St. Thomas Academy swimmers are talented out of the pool, too

Mac Brown catches passes while Jack Foster covers wide receivers.

Nick Johnson runs track in the spring after defender William Mayleben tries to keep opponents from scoring on the pitch in the fall.

Dan Lee returns forehands and backhands on the tennis court.

Hunter Nielsen is a trapshooter while three others are members of the school's band.

What do all of these people have in common? They are key components of the boys' swimming program at St. Thomas Academy, the state's best in Class 1A.

"We have more multisport athletes than most other coaches think," St. Thomas Academy coach John Barnes said. "Most people assume we have year-round swimmers."

The Cadets have those, too. The likes of seniors Tommy Weiss, Warren Sexson, Eric Ruzicka and Colin Glass are the backbone of the team.

"This is really an easy group to work with," Barnes said. "There is a time and place to have fun, and there is a time and place to bust butts. They are good at balancing the two."

The Cadets have an additional five to 15 other kids on a yearly basis come out for the swimming team solely for the purpose of cross-training for other sports.

"Every once in a while we'll find one or two of them who can swim," Barnes said. "They cross-train to an aerobic capacity."

Foster enjoys the diversity of the winter squad. He is a three-sport athlete who also has Barnes as an assistant coach in football and head coach in lacrosse.

"We're all friends, but we don't all hang out with each other at school or home," Foster said. "We're all involved with different teams, groups or clubs. It's interesting learning from each other about the different things they're all involved with. We are able build strong relationships from it."

The group recently won the school's 12th consecutive Class 1A True Team state championship. The meet has been in existence for 12 years.

"There is such a legacy here," Foster said. "When you see all those blue banners up in the rafters, you don't want to be the team that ends that legacy. It drives you to get better."

The Cadets will look to give Barnes the most victories in state meet history Thursday through Saturday at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center. He will be in pursuit of his 15th state crown.

Barnes has won 13 of his 14 championships guiding the Cadets. His other title came in 1996 when he was coaching Minnetonka.

"I've got to give all the credit to Coach Barnes," Foster said. "He has so much respect throughout the entire team. He's been like a second father to me. He's been very influential in my life. He builds trust, character and respect."

Barnes currently shares the mark with Paul Lukens, who guided Hibbing to 14 state titles, the last of which came in 1952.

"I'm the guy lucky enough to stand on the deck," Barnes said. "The kids do all the work. They are the ones who have developed a program that I take a lot of pride in."

Ron Haggstrom • 612-673-4498