Edina holds off Minnetonka, wins Class 2A boys swimming state championship

Minnetonka’s dream fell just short.

The Skippers were Class 2A runners-up in 2024, falling just six points shy of Edina’s winning score.

That drove the Skippers to make taking that next step and winning the team championship their goal all season.

They put up a good fight, leading through nine events, but Edina came through strong in the final three event to pull out another team title with 348 points to Minnetonka’s 322 on Saturday at the University of Minnesota’s Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center.

The lost was a bitter disappointment for Minnetonka.

“Every practice, we were thinking we lost by six points, right? So that’s one more swim. That’s one more everything,” said senior Evan Witte, who won the 50- and 100-yard freestyles and swam on the winning 400 freestyle relay team.

Edina won the title while winning just one individual event.

Senior Jiarui Xue won the 500 freestyle in a time of 4:26.68. It was his second straight title in the race.

Lucas Gerten never dreamed he would be in this position.

The Rosemount senior diver won his fourth consecutive Class 2A 1-meter diving championship.

His winning score of 522.60 was just a smidge shy of the state-record total he set in 2024, but the total didn’t matter. Gerten, who started his youth athletic pursuits as a gymnast, was exiting the high school arena as the most successful diver in state meet history.

“I was hoping for a [personal best]. It didn’t happen, and that’s perfectly fine,” Gerten said. “I am really excited about how I did today. I had some great dives and some dives to look back on and critique, but I’m seriously happy about how I did.”

Gerten, reflecting on his high school successes, made sure to credit his competitors for making him the diver he became.

“You look at my scores from when I was a freshman. It was a 419 and that was enough to win. Now everybody is doing harder dives. The caliber of diving is way higher than it has been,” he said. “It pushes me. Seeing other people do these crazy dives and these amazing things, that’s what fuels me.”

Gerten will dive at the Air Force Academy next year.

Micah Davis has loved the butterfly since the first time he swam the stroke in swimming lessons when he was 3.

“I’ve always just been gifted in the butterfly,” said Davis, who swims for the St. Cloud Tech/Cathedral/Rocori/Becker Dawgs. “It just came naturally to me.”

So gifted that, earlier this season, Davis swam the fastest butterfly in the nation by a high school swimmer. He won the 100-yard event Saturday at the state meet, finishing in 47.32 seconds.

He also took first place in the 200 freestyle (1:37.10), which he considered a warmup for his butterfly race.

“The butterfly is just a natural stroke for me,” said Davis, who will swim at Virginia next year. “I just have naturally strong shoulders.”

Stillwater’s Jackson Kogler was a two-event winner. He won the 200 individual medley in a state-record time of 1:46.14 and won the backstroke in 47.87.

Blake/Breck senior Henry Webb had a wonderful individual meet, winning the 100 and 200 freestyles comfortably, but his focus was elsewhere.

He wanted another team championship.

But St. Thomas Academy was uncatchable. The Cadets won the Class 1A team championship with a score of 273, stopping Blake/Breck from winning its ninth state championship in a row. Northfield was second with 253, Blake/Breck third with 212.

The appealing part of high school swimming for many is competing as a team, something they don’t experience when swimming for their club teams.

“This year I’m a lot more team-oriented than last year,” Webb said. “I want to focus more on the team guys than on my individuals, which is unique for me.”

After winning his two titles, he devoted the rest of his meet to preparing for the 400 relay, for which he’s the anchor leg. Webb swam well, posting a meet-best 100-yard freestyle leg of 44.42 seconds, but Northfield finished first, Blake/Breck second.

Win or lose, Webb insisted the team feeling draws him to high school swimming.

“Swimming at club, all that matters is your time. No one’s really worried about the team points,” he said. “To have such a team-oriented vibe has been really special.”

St. Thomas Academy junior Luke Mechtel was a three-time winner, helping the Cadets to their first team championship since 2016. Mechtel won the 50 freestyle (20.93) and the 100 breaststroke (55.05) and swam the second leg on the winning 200 medley relay team.

It was the dive that haunted Red Wing junior diver Zach Mikkelson all year.

In the state meet last year, nerves led to a misstep on his approach on a crucial dive.

He slipped, stepped over the line and wound up with a low score that daggered his chance for a state championship. He finished second to Kyler Kavanagh of Alexandria.

It was foremost on his mind Saturday.

“I had to learn how to relax when the pressure is on,” he said.

The nerves were present but under control Saturday, when Mikkelson won the Class 1A title with a cumulative score of 487.15, outpointing Kavanagh, who was runner-up with a 445.0, and Gideon Fish of Orono, who finished at 443.5.

Mikkelson, making his third state tournament appearance, said his experience paid off Saturday.

“I’m starting to relax a little bit more and not feel too much pressure,” he said. “It’s still a little bit nerve-racking, but when you relax, you can set up a good takeoff and have a great rest of the dive.”