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ALEXANDRIA – Detroit Lakes senior John Gulon made good on his promise of qualifying for state after missing last year by less than a second.
Gulon was the lone Laker to qualify for the 2022 Class A star tournament with a second-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke on Saturday at the Section 5A championships in Alexandria. He finished with a time of 55.18, which shattered the previous Detroit Lakes school record. This is Gulon’s first time at state since the 2019-20 season.
Perham-New York Mills’ Blake Swenson is also headed to Minneapolis in the 50-yard freestyle with a third-place finish. He qualified for state with a time of 23.01. Swenson is the only Yellowjacket to qualify. State begins on Mar. 5 at the University of Minnesota.
Detroit Lakes took fifth as a team with a score of 175. The Lakers had eight top-10 finishes and a couple of close calls for other state berths. The 400-yard relay team of Gulon, Ryan Erickson, Zane Roberts and Micah Barberg took fourth place with a time of 3:41.71. Gulon also took fifth place in the 50-yard free with a time of 23.18.
Gulon, Erickson, Robers and Barberg finished in sixth place in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:57.21. Erickson notched a pair of top-10 finishes in the 50-yard free (24.21, 10th) and 100-yard free (54.14, 8th). Micah Barberg capped off an impressive day with a 10th-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:06.27 Lane Yliniemi also took seventh place in the diving competition with a score of 277.
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Perham collected six top-10 finishes, including Swenson’s state berth. He also took fifth in the 100-yard back (59.55) and swam in a pair of relays. Bjorn Anderson also took ninth in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:45.87.
Perham took seventh place as a team with a score of 128. Alexandria won the section title with a 572. Melrose-Sauk Centre (463) and Fergus Falls (279) rounded out the top three.
DETROIT LAKES AND PERHAM TOP 10 FINISHES
200Y MEDLEY RELAY- 6th- John Gulon, Ryan Erickson, Zane Roberts, Micah Barberg, Detroit Lakes, 1:57.21; 7th- Blake Swenson, Luke Becker, Domanik Hagen, Alex Mack, Perham, 2:06.03; 50Y FREE- 3rd- Swenson, Perham, State qualifier, 23.01; 5th- Gulon, Detroit Lakes, 23.18; 9th- Erickson, Detroit Lakes, 24.21; 100Y FREE- 8th- Erickson, Detroit Lakes, 54.14; 500Y FREE- 9th- Bjorn Anderson, Perham, 5:45.87; 200Y FREE RELAY- 7th- Becker, Mack, Max George, Anderson, Perham, 1:48.28; 8th- Luther Van Offelen, Zariah Wouters, Lane Yliniemi, Brian Morrison, Detroit Lakes 2:08.71; 100Y BACK- 2nd- Gulon, Detroit Lakes, State qualifier, School record, 55.18; 5th- Swenson, Perham, 59.55; 10th- Barberg, Detroit Lakes, 1:06.27; 400Y FREE RELAY- 4th- Gulon, Erickson, Roberts, Barberg, Detroit Lakes, 3:41.71; 6th- George, Anderson, Hagen, Swenson, Perham, 4:03.19; DIVING- 7th- Lane Yliniemi, Detroit Lakes 277.0
