A handful of North metro swimmers made waves at the Maroon and Gold Invite on Saturday at the University of Minnesota.
In the Gold Division, Anoka's Matt Hedman won the 500-yard freestyle in a time of 4 minutes, 43.15 seconds. Hedman, a junior, also placed fourth in the 200 individual medley. Anoka senior Cole Birklid finished third in the 200 freestyle and fifth in the 100 freestyle.
Maple Grove senior Mike Rouleau won the 100 backstroke in 52.43 seconds and placed fourth in the 200 freestyle. Crimson teammate Brenner Hohenstein placed second in the 100 breaststroke.
In the Maroon Division, Mounds View's 200 medley relay team of Alec Martini, Andrew Wang, Ben Kaiser and Sasha Safanov placed fourth. Martini also swam to second in the 100 backstroke.
Streaks and statistics
Since dropping a three-point decision to Hopkins, Champlin Park's boys' basketball team has been on a tear.
The Rebels, ranked No. 3 in the QRF power rankings, entered this week on a 10-game winning streak with victories over three teams — Armstrong, Eden Prairie and Osseo — ranked among the top 10 in the QRF.
Balanced scoring makes Champlin Park tough. Five players average double digits in points. Brennan Witt averages 18.2 points, Ian Smith 13.1, Jeremy Johnson 12.8, JT Gibson 11.7 and Marty Hill (11.0).
• When Centennial's girls' basketball team edged Osseo 59-58 on Jan. 3, it snapped the Cougars' eight-game losing streak to Northwest Suburban Conference rival Osseo. The previous Centennial victory came in the 2009-10 season. Daizjah Morris (24 points) and Jillian Conrad (14) led the Cougars in scoring.
