Good as gold - Spring Lake Park's Ripken sprints to state title

In a flash, it was over, with a peek at the scoreboard revealing a result to take that breath away: Spring Lake Park senior Braden Ripken, Class AA boys swimming and diving 50-yard freestyle state champion.

Ripken sprinted to the top in the sport’s fastest event during the state meet at the University of Minnesota’s Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center in Minneapolis March 2-4, winning in an exhilarating finish decided by two-hundredths of a second in a title time of 20.69 seconds, an All-American Consideration mark.

“I felt like my 50 was near perfect and I nailed the finite details,” Ripken said. “I think the key for me was getting up and swimming on top of the water as quickly as possible. I used the advantage of above water speed rather than the conventional approach of pushing the underwaters longer.”

In the final moments, Ripken caught a glimpse of the second- and third-seeded swimmers in the adjacent lanes and could tell the race would be decided by a flash.

“I could see the swimmers next to me on both sides right with me with about 10 yards to go, so I knew it was going to be a really close finish,” Ripken said.

A few final strokes later, Ripken reached the wall, and looked up at the scoreboard for the final result … then asked for a little help.

“Without my glasses, I couldn’t see the scoreboard so I had to ask an official what my time and place was,” Ripken said. “After that moment, it was pure joy knowing that every minute of practice paid off. I don’t think I could’ve envisioned a better way to say goodbye to my high school swimming career. I’m really happy that my wonderful teammates and coaches got to be there to cheer me on.”

In such a quick race, every element must be sharp, with Ripken possessing a rare blend of skills suited to excel.

“Braden is a fast-twitch muscle guy who can sprint really well with explosive bursts,” Spring Lake Park head coach Greg Kugler said. “He gets off the blocks and walls quickly and is able to get on top of the water and use his length to his advantage to grab as much water as possible with each pull.”

Ripken later added an all-state swim in the 100 breaststroke, finishing fifth in 57.25.

“Braden had a fantastic weekend,” Kugler said. “Being all-state in two events is a huge accomplishment for any athlete, and to add a state championship in the 50 free only adds some icing on the cake.”

Ripken also teamed with Sam Clark, Isaiah Frei and Carson Holmquist to earn 11th in the 200 medley relay (1:38.14), and 13th in the 200 free relay (1:28.90). Sebastian Santiago earned 15th in diving with a final score of 319.45, and Clark added a 16th-place swim in the 200 IM (2:00.34).

While it is the end of the high school career for several SLP standouts, it was a happy one, helping the Panthers to a 14th-place team finish.

“It is always bittersweet when an athlete who has worked hard over the course of his career has a fantastic end of the high school career,” Kugler said. “He had lofty goals for himself this season and he reached his goals and then some!

“The team had a great end to the season as well, with every athlete and relay that qualified for the state meet placing. The guys worked hard over the season and really exceled when it mattered most — at the state meet!”

Area results

Jayce Dayton led the way for Blaine, reaching the B final in the 100 backstroke in a 15th-place finish in 55.22. Also for the Bengals, the 200 free relay team of Dayton, Benjamin Kurilla, Bradley Weishair and Ryan Mackey earned 19th in 1:31.93, the 400 free relay team of Mackey, Nolan Peterson, Weishair and Dayton earned 20th in 3:27.56, Mackey earned 20th in the 50 free (22.76), and Dayton earned 21st in the 100 butterfly (54.04)

Also in Class AA, Coon Rapids’ Mitch Thronson earned 19th in the 200 IM (2:06.08), Andover’s Ryan Mickelborough earned 22nd in the 100 free (50.55), and Andover’s Isaiah Croaston earned 26th in diving (130.9).

In Class A, Columbia Heights’ Isaac Gyurisin earned 17th in the 100 butterfly (54.66), and 20th in the 100 backstroke (57.36). Fridley’s Lennon Krueger earned 24th in diving (105.1).