St. Thomas Academy left no doubt in its repeat bid at the Class A state swim and dive meet Saturday on the University of Minnesota campus.
The Cadets dominated across the board en route to another championship, finishing with 347 points – 137 clear of the second-place Breck/Blake co-op.
The Cadets won all three relays comfortably. They won the 200-yard medley relay by more than five seconds, the 200-yard freestyle relay by nearly two seconds and the 400-yard freestyle relay by nearly four seconds.
In total, the Cadets won seven of the 11 swimming events.
Senior Luke Mechtel starred, swimming on two of the relays, while also winning individual titles in the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard breaststroke.
Kayden Greeley finished second in the 50-yard freestyle behind Mechtel, one of numerous events controlled by the Cadets. They had four of the eight finalists in the 200-yard freestyle, with Paidon McGuire placing second and Sam Quinn taking third in a race won by Northfield’s Will Redetzke.
McGuire was third in the 100-yard butterfly, while Greeley also nabbed a second place finish in the 100-yard freestyle.
Parker Miller finished third behind Mechtel in the breaststroke and also won the 200 yard individual medley.
Cadets sophomore Pascal Zeruhn swam away with the 500-yard freestyle, winning the title by five and a half seconds.
The 100-yard backstroke was the only swimming event in which the Cadets did not have a top-three finisher.
St. Thomas Academy state champions
200-yard medley relay: Parker Miller, Luke Mechtel, Paidon McGuire and Kayden Greeley
200-yard individual medley: Parker Miller
50-yard freestyle: Luke Mechtel
500-yard freestyle: Pascal Zeruhn
200-yard freestyle relay: Luke Mechtel, Kayden Greeley, Leo Ritzenthaler and Pascal Zeruhn
100-yard breaststroke: Luke Mechtel
400-yard freestyle relay: Pascal Zeruhn, Leo Ritzenthaler, Sam Quinn and Paidon McGuire.
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