One more meet: WDA teams head to West Fargo for state event
WEST FARGO – The 2024-25 boys' swim-dive season comes down to one more weekend. The ND state championships are being hosted by West Fargo. The two-day event features preliminary swimming and diving on March 7 with the finals on Saturday, March 8. There are a number of WDA athletes who are expected to contend for individual titles. Defending champion West Fargo boasts a very talented lineup that has several swimmers leading individual categories. The Packers are the odds-on favorite to defend its crown. WDA team champion Bismarck Century should be in contention for top three finish along with Minot High. Here is a look at the top five individual/relay team in each event heading into competition.
Event Rankings (Top 5)
50 Freestyle: 1. Brody Engelstad, West Fargo, :20.33; 2. Blake Nelson, Bismarck High, :21.40; 3. Isaiah Ayers, West Fargo, :21.53; 4. Logan Engelstad, West Fargo, :21.60; 5. Isaac Vallie, Century, :21.65
100 Freestyle: 1. B. Engelstad, West Fargo, :45.58; 2. I Ayers, West Fargo, :46.40; 3. I. Vallie, Century, :47.06; 4. B. Nelson, Bismarck High, :47.12; 5. Bohdan Shevchenko, Dickinson, :47.56
200 Freestyle: 1. B. Engelstad, West Fargo, 1:39.78; 2. L. Engelstad, West Fargo, 1:41.90; 3. I. Ayers, West Fargo, 1:44.10; 4. I. Vallie, Century, 1:44.39; 5. Ben Nasset, Legacy, 1:47.05
500 Freestyle: 1. N. Ayers, West Fargo, 5:06.32; 2. Elliot Sjurseth, Fargo South, 5:07.29; 3. Greg Meidinger, Fargo Davies, 5:09.55; 4. B. Nelson, Bismarck High, 5:10.27; 5. Noah Sjurseth, Fargo South, 5:10.77
100 Backstroke: 1. L. Engelstad, West Fargo, :51.67; 2. Isaac Elhard, West Fargo, :53.37; 3. B. Nelson, Bismarck High, :52.38; 5. Sam Eggl, Bismarck High, :53.24
100 Breaststroke: 1. I. Ayers, West Fargo, :58.45; 2. Noah Mayer, Legacy, :58.99; 3. Drew Heckman, Fargo South, :59.39; 4. Logan Hill, Minot High, :59.44; 5. Logan Bjerke, Grand Forks, 1:00.19
100 Butterfly: 1. I. Ayers, West Fargo, :50.51; 2. I. Ehlard, West Fargo, :50.90; 3. I. Vallie, Century, :51.42; 4. L. Englestad, West Fargo, :51.54; 5. B. Engelstad, West Fargo, :51.61
200 Individual Medley: 1. I. Ayers, West Fargo, 1:52.66; 2. B. Engelstad, West Fargo, 1:57.11; 3. I. Vallie, Century, 1:58.06; 4. B. Nelson, Bismarck High, 1:59.14; 5. L. Englestad, 2:00.39
1M Diving (11 Dives) 1. Tayson Solper, Minot High, 431.20 points; 2. Griffin McAllister, West Fargo, 431.15; 3. Owen Brockett, Mandan, 412.15; 4. Bridger Huelsman, Century, 397.50; 5. Davin Haag, Dickinson, 392.00
200 Freestyle Relay: 1. West Fargo, 1:27.75 (Isaac Elhard, Jonah Ayers, Logan Engelstad, Brody Engelstad); 2. Century, 1:29.42 (Andrew Edland, Cole Vesey, Gabe Dohrmann, Isaac Vallie; 3. Legacy, 1:29.76 (Braxton Steele, Noah Mayer, Logan Donat, Ben Nasset); 4. Fargo South, 1:29.77 (Drew Heckaman, Max Glynn, Elliott Sjurseth, Joshua Hollingsworth); 5. Jamestown, 1:30.67 (Zach Hanson, Bodi Haglund, Kaden Fabian, Noah Lynch)
200 Medley Relay: 1. West Fargo, 1:34.72 (L. Engelstad, Isiah Ayers, I. Elhard, B. Engelstad); 2. Fargo South, 1:38.18 (E. Sjurseth, D. Heckaman, J. Hollingsworth, M. Glynn); 3. Legacy, 1:38.33 (B. Steele, N. Mayer, L. Donat, B. Nasset); 4. Minot High, 1:40.13 (Carter Larson, Logan Hill, Luke Neumann, Peter Wake); 5. Bismarck High, 1:41.46 (Blake Nelson, Jackson Ketterling, Sam Eggl, Bridget Duckwitz)
400 Freestyle Relay: 1. West Fargo, 3:08.70 (I. Ayers, N. Ayers, L. Engelstad, B. Engelstad); 2. Legacy, 3:17.72 (B. Nasset, L. Donat, N. Mayer, B. Steele); 3. Century, 3:20.57 (Isaac Vallie, Logan Vesety, Kason Wolff, Andrew Edland); 4. Dickinson, 3:22.25 (Shain Louw, Mason Piatz, John Rude, Bohdan Shevchenko); 5. Williston, 3:24.17 (Hunter Haugen, Riley Hancock, Zach Budd, Camden Ekblad-Lundby)
(Photo courtesy of Loralyn Joyce, WDA event photographer)