The Westonka boys swim team dove in at the Section 2A tournament at St. Catherine University. This was a two-day tournament in which the swimmers all swam prelims on Feb. 21 with the top 16 swimmers in each event advancing to finals on Feb 23. 

Eighth grader Connor Shaw swam the 50 Free, finishing with a personal best time of 25:78 and taking 18th place. Ninth grader Niles Senn had a personal best time of 27:26 in that event, taking 21st place, and ninth grader Tyler Finley came in 24th place with a personal best time of 33:63.

In the 100 Free, Shaw earned a personal best time of 56:97 for 19th place, and Senn earned a personal best time of 1:02:08 to finish 23rd. Finley earned another personal best time in the 100 Back, finishing at 1:31:48 for 19th place. The 100 Breast was swum by eighth grader Brody Helms, who took 17th place with a time  of 1:20:91. 

In an extremely competitive Section 2A class, swimming against teams from Breck/Blake, Orono, Bloomington Kennedy, Benilde-St. Margaret’s and St. Anthony, the Westonka swimmers advancing to  the finals were as follows:

• Sophomore Sean Dolder had a personal best time of 2:01:76 in the 200 Free to finish 15th. In the 500 Free, Dolder earned a personal best time of 5:20:99, coming in ninth place.
• Sophomore Wyatt Helms swam a personal best time of 53.52 in the 100 Free to earn an eighth-place medal. He also took 11th place in the 200 Free with a personal best time of 1:58:98.
• Eighth grader Brody Helms earned a personal best time of 2:36:49 in the 200 IM, taking 16th place.
• Sophomore Eren Alemdar took 12th place in the 100 Fly with a personal best time of 1:02:58. He also finished 12th in the 100 Back with a personal best time of 1:03:31.
• The 200 Free Relay team of Wyatt Helms, Alemdar, Dolder and Bryce Helms earned a personal best time of 1:37:24, earning a fifth-place medal.
• The 400 Free Relay was also swum by Wyatt Helms, Alemdar, Dolder and Bryce Helms, who earned a fifth-place medal with a personal best time of 3:36:91.
• Senior captain Bryce Helms swam the 50 Free in a personal best time of 22:06, receiving a second-place medal. In the 100 Free, he earned a personal best time of 48:39, receiving a third-place medal and setting a new Westonka school record. He qualified for the state tournament in both races.  

The entire Westonka boys swim team received an academic excellence award, receiving silver status from the Minnesota State High School league with a team combined GPA of 3.74. 

Next up for the White Hawks is supporting Bryce Helms at the state tournament Feb 29-March 2 at the University of Minnesota. 

GO WHITE HAWKS!