© 2026

For assistance accessing the Online Public File for KAXE or KBXE, please contact: Steve Neu, IT Engineer, at 800-662-5799.
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
The Brainerd translator at 89.9 FM is currently operating at reduced power. We are working toward a solution. Thank you for your patience. Listen at kaxe.org!

Grand Rapids, Hibbing, Brainerd swimmers in medal position ahead of state

KAXE
Published February 25, 2026 at 12:26 PM CST
The Hibbing 200 Freestyle Relay of Wylie Stenson, John Lund, Isaac Nelson ad Henry Fredeen won Section 6A on Feb. 21, 2026, to advance to state.
Contributed
/
Hibbing Boys JV & Varsity Swimming
The Hibbing 200 Freestyle Relay of Wylie Stenson, John Lund, Isaac Nelson ad Henry Fredeen won Section 6A on Feb. 21, 2026, to advance to state.

Student-athletes from 10 rural Northern Minnesota schools will compete at the state swimming and diving meet Feb. 26-28, 2026, in Minneapolis.

MINNEAPOLIS — Several Northern Minnesota swimmers are medal contenders at the state meet Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 26-28, at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

Hibbing senior Wylie Stenson is the favorite in the 100 Yard Freestyle, based on the Minnesota State High School League seed times.

Stenson is also seeded fifth in the 100 Yard Backstroke, and the Hibbing 200 Yard Medley and 200 Yard Freestyle relays are seeded third.

Grand Rapids’ 200 Yard Medley Relay has the second-fastest seed time in Class A. Junior Zak Vidmar and sophomore Jake Brunn are also seeded in the top eight, Vidmar in the 100 Yard Breaststroke and Brunn in the 100 Yard Butterfly.

Brainerd freshman Bennett Day also has a chance at a medal in 2A, with the fourth-fastest seed time in the 100 Yard Freestyle.

The top eight medal in each event at the state meet. Swimmers from Detroit Lakes, Mesabi East and Proctor are seeded just outside that margin, meaning they still have a good shot at making the podium.

In all, the Northland will have 49 entries at state, with Bemidji, International Falls, Rock Ridge and Park Rapids also represented.

Diving preliminaries are set for Thursday. Swimming preliminaries begin Friday, and swimming and diving finals are Saturday.

Full coverage of the meet will be streamed by NSPN; a subscription is required to watch.

Additional details, including a full schedule and ticket information, are available in the MSHSL’s spectator guide.
Tags
Local News High School Sports and ActivitiesBemidji Area SchoolsBrainerd School DistrictDetroit LakesGrand Rapids School DistrictHibbing School DistrictInternational FallsMesabi EastPark RapidsProctor MNRock Ridge Public SchoolsNorthwest MinnesotaArrowheadNorth Central MinnesotaKAXE
Creative Commons License
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our site. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of any other photos and graphics.