The St. Michael-Albertville boys’ swim team dove into the 2014-2015 season last week, heading to Orono for a meet Thursday, Dec. 11, before participating in the Hutchinson Invite over the weekend.
STMA captured its first dual victory of the season over the Spartans, led standout Max Lezer, who captured commanding victories in the 200 and 500-meter freestyle swims, setting pool records on the road in both events.
Grant Moser pops out of the water during the 100-meter butterfly. He would place second at the Hutch Invite. (Submitted)
The 400 freestyle relay team of Will Gallagher, Lezer, Ryan Everly and Grant Moser, the team’s captain for this season, also pulled out a pool record in their win.
In the deep end, diver Hanos Mahari looks to be one of the top springboarders in the Section this season, as he caputed first place. Teammate John Gebell was second in the dive events.
In Hutchinson, the Knights competed against nine teams from Class A and Class AA, including powerhouses like Breck/Blake, Mankato West and St. Thomas Academy. STMA pulled out a third place finish, which was strong considering the Knights, hampered by some illness, went to the meet with just 22 swimmers and four divers.
“We weren’t at our strongest, so I’m proud to say we took third with only 26 boys competing,” said new head coach Kelli Nadeau, who took over the program from award-winning coach Tom Guillou. “We did an amazing job of working together. A lot of guys stepped up and swam fast times to get us points.”
STMA again used its relay strength, with the 200 free relay grabbing first, and the 400 free relay taking first in dominating fashion. Mahari took first in the 1-meter dive, while Gebell cracked the top 8, earning seventh at the meet.
Grant Moser posted two top five finishes – second in the 100 fly, as well as fourth in the 200 free.
Gallagher took first in the 100 free, while Lezer took the top spot in his two main events – the 200 IM and the 500 free.
The Knights will swim at home tonight, Tuesday, at 6 p.m. versus Elk River at Middle School East. Then, they’ll hit the road Thursday for a dual at Princeton.