Swimmers capture Mid-State title

The Detroit Lakes boys swimming and diving team captured four individual titles and two relay wins en route to the Mid-State Conference team championship at Park Rapids Friday, Feb. 7.

The Lakers accumulated 400 points to defeat Park Rapids Area (368) and Perham/NY Mills (336).

DL flipped the 2019 results where Park Rapids ran away with last year’s title by 215 points in the Laker pool.

The Laker 200-medley relay picked up the team’s first conference championship with a winning time of 1:51.53. The four swimmers of the medley John Gulon, Garrett Bakken, Jackson Zurn and anchor Elijah Kitzmann accounted for all of DL’s individual Mid-State titles. The quartet also picked up a second relay win in the 200-free (1:39.33).

Kitzmann won the 50-free in 24.62 with Bakken on the podium in third place.

Zurn swam 59.72 to win the 100-fly with teammate Justin Biederman in third place. Zurn was also the individual medley runner-up.

DL had four of the top six 100-freestyle times led by Gulon’s championship swim of 53.20. Kitzmann was the runner-up (55.53). Grant Gallatin and Keith Swanson placed fourth and sixth, respectively.

Bakken captured the breaststroke title swimming 1:12.81 for the win. Gallatin (1:22.03) was on the podium in third place.

Zane Weaver and Evan Thomas took second and third place in diving.

Gulon was second in the backstroke.

DL won the conference for the first time since 2015.

The meet concluded regular season competition. DL swimmers will vie for state berths at the Section 5A championships at the University of Minnesota-Morris Feb. 21-22.

Head coach Carol Fischer announced eight Lakers advancing to sections: Gulon, Bakken, Zurn, Kitzmann, Micah Barberg, Biederman, Weaver and Thomas.

Mid-State Conference swimming and diving championships

Detroit Lakes 400, Park Rapids Area 368, Perham/NY Mills 336

1m Diving

1 Cameron Runyan, PR 301.35

2 Zane Weaver 294.90

3 Evan Thomas 200.25

200 Medley Relay

1 DL A 1:51.53 (Gulon, Bakken, Zurn, Kitzmann)

4 DL B 2:18.00 (Barberg, Erickson, Biederman, Swanson)

200 Freestyle

1 Jordan Odor, PR 2:02.42

5 Micah Barberg 2:44.55

8 Zariah Wouters 2:52.65

200 IM

1 Marcus Benson, PR 2:05.79

2 Jackson Zurn 2:15.93

5 Justin Biederman 2:50.04

50 Freestyle

1 Elijah Kitzmann, DL 24.62

3 Garrett Bakken 25.72

7 Keith Swanson 30.00

11 Tony McLeod 36.66

100 Butterfly

1 Jackson Zurn, DL 59.72

3 Justin Biederman 1:16.04

100 Freestyle

1 John Gulon, DL 53.20

2 Elijah Kitzmann 55.53

4 Grant Gallatin 1:04.71

6 Keith Swanson 1:08.92

500 Freestyle

1 Jordan Odor, PR 5:32.45

5 Ryan Erickson 7:17.23

6 Zariah Wouters 7:28.02

200 Freestyle relay

1 DL A 1:39.33 (Kitzmann, Bakken, Zurn, Gulon)

2 DL B 2:23.53 (McLeod, Weaver, Wouters, Erickson)

100 Backstroke

1 Marcus Benson, PR 54.96

2 John Gulon 1:01.80

6 Micah Barberg 1:19.88

8 Ryan Erickson 1:24.96

10 Tony McLeod 1:44.12

100 Breaststroke

1 Garrett Bakken, DL 1:12.81

3 Grant Gallatin 1:22.03

400 Freestyle Relay

1 Park Rapids A 3:59.06

3 DL A 4:53.47 (Swanson, Biederman, Erickson, Gallatin)

6 DL B 5:31.47 (Barberg, McLeod, Wouters, Weaver)