Baron breaks two school records at Section 4A finals
Joe Baron and Ben Shofner are returning to the state swimming and diving championships, and thanks to a big performance down the stretch by Alex Henningson, the sophomore will be joining his two teammates at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center.
Baron finished second in both the 50-yard freestyle and 100 freestyle Saturday in the Section 4A championships at Sartell-St. Stephen High School, and he captured two school records in the process.
Baron surpassed Roberto Lezama’s mark from 1998 in the 50 freestyle of 22.21 seconds with a blazing time of 22.1. He edged Adam Larson’s mark from 1999 in the 100 freestyle of 49.67 with a time of 49.4.
Baron didn’t participate in the 100 freestyle at state last year but finished 10th in the 50 freestyle. His goal is to medal by finishing in the top eight in both events. Baron has the fifth-best seed time in the 50 and the eighth-best seed time in the 100.
As for Shofner, his No. 1 goal is to break Kyon Hoffman’s school record in the 100 butterfly from 1977.
“If I break that record, I’m going to be top eight,” Shofner said.
Hoffman’s record is the longest standing individual record in the boys swimming program.
Shofner finished ninth at state last year in the 100 fly, but returns this year with a slower time. He finished third at sections with a time of 57.45 and enters Friday’s preliminaries with the 19th-best seed time.
Henningson, who narrowly missed state by one place last year, advanced by an even closer margin this season.
He made up roughly seven points over his final three dives and nipped Sartell-St Stephen’s Alex Van Heel by .05 points — 295.7 to 296.65 — to grab the fourth and final state-qualifying position.
Only the top four finishers in each event qualify for state.
“I think it’s going to be fun,” said Henningson, who wants to medal by finishing in the top eight.
The 2010 Class A State Boys Swimming and Diving Championships begin at noon Thursday at the U of M Aquatic Center with diving preliminaries. Swimming prelims are at noon Friday and both the swimming and diving finals are at noon Saturday.
The Broncos added a few more top 16 finishes at sections.
Ames Bryant, Chevy Arnold, Shofner and Baron finished seventh in the 200 medley relay in 1:49, Bryant added an eighth place in the 100 butterfly in 1:00, Kirdan Wenger (242.7) and Chase Carrigan (202.9) finished 10th and 16th in diving and Henningson, Myles Wolden, Nick Riley and Trevor Plasky finished 13th in the 400 freestyle relay in 4:02.19. In the 200 medley relay, Baron had the fastest 50 split time of 21.66.
“We had a great day,” Broncos head coach Beth Reed said.
Section 4A
Championships
@ Sartell-St. Stephen H.S.
Top Bronco finishers
200-yard medley relay — 7, Ames Bryant, Chevy Arnold, Ben Shofner, Joe Baron, 1:49.
200 freestyle — No top 16 finishers.
200 individual medley — No top 16 finishers.
50 freestyle — 2, Baron, 22.1*
Diving — 4, Alex Henningson, 295.7; 10, Kirdan Wenger, 242.7; 16, Chase Carrigan, 202.9.
100 butterfly — 3, Shofner, 57.45; 8, Bryant, 1:00.
100 freestyle — 2, Baron, 49.4*
500 freestyle — No top 16 finishers.
200 freestyle relay — No top 16 finishers.
100 backstroke — No top 16 finishers.
100 breaststroke — No top 16 finishers.
400 freestyle — 12, Henningson, Myles Wolden, Nick Riley, Trevor Plasky, 4:02.19.
Team results — 1, Sartell-St. Stephen, 378.5; 2, Grand Rapids, 279.5; 3, Virginia, 269; 4, Hibbing, 255; 5, Sauk Rapids-Rice, 236; 6, St. Cloud Apollo, 156; 7, Princeton, 150; 8, Chisago Lakes Area, 138; 9, Duluth Denfeld, 129; 10, I. Falls, 118; 11, Mesabi East, 75; 12, Eveleth-Gilbert, 46; 13, Chisholm, 26.
*School record
