Eden Prairie, St. Thomas Academy earn swim titles

Kelly Boston could have deployed her army of Eagles in numerous formations. It probably wouldn't have mattered, as Eden Prairie put on a dominant display at the Class 2A state meet Saturday night, capturing the school's fourth overall team title and first since 2005.

With so much depth, the Eagles were able to play with relays and event assignments all season. Boston spoke one-on-one with her swimmers as they approached the state meet, but there was a clear consensus.

"It was all about the team," Boston said. "The team score was all that mattered to these guys."

The final combinations combined for 314.50 points, 108.5 more than defending champion Minnetonka and Maple Grove, who tied for second. The Eagles broke a record in the process.

The foursome of Aaron Greenberg, Maverick Hovey, Mike Solfelt and Bryce Boston set the Minnesota all-time state meet mark in the 200-yard freestyle relay at 1:23.90, breaking Alexandria's record from 1999.

Greenberg, a junior, edged Woodbury's Victor Lugg by .06 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle for a gold medal. He also won the 100-yard freestyle with a 45.65 time. Hovey also captured his second consecutive 100-yard butterfly title. Boston and Jenia Foster finished third and sixth in the butterfly, respectively, providing another huge point boost for the Eagles. Jonathan Lieberman added second- and third-place finishes.

Point totals began to ring up like a cash register.

Minnetonka's Noah Busch won the 100-yard backstroke.

Fourth-place finisher Rosemount began the meet with authority, breaking the 200-yard medley relay Class 2A state meet record with a 1:33.37 mark, powered by Braden McCormack, Jacob Stern, Luke Dowell and Conor Manning. It was just .06 seconds short of Minnesota's all-time state meet record, which was set in 1991. Stern also claimed the 100-yard breaststroke gold medal.

Mounds View's Noah Lucas captured his first two individual gold medals, winning the 200-yard freestyle with a 1:39.89 run and 500-yard freestyle at 4:33.14. Woodbury's Greg Norsten successfully defended his 200-yard individual medley crown. Blaine's Sean Leverton won the 1-meter diving title.

Cadets win Class 1A St. Thomas Academy missed the state title by one point last year, a hard truth head coach John Barnes continually reminded his team of this winter.

The Cadets must have gotten sick of it. On a Saturday afternoon that saw five Class 1A state meet records broken, they drenched the Class 1A field at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center, claiming first place by more than 100 points. Quite a leap from last year's disappointment.

And Johanns certainly did his part, capturing gold medals in both the 50- and 100-yard freestyle. He also anchored the Cadets' 200- and 400-yard freestyle relays, which both finished second.

It was St. Thomas Academy's 10th state title in the past 14 years, all under Barnes. But it was their first since 2008.

"The seniors wanted to bring it back home," Barnes said.

Led by Paul Fair, Monticello finished second with 204 points. Fair set not one, but two Class 1A individual state meet records on Saturday. The first came in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:40.75. Fair then would crack the 100-yard butterfly record by .78 seconds with a 49.35 mark, earning his second-consecutive gold in the event.

The 6-foot-3 Fair also anchored the 200-yard freestyle relay, which set a record at 1:26.11, and the winning 400-yard freestyle relay. The junior now has eight gold medals in his high school career -- four individual and four relay -- and his name on three Class 1A records.

Foster was also part of Breck-Blake's 200-yard medley relay group, which won its fourth consecutive gold medal in the event while breaking last year's Class 1A state meet record with a 1:34.83 run.