Last weekend, March 3-5, the Buffalo’s Boy’s Swim & Dive state athletes participated in the 2011 AA State meet; the meet was held at the University of Minnesota Aquatic center in Minneapolis. There are 8 different sections with 7 teams in each one. The top 2 swimmers of each race, except the top 4 in diving, come to the meet and race for the top spots. The scoring is just like sections, the top 16 in prelims advance to finals the next day. Diving prelims were on March 3rd and finals were on March 5th. Swimming prelims were on March 4th and finals were on March 5th.
Senior Blake Solberg started off the state swim meet for the Bison in diving on Thursday. He advanced to finals on Saturday March 5th and ended up placing 15th with a score of 309.35
“It was a great feeling making it to second day,” said Senior Blake Solberg. “I wasn’t in the postion that I wanted to be in but I was really glad that I made it. My senior year ended very well and I will look back at this moment and just realize that my hard work paid off.”
Swimming didn’t start until Friday and the boys participated in the first event, the 200 yard Medley Relay; which consisted of Max Ransom, David Zaske, Blake Solberg, and JD O’Donnell. They swam a time of 1:44.52. Unfortunately they added 2 seconds from sections and didn’t advance into the finals round.
“We were all really nervous going into the race,” said Ransom. “We were seeded pretty low, but we all still pushed the race as hard as we could. Overall, I feel that we accomplished a lot. I’m very happy with what we have done.”
Next, Senior David Zaske participated in the 200 yard IM and swam a time of 2:06.51, where he gained about a half of second from sections. Unfortunately he didn’t advance to finals either.
“I was very proud on how I swam,”said Senior David Zaske. “I told myself that all I wanted to get was a 2:06 and I accomplished that goal. I would have loved to advance to second day but I am very happy with what I have done.”
In the 500 yard freestyle Jack Elliott swam a time of 4:59.68, where he gained about a second from sections. He managed to get 3rd in his heat and beat out both Edina kids who were the favorites in the heat.
The last event that Buffalo participated in was the 100 breaststroke. Senior David Zaske swam a great time of 1:02.34 where he gained just under a half a second. He didn’t make it into the finals either.
“This race was the one I wanted the most,” said Zaske. “I knew that I was going against fast kids and I pushed it as hard as I could. Even though this race ended my senior year I look forward into the future and plan to swim in college. This race was really the beginning of my swimming career and I am very happy with what I’ve accomplished.”
The Boys Swim and Dive season ended very well and they will celebrate their winnings at their banquet on March 15, 2011.
