Heading into the finals of the Class A boys swimming and diving championships Saturday afternoon, St. Thomas Academy had not won a state championship in the sport in nine years.
In fact, the Cadets had not won a state team title in any sport since capturing the Class 3A baseball crown in 2019.
Luke Mechtel made sure that drought came to an end.
The junior won individual titles in the 50-yard freestyle (20.93 seconds) and the 100 breaststroke (55.05), as well as swimming a leg of STA’s 200 medley relay team, which placed first in a time of 1:32.51.
His performance helped carry the Cadets to the team championship with a score of 273 points, marking a return to the podium at the University of Minnesota’s Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center for the first time since STA won the last of five straight team titles in 2016.
Northfield finished second with a score of 253. Breck/Blake, which had won the last eight team titles in a row, finished third with 212 points.
“It’s an incredible feeling,” said Mechtel, a three-time state meet qualifier whose best previous finish was third in the 100 breaststroke a year ago.
“We’ve been chasing this since I joined the swim team here in seventh grade. (Head coach) John (Barnes) preaches that hard work pays off eventually. This is one of the most dominant teams we’ve ever had, and we knew we were going to bring it home sometime. This was finally the year, and it feels amazing.”
Mechtel was also part of the Cadets’ 200 freestyle relay team that finished second in a time of 1:26.53 – just behind Northfield, which won the event with a time of 1:26.41. Senior Dane Dow, meanwhile, also swam a leg of the 200 medley relay and finished second in both the 200 individual medley (1:52.51) and 500 freestyle (4:39.72).
“A team title means a lot to both this team and our school,” Dow said. “We haven’t won a team championship in swimming since 2016, and the school hasn’t had a state championship for the past six years. So to go out and do this is a really big deal.”
STA junior Kayden Greeley swam legs of the 200 medley and freestyle relays and finished third behind Mechtel in the 50 freestyle (21.17). He also finished seventh in the 100 breaststroke in a time of 57.57.
Senior Sherman Holmstadt was fifth in the 100 backstroke (54.23) and swam a leg of the 200 medley relay. Juniors Sam Quinn and Leo Ritzenthaler placed fifth (1:47.03) and sixth (1:47.48) in the 200 freestyle. Ritzenthaler was also sixth in the 500 (4:54.54).
The Cadets’ 400 freestyle relay team of Ritzenthaler, Quinn, Holmstadt and Dow finished fifth in a time of 3:17.
“These kids bought into the dream back in December,” said Barnes, who has been the head coach at the school since the 1998-99 season. “These are a bunch of kids who aren’t (primarily) swimmers. On the state team, there’s probably three football players. A couple of soccer players and cross country guys. So for them to buy into the concept of trying to win a state title has been so much fun to watch.”
Mechtel said the fun will continue when he and his teammates bring the state championship trophy back to STA.
“We get to go back and hoist that trophy in front of the whole school,” he said. “That’s going to be amazing.”
Freshman takes 4th
Considering he was making his first trip to state, Paidon McGuire felt pretty good about how things turned out.
The Hill-Murray freshman finished in fourth place in the 100 butterfly in a time of 51.44. Mankato East junior Elliot Bartell won the event in a time of 48.91.
“I thought the race went pretty well,” McGuire said. “I was working on my tempo and really focusing on trying to keep up with the top three. I think I did a pretty good job of doing that.”
Pioneers junior Aiden Kelly finished 16th in the 100 breaststroke in a time of 1:02.54.
Briefly
– Donovan Timmerman of HUMWOW (Humboldt, Washington and OWL) finished 15th in the diving competition with a score of 300.05. Red Wing junior Zachary Mikkels won the event with a score of 487.15.
– Como Park junior Joey Schumacher finished ninth in the 100 freestyle in a time of 48.33. Holmstadt finished 11th in a time of 49.21.
– Breck/Blake senior Henry Webb won the 100 (44.71) and 200 (1:36.70) freestyle to lead his team.
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