Austin Packers boys swimming and diving team earns 13 state entries at Section 1A meet in Rochester Friday and Saturday

Individuals in swimming and diving, plus relay teams from the Austin Packers boys swimming and diving team were in action at the Section 1A  meet for diving at Mankato East High School Friday and in swimming at the Rochester Rec Center Friday and Saturday, and the Packers put forth an extremely strong showing to qualify divers, individuals and relay teams in 13 different events for the State Class A Individual Swimming and Diving Meet at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center.

Austin took third in the team competition with 319 points, behind only Mankato East with 354 points and team champion Northfield with 393 points.  Individually for the Packers, the squad’s 200 medley relay team of Brent Dahl, Winston Walkup, Joey Hilkin and Kenny Cabeen qualfied for the state meet by taking third with a time of 1:38.94, Zach Evenson took fourth in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:48.39 to qualify, and Walkup earned a first place finish in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:01.70.  Also headed to the state meet is Kenny Cabeen in the 50 freestyle, who qualified with a time of 22.35 seconds, good for fourth place, and Joey Hilkin took fourth in the 100 butterfly to head to state with a time of 55.23.

In 1-meter diving, Riley Ferguson earned a trip to the state meet with a fourth-place finish of 316.25 points, and Austin will be sending two swimmers to state in the 100 freestyle, with Cabeen taking third with a time of 49.33 seconds, and Zach Evenson taking fifth with a time of 49.83.  Brent Dahl earned a third place finish in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:52.55 to qualify, and the Packers’ 200 freestyle relay team of Evenson, Hilkin, Lucas Meyers and Cabeen qualfiied for state with a time of 1:30.31, good for second place.  Winston Walkup and Brent Dahl will both be at the state Class A meet in the 100 backstroke, with Walkup taking fourth with a time of 54.58 seconds, and Dahl was fifth with a time of 55.38, and Austin’s 400 freestyle relay team of Zach Evenson, Brent Dahl, Winston Walkup and Lucas Meyers was fourth with a time of 3:22.45 to qualify for the state meet.

The State Boys Swimming and Diving Meet will be held from this Thursday, March 2nd through the 4th at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center at the University of Minnesota.