Monticello eighth-grader is among True Team success stories

Both the Class 2A and 1A True Team state swimming and diving meets last week yielded positive showings from west metro athletes.

In the 1A meet, eighth-grader Caley Oquist of Monticello won the 200-yard individual medley in a time of 2 minutes, 14.01 seconds, helping the Magic to a second-place finish behind powerhouse Visitation.

Monticello entered the meet as the state's No. 10 team in Class 1A.

"Top to bottom, we performed well," Monticello coach Ted Cannon said. "Caley is a little phenom."

Cannon said it is not unusual for younger swimmers to shine early. He hopes Oquist's prowess sticks around for a while.

"She's really a hard worker and has been involved in swimming since she was a toddler," Cannon said. "If you have a junior who's doing well, she's around for two years for you. With Caley, you might be getting six years of this quality on your team. That will help a lot."

In Class 2A, Maple Grove was all over the pool but still finished second to Stillwater.

The Ponies and Crimson combined to win all but three events.

For Maple Grove, Melissa Nelson won the 100-yard freestyle in 53.27 and Tess Behrens the 100-yard backstroke in 58.12. The Crimson also won the 200-yard medley relay and the 400-yard freestyle relay.

Edina's Annalise Colton (100-yard butterfly, 58.41) and Wayzata's Jaqui Stenroos (100-yard breaststroke, 1:07.35) were also winners.

Volleyball sections heating up

Teams from the south metro might have taken over the top of the volleyball rankings this year, but west metro teams are still in the mix.

Eden Prairie, the fourth-ranked team in Class 3A, and No. 7 Chaska each received first-round byes in Section 2.

Both teams will play second-round matches at home Saturday. The Eagles will take on the winner of Thursday's Mankato East/Buffalo match while Chaska -- the two-time defending state champion -- gets the winner of the Mankato West/Hutchinson match, also Thursday.

Cross-country, too

Eden Prairie's girls' cross-country team and Wayzata's boys' cross-country team enter today's Class 2A, Section 6 meet at Gale Woods Farm ranked tops in the state.

But don't hand them the trophy just yet.

No. 3 Minnetonka and No. 9 Wayzata are also in the girls' field.

In the boys' field, the Trojans will have to deal with No. 4 Armstrong and No. 10 Eden Prairie.

Translation: Expect a highly competitive meet.

Brian Stensaas • bstensaas@startribune.com