MINNEAPOLIS — Eight Northlanders claimed medals at the boys state swimming and diving meet Saturday, Feb. 28, at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Hibbing and Grand Rapids finished second and third, respectively, in the 200 Yard Medley Relay. Senior Bluejacket Wylie Stenson claimed bronze in the 100 Freestyle, and junior Thunderhawk Zak Vidmar finished fourth in the 100 Breaststroke; Stenson and Vidmar were also part of their school's relay teams.
Stenson also won two eighth place medals, one in the 100 Backstroke and the other with Hibbing’s 200 Free Relay team.
Brainerd freshman Bennett Day finished eighth in the 100 Free, and Mesabi East senior Aiden Johnson earned the eighth place diving medal.
Grand Rapids, Brainerd and Mesabi East also finished just off the podium in a few events. The top eight swimmers medal, and the next eight swim in the consolation finals.
Brainerd’s 200 Medley Relay and Grand Rapids’ 200 Free Relay won the consolation final, and Mesabi East senior Cole Layman won the 50 Free consolation final. Grand Rapids freshman Wyatt Hammerlund also placed ninth in diving.
Fourteen more Northern Minnesota entries competed in the consolation finals or diving semifinals, including more students from Grand Rapids, Brainerd, Hibbing and Mesabi East and athletes from Park Rapids, Detroit Lakes and Proctor.
Grand Rapids had the top team finish of a rural Northern Minnesota school, placing eighth. Hibbing was not far behind in 11th.
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As a seventh-generation Nebraskan, Emma Krab said she looks forward to discovering rural life in Northern Minnesota. She holds a master's degree in Creative Writing and Environment and bachelor degrees in journalism and English. -
NorthMet, formerly owned by PolyMet and now controlled by NewRange Copper Nickel, is one of three proposed copper-nickel mines in Minnesota. A reworked project plan is now before the DNR. -
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