, Arcilla’s early success offers a bright spot and a potential pathway for future improvement.

Burnsville returns Zander Boyko, a top-five section diver who provides the program with dependable scoring on the boards. While the roster shows limited returning swim finalists, Boyko’s contribution ensures Burnsville remains competitive in diving.

Richfield will look to build on last year’s performances and look to their younger core to improve this year.

Bloomington Kennedy will need to adjust to moving up to Class AA, but they have a solid core and should develop some section finalists over the next year or two.