15-Year-Olds Micah Davis And Arianna Zelen Shine At Minnesota SC Senior Championships

2023 Minnesota Senior Short Course State Championship

• March 16-19, 2023
• Hulbert Aquatic Center, West Fargo, ND
• SCY (25 yards)
• Results

Red Dragon Swimming hosted the 2023 Minnesota Senior Short Course State Championship earlier this month. The meet was not held in Minnesota, and instead took place across the border in West Fargo, North Dakota. The meet also comes on the heels of the boys’ Minnesota High School Championships, with many athletes racing in both back-to-back.

Topping the combined team scores was South Metro Storm Swim Club, who tallied a total of 2557.5 points over the course of the weekend. Rochester Swim Club took home the boys’ team trophy with 1611.5 points, while Riptide won the girls’ meet with 1318 points, just 1 point ahead of St. Croix Swim Club (1317). 

Top-3 Teams (Combined):

1. South Metro Storm – 2557.5
2. Rochester – 2358
3. Riptide – 2095

15-year-old Arianna Zelen from South Metro Storm captured the girls’ high point award with 196.5 points. Zelen only won two individual events, but finished top three in four others. Highlighting her meet was her victory in the 100 breaststroke, where she dropped over a second to record a 1:03.72. Zelen also set a best time en route to winning the 100 IM, as she touched first in 57.97.

Haley Zelen, the older sister of Arianna, swam a best time of 54.54 to secure her own victory in the 100 fly. The Zelen sisters went on to go 1-2 in the sprint freestyle events, with Haley Zelen leading the way in both of them. The Wisconsin commit out-touched her sister by 0.03 in the 50 free (23.55) and topped her by over half a second in the 100 free (50.57), with the 100 being a personal best time.

Sea Devils Swim Club’s Lily Van Heel was another top performer in the girls’ meet. Van Heel collected victories in the backstroke events and the 200 IM, despite being off her own best times. The 16-year-old successfully defended her title in the 100 back with a 55.05, putting her about a second off her best time from November. She logged a 2:00.79 in the 200 back, winning the event by just under a second. She was closest to her best time in the 200 IM, where she touched 1st in 2:04.36.

St. Croix’s Madeleine Reed picked up two wins of her own, beginning with the 400 IM. She won in a best time of 4:25.34, marking a seven second drop from her entry time. She was also the only athlete in the 200 breast to break the 2:20-barrier, as she won in personal best time if 2:19.38.

South Metro’s Gage Boushee, 17, led the way on the boys’ side of the meet with four individual victories. Boushee won the 400 IM (3:58.82), 200 free (1:39.00), 100 IM (51.42), and 200 IM (1:52.45), with all four being personal best times. His 200 freestyle marked nearly a second time drop from his previous best of 1:39.83, set just a few weeks prior at the high school state meet where he took 3rd.

St. Cloud YMCA’s Micah Davis had a fantastic meet with two event wins of his own. Davis, 15, dropped nearly five seconds in the 200 fly to post a 1:47.63, clearing the field by five seconds. Davis completed his butterfly sweep with another victory in the 100 fly, where he took nearly a second off his best time to win in 48.78.

Davis’ most significant time drop was in a time trial of the 500 free. He clocked a 4:37.70, which is over twenty seconds quicker than his previous best from September. His 100 back also saw a large improvement, as he dropped over three seconds to finish 3rd with a 50.47 in finals. 

16-year-old Ethan Kosin also had a strong meet. Kosin took first in the 1000 with a best time of 9:31.45, which is nearly 15 seconds faster than he was at this same meet last year. Kosin also won the 200 backstroke, dropping about a tenth to log a 1:49.17 and top the field by nearly three seconds. 

Conner Hogan swept the boys’ sprint freestyle events with victories in the 50 and 100. He opened with a win in the 50 in 21.00, putting him less than a second shy of the time he won this event with at the MN High School State meet. He went on to capture the 100 free later in the meet, where he won in a personal best time of 46.01.

Other Individual Event Winners:

• Mary McCormick from St. Croix Swim Club won the girls’ 1000 in a personal best time of 10:21.50, narrowly beating Tessa Lindstrom from Riptide (10:21.90).
• 15-year-old Julia Ogren topped a tight field in the 200 free, as she got her hand on the wall first in a best time of 1:50.31.
• Minnesota commit Max Scheurer secured a victory in the boys’ 100 breaststroke. Scheurer swam a 56.34, which is about a second off what his winning time at MN High School State Championships.
• Sydney Dettmann, who will head to Bucknell in the fall, topped the field in the 200 fly with a best time of 2:02.73.
• Riptide’s Ella Passe secured a victory in the 500 free. The Duke commit clocked a season best time of 4:57.71, clearing the field by half a second.
• Marc Heide from Riptide won the men’s 500 in 4:33.04. He dominated the race, winning by nearly four seconds.
• Riptide’s Quinlan Schroeder came out on top of a tight race in the men’s 200 breast, where he won in a personal best time of 2:07.45.