Magic tame Tigers in pool for final conference dual

“We’re progressing and working hard. We had solid performances at True Team. We are still working on speed and solidifying the lineup for what will be the best for sections and state. The guys are working hard and they’re doing well,” said Monticello Head Coach Dirk Westveer.

Monticello hosted Princeton last Thursday and finished off their last conference meet with another win. The Magic took first place in every event until the 100 backstroke when they swam the rest of the events as exhibition. The score was 98-42 after the 200 relay so despite not adding to their score, the red and black had the fastest times in three of the four exhibition races.

Ethan Bad Heart Bull, Jason Jones, Grant Stahlback, and Carson Callstrom took first in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:46.40. Sam Martin, Tyler Grue, Paul Fasen, and Josh Miller finished in second at 1:52.71. Princeton placed third through fifth as Monti took a 12-2 lead.

The 200 freestyle was swept by Monti. Bad Heart Bull (first, 1:58.54), Jake Lindstrom (second, 2:04.05), and Santiago Castro (third, 2:04.07) cruised to an easy victory with David Burns-Hawker finishing nearly 10 whole seconds behind Castro for fourth. After the second race, Monticello led 25-5.

The score was 33-13 after the 200 individual medley. Grue (2:19.00) took first place, but the Tigers took second and third. Martin (2:29.85) finished in fourth and Lincoln Heckendorf (2:49.52) finished in sixth.

Fasen won the 50 freestyle with a time of 23.66 with Miller (23.70) coming in at a close second. Stahlback (24.40) scored a point after finishing in fifth place. After the 50 free Monticello led 44-18 before the divers took to the board.

Monticello’s divers took the top two spots. Gabe McDermott (first, 372.55) and Noah Miller (second, 277.70) scored 10 points for the Magic as they took a 54-24 over the Tigers.

Stahlback won the 100 fly after finishing in 58.40. Jacob Olarte (fourth, 1:14.34) and Will Savage (sixth, 1:19.35) also swam for Monticello.

The last two races saw Monticello take the top three spots again in each race. Miller (first, 52.22), Callstrom (second, 53.25), and Jones (third, 53.27) went one-two-three respectively for Monti in the 100 free while Lindstrom (first, 5:36.27), Noah Mahoney (second, 5:46.26), and Martin (third, 6:06.87) swam the 500 freestyle.

Fasen, Callstrom, Stahlback, and Miller (first, 1:35.12) while Castro, Mahoney, Lindstrom, and Martin (third, 1:45.16) combined for Monticello’s last 10 points of the meet in the 500-yard freestyle. At that point, Monti clinched their victory and swam the rest of the events in exhibition.

Bad Heart Bull (1:03.33) and Jones (1:04.51) had the two fastest times despite not officially scoring while Heckendorf (1:14.10) also competed for Monti during the 100 backstroke. After the 100 breaststroke was finished, Monticello had the top two times again. Grue (1:07.63) and Castro (1:11.21) finished first and second with Henry Hanson (1:31.79) rounding out the group.

Finally, Fasen, Bad Heart Bull, Mahoney, and Jones finished the 400 relay in 3:37.60, while Lindstrom, Heckendorf, Grue, and Castro finished in 3:57.45. Those times would have been good for first and third, respectively.

A couple of the swimmers are currently dealing with shoulder injuries but “we’re doing well and moving forward,” said Westveer.

Princeton was the second to last dual meet of the season for Monticello swim and dive. Coming up next is a home meet against Elk River on Monday beginning at 6 p.m. at Monticello Middle School. The section meet will be at the end of February at Willmar High School. The Minnesota State High School League state tournament runs from Thursday, March second through Saturday, March 4 at the University of Minnesota’s Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center.