Minnesota Men’s Class A High School State Championships

By Brian Savard

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, March 26. ST. Thomas Academy chalked up its fourth consecutive team title at the Minnesota Men's Class A Championships.

The Cadets scored a meet-high 247 points. Fergus Falls finished up in second with 197 points while Sauk Rapids-Rice tallied 157 points and placed third.

Fergus Falls took two of the three relays. The 200 medley relay grouping of Joel Money, Mike Hurley, Eben Danielson and Nathan Jobe touched out St. Thomas Academy, clocking a 1:39.12. Hurley and Jobe helped propel the first-place Fergus Falls 400 freestyle relay (Hurley, Money, Preston Anderson and Jobe), as the Otters finished in 3:16.11.

The Strumbell brothers from Evelet-Gilber accounted for half of the individual event wins.

Zack Strumbell bettered the Class A record in the 200 freestyle by a second and a half, easily covering the eight-lap sprint in 1:40.85. His brother, Luke, set the former class mark of 1:42.21 at last year's Class A Championships. Strumbell nearly missed Red Wing's Justin Hake's 2002 Class A mark in the 100 butterfly (50.13), but he still captured the gold medal nonetheless in 50.37.

Luke Strumbell captured both sprint freestyle events, winning the 50 freestyle in 21.02 and the 100 freestyle in 46.71.

Matt Hoyland from St. Thomas set a Class A record in his preliminary swim in the 100 breaststroke, cruising in at a 56.37. Hoyland's performance lowered Peter Goeman of Grand Rapids' 2006 mark of 56.47 with the swim. He came back in finals and won the event in a time slightly off of his morning swim, touching in 57.42. Hoyland also finished second in the 50 freestyle (21.40).

Mike Hurley of Fergus Falls increased his lead with each 50 in the 200 IM, taking the event in a first-place time of 1:56.15. With the swim, he trimmed down Jason Trimmer of Sauk Rapids-Rice's 2001 Class A mark of 1:56.16. Hurley took second to Hoyland in the 100 breaststroke, turning in a 59.80 time.

Turner Eckstrom from Red Wing took the diving title with a 460.75 score. Danny Pogue of Chisholm placed second (442.80) while Mankato West's Luke Weber finished up third with a 410.35 score.

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