Swimming & Diving: Willmar's Woltjer takes second at state
MINNEAPOLIS -- Bennet Woltjer hit his three dives on Saturday scoring big each time.
The Willmar senior fell just short of overtaking Tanner Nordland for the state championship.
Nordland, a Sartell senior, finished with 359.95 points to Woltjer's 11-dive score of 357.5. Woltjer had trailed the Central Lakes Conference champion by 20 points going into Saturday's final 3 dives at the U of M diving pool.
Asked about near upset, Woltjer explained that his friendly rival was not at full strength fighting off pneumonia. Indeed, the Central Lakes' scoring on Feb. 11 when the pair finished 1-2, also, was 428 for Nordland and 348 for Woltjer.
No one in the Class A field of 16 came close to the top pair. Third-place went to Carter Lange of Simley at 323, 34 points out of second.
Woltjer threw a reverse tuck, a back 2½ twist and forward 2½ somersault before the full-house at the Aquatic Center. The seven judges scored from 5.0 to 7.0 on all three.
"It's very exciting; I was shooting for third," said sixth-year diver who was sixth as a junior.
Willmar junior Michael McLain reached the podium in both the 100- and 200-freestyles. He broke the school record by a half-second in the 200 in Friday's prelims (1:47.44) and shaved off another six-tenths on Saturday down to 1:46.85, good for the fifth-place medal. Scott Hagemeyer has held the 200-free record since 2001 when he went 1:47.94.
Willmar had strong swims in both consolation freestyle relays finished second in the 200- and first in the 400-relay, each shaving time both days.
In team scoring, defending champion and the Section 3A champion at the Willmar pool on Feb. 25, placed fifth with Montevideo 10th, Willmar 13th and Dassel-Cokato/Litchfield 24th.
Monte's Payne sprints to two 3rd place medals
Thunder Hawk senior Tommy Payne swam to third-place in the 50 freestyle (21.59) and third in the 100 (47.84). In the medley relay, he swam the event's fastest butterfly split and only sub 23.0 (22.78) to help Montevideo take fourth.
Sophomor4e Jack Speath and juniors Tyler Gort and Adam Peters joined him to go 1:39.43, more than second below their seed time out of Section 3A.
Payne had a major disappointment at the state meet a year ago when he busted despite a high-seed and didn't even make the consolation heat.
"This year I was more focused, had a better diet and had the right taper for state," he said.
He lowered his own school record in the 100-free but was unable to catch up with Mike Hagen's 50-free sizzling school record of 20.62, which set an all-time state-meet record, since broken.
Class A team scores
(1) St. Thomas Acad. 330 (2) Monticello Magic (3) Breck/Blake BearStangs (4) Richfield (5) Fergus Falls 152 (6) Fridley 122 (7) Red Wing 113, (8) Detroit Lakes 91 (9) Grand Rapids 89 (10) Montevideo 86 (11) Hutchinson 82 (12) Sartell 77 (13) Willmar 75 (14) Benilde-SM 60.5 (15) Simley, Inver Grove ... (21) Alexandria 30 (24) Dassel-Cokato/Litchfield 23 (34) Melrose/Sauk Centre 1
Individual results
(Champion ... Montevideo, Willmar)
200-yard INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY - (1) Breck/Blake 1:34.83* ... (4) Montevideo: Jack Speath, Tyler Gort, Tommy Payne, Adam Peters; 1:39.43
200 FREESTYLE - (1) Paul Fair, Monticello, 1:40.75* (2) Quillan Okak, Detroit Lakes, 1:44.62 ... (5) Michael McLain, Willmar, 1:46.85 (23) Nick Aaker, Willmar, 1:53.04
200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY - (1) Mitch Foster, Breck/Blake, 1:53.27 ... (13) Jack Speath, Monte, 2:06.10
50 FREESTYLE - (1) Luke Johanns, St. Thomas, 20.75 (2) Cole Bateman, Hutch, 21.27 (3) Tommy Payne, Monte, 21.59 ... (18) Ben Fuglestad, Willmar, 23.19
DIVING - (1) Tanner Nordlund, Sartell, 359.35 (2) Bennet Woltjer, Willmar, 357.5 (3) Carter Lange, Simley 323.75 (4) Tyler Jordahl, Mound, 323.5 .... (9) Chase Testa, Monte, 295.45
100 BUTTERFLY - (1) Paul Fair, Monticello, 49.35* ..... Ben Fuglestad, Willmar, DQ
100 FREESTYLE - (1) Luke Johanns, St. Thomas, 46.34 (2) Evan Lahr, Monticello, 47.82 (3) Tommy Payne, Monte, 47.84 ... (7) Michael McLain, Willmar, 48.71
500 FREESTYLE - (1) Tanner Alms, Red Wing, 4:41.10 (2) Alberto Orejuela, Fridley, 4:41.41
200 FREESTYLE RELAY - (1) Monticello 1:26.11* (2) St. Thomas Academy 1:26.39 ... (10) Willmar: Connor Haugen, Ben Fuglestad, Nick Aaker, Michael McLain 1:30.48 ... (15) Montevideo: Adam Peters, Speath, Sahanji McGonigle, Payne; 1:32.24
100 BACKSTROKE - (1) Mitch Foster, Breck/Blake, 49.34* (2) Cole Bateman, Hutch, 49.86 ... (10) Jack Speath, Monte, 55.56
100 BREASTSTROKE - (1) Quillan Oak, Detroit Lakes, 56.73 (2) Eric Dahlseng, DC/Litchfield, 57.67 ... (17) Tyler Gort, Monte, 1:02.43
400 FREESTYLE RELAY - (1) Monticello 3:09.79 ... (10) Willmar: McLain, AJ Derouin, Fuglestad, Aaker; 3:19.84
*Class A record
