Find Out Which Lake Minnetonka Swim and Dive Team is Ranked No. 4 in the State

The Orono Mound Westonka (OMW) co-op boys swim and cive team is off to an impressive start this season. The 31-member squad was ranked No. 4 among Class A teams by the Minnesota Swim Coaches Association for the week of Dec. 17.

Their season began Dec. 8 by winning the Wright County Jamboree Relay with 214.85 points to second place Dassel-Cokato/Litchfield’s (DCL) 117 point tally. A week later the team topped DCL again at the conference dual meet with a final score of 110 to 72. On Saturday, Dec. 15, OMW took second place honors at the Woodbury Invite competing primarily against Class AA teams.

“Our team has been very successful so far this year with the help of all of our new members," said Mound Westonka senior captain Merv (Jacob) Moorhead. “Hopefully we will continue to improve and achieve our goals this year.”

Dassel-Cokato/Litchfield Dual Meet Win
Of the 11 swimming events (eight individual events, three relays) in the DCL dual meet, the OMW team had eight first-place finishes, including two events with a 1,2, 3 finish and three with a 1,2 finish.

The diving belonged to OMW as Mound Westonka senior Tyler Jordahl placed first with a score of 203.35 followed by Orono junior Beau Bordson (148.6 points) and Orono eighth grader Alex Shrock (140.5 points) for second and third place.

A 1,2,3 finish also came in the 500-yard freestyle, with Orono senior captain Spencer Cumming (5:34.59), Orono sophomore Alexander (AG) Graham (5:40.02) and Orono freshman Chase Olsen (5:45.52). Cumming and Graham also went 1,2 in the 200-yard freestyle at 2:00.58 and 2:03.55.

Orono senior captain Mitchell Miller and Mound Westonka senior captain Merv (Jacob) Moorhead had the top two finishes in 100 back with times of 59.24 and 1:01.03. Miller also contributed a first-place with a 52.20 in the 100-yard free, while Mound Westonka senior captain Ryan Strother captured first in the 50-yard free (23.00) and the 100-yard butterfly (59.06).

The 400-yard free relay team (Moorhead, Graham, Olsen, Cumming) wrapped up the meet with one more first place finish at 3:48.28.

Woodbury Invite, Second Place
OMW finished second in the Woodbury Invite on Dec. 17 with 231 points, trailing Woodbury’s 355 points, and beating out five other teams including Stillwater, Richfield and Apple Valley.

Jordahl earned another first-place in diving with a top score of 335.35. Bordson and Schrock were also point contributors with seventh and eighth place for a diving squad total of 30 points. In the 50-free, Strother came from behind at the wall to finish first with a 22.91 and then swam the next event taking second in the 100-yard fly with 58.2 contributing 29 points.

The breadth of this year’s OMW team allowed points to be earned by six relay teams across three events. The 200-yard medley relays teams contributed 28 points with a fifth place finish (1:51.28/Moorhead, Mound Westonka senior Damian Urwyler, Strother, Mound Westonka senior Connor Anderson) and ninth place (2:01.03/Olsen, Orono eighth graders Andrew Killeen and Sig Muller and Mound Westonka senior Nick Johnson).

The 200-yard free relays provided 30 points with third place (1:37.40/Urwyler, Anderson, Cumming, Strother) and 11th place (1:49.50/Mound Westonka junior Luke Ramacier, Muller, Orono seventh grader Peter Sherek, Graham).

The 400-free relay teams earned 32 points with fifth place (3:44.24/Moorhead, Graham, Kileen, Cumming) and eighth place (3:58.67/Olsen, Ramacier, Orono eighth grader Alex Reymann, Sherek).
On December 18 OMW hosts St. Michael/Albertville at home. After several away meets, the team returns for three dual meets at home on January 17, 22 and 24 at the Orono pool at 6:00 PM.