Sports
OMW Boys Swim and Dive Takes Third at Simley Invite
Orono Mound Westonka claimed first place finishes in diving, the 50 yard Freestyle and the 100 yard Butterfly with second place finishes in two of the three relay events.
The Orono Mound Westonka (OMW) co-op boys swim and dive team returned from the Simley Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 5, with the third-place trophy tallying 432 points following Simely’s 480 points and St. Paul Central’s 519. OMW claimed first place finishes in diving, the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard butterfly.
The team notched second-place finishes in two of the three relay events.
“The meet went really well,” said Orono senior captain Mitchell Miller. “Everyone on the team is working hard in practice and it’s showing in our meets so far this season.”
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OMW current dual meet standing is 3-1.
The 200 medley relay team of Mound Westonka senior captains Merv Moorhead and Ryan Strother along with MWHS senior Damian Urwyler and Miller had their best swim of the season at 1:45.82 for second-place and 34 points.
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In the 200-yard free Orono Senior captain Spencer Cumming’s sixth-place finish (1:59.51) along with Orono eighth-grader Sig Muller’s 14th place and Orono sophomore Michael Giovanis 16th palce added 16 points. Four team members added 27 points with their 200-yard individual medley performances (Orono’s eighth grader Andrew Kileen, freshman Chase Olsen, seventh grader Peter Sherek and MWHS junior Luke Ramacier).
For the third consecutive year at this meet, Strother won the 50-freestyle (23.16) and teammates Moorhead, Urwyler and MWHS senior Blaze Vicknair posted seventh, ninth and 11th place finishes for 47 total event points.
Mound Westonka senior Tyler Jordahl was the winner in diving with a season-best final score of 370.95 followed by MWHS junior Tanner Azeltine in fifth place (276.05) and Orono junior Beau Bordson in sixth place (268.55) for 47 total points.
Another first was secured by Strother in the 100-yard butterfly (59.27) with MWHS senior Connor Anderson, Muller and Ramacier turning in scoring times with 10th, 12th and 16th place for 33 total event points. Miller’s season-best 51.23 in the 100-yard freestyle placed third and along with Vicknair and Sherek at 15th and 16th place added 19 points. The 500-yard free brought in 31 points with Olsen (5:33.19), Cumming (5:34.98) and Giovanis (6:11.16) finishing 4th, 6th and 14th.
The team captains Miller, Moorhead, Spencer and Strother swam the 200 free relay in 1:36.65 for second place. OMW also captured ninth place with relay team of MWHS senior Nick Johnson, Sherek, Jordahl and Ramacier.
Miller’s 58.54 in the 100-yard backstroke took second with Orono eighth graders Brenton William and Alec Otteson contributing points at 11th and 12th place. Three OMW swimmers combined to score 18 points in the 100-yard breaststroke with Urwyler, Kileen and Anderson at 8th, 12th and 15th place finishes. In the final event, OMW finished seventh in the 400-free relay with Olsen, Vicknair, Kileen and Cumming (3:53.37) and 11th with Octavio, Ramacier, Muller and Sherek (4:10.24)
The team travels to Hutchinson on Jan. 10 and returns home to face Buffalo on Jan. 17.
