Diving into Victory: Montevideo’s Boys Make Waves Against Willmar

Jan. 2—MONTEVIDEO — The boys swimming and diving squad from Montevideo narrowly defeated Willmar in a non-conference dual meet on Thursday evening.

Montevideo, spearheaded by Nolan Christopher, achieved a 100-83 triumph over the Cardinals.

Christopher won the 200- and 500-yard freestyle events with times of 1 minute, 58.21 seconds and 5:26.27. The junior was also part of the Thunder Hawks’ 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay, both of which secured first place in 1:46.11 and 3:45.25, respectively.

Hayden Blom and Cody Westby also contributed wins for Montevideo, which clinched six out of the twelve events. Blom placed first in the 100 breaststroke in 1:07.71, while Westby triumphed in the 1-meter diving event with a score of 144.95 points.

David Lammers claimed two individual victories and aided one of Willmar’s relay teams to a first-place result. The senior finished first in the 50 freestyle (23.08) and 100 butterfly (57.62), and assisted the Cardinals’ 200 freestyle relay in achieving victory in 1:35.05.

Alex Marcus, Sam Sheets, and Evan Wallestad also achieved victories for Willmar. Marcus emerged victorious in the 100 freestyle in 55.85 seconds. Sheets won the 200 individual medley in 2:19.13. Wallestad secured first place in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:04.46.

The Cardinals will host Sauk Rapids for a Central Lakes Conference competition at 6 p.m. on Thursday. Montevideo will participate in the West Fargo Invitational at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday at the Hulbert Aquatics Center in West Fargo, North Dakota.

Dassel-Cokato/Litchfield saw all of its relay teams achieve victories despite their loss against Delano/Watertown-Mayer in Delano.

Dominic Borg was impressive in the defeat for D-C/Litchfield. The junior finished first in the 50 freestyle with a time of 22.98 and won the 100 freestyle at 51.34. He also played a role in D-C/Litchfield’s 200 freestyle relay triumph in 1:38.88. Dassel-Cokato/Litchfield will next compete in an invitational at 10:45 a.m. on Saturday at the University of Minnesota’s Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center in Minneapolis.