Zheng’s 53.8 BR, Larson’s 19.9/43.4 FR Highlight Minnesota AA State

Sophomore Hayden Zheng went 53.86 to break the state 100 breast record, while senior Peter Larson broke sprint records with a 19.97 50 free and a 43.46 100 free at Minnesota’s Class AA high school state meet. Larson’s Edina Hornets won the state title despite DQing their medley relay in prelims.

Full results

Larson and Edina were dominant, winning the meet by 61 points despite losing 30-some by disqualifying their medley relay out of prelims. Edina won the other two relays, finishing within a hair of state records in both.

Larson, a Texas commit competing in his first high school state meet for Edina, broke a pair of state all-time and class AA records. Both came in prelims. Larson went 19.97 to become the first Minnesota high schooler under 20 seconds in the 50 free. He broke the state record held by future University of Minnesota standout Michael Richards. The 17-year-old Larson also moves into USA Swimming’s top 100 all-time in the 50 free, tying for 99th.

Later in prelims, Larson would go 43.46 to break a 100 free state record set by current Virginia Cavalier Sam Schilling. Larson is now 50th in age group history in that event.

He won the 50 free in finals with a 20.06 and the 100 with a 43.77. Edina’s 200 free relay of Larson (leading off in 20.00), Charlie Webb, Max Dow and Andrew Gray went 1:23.67, coming within two tenths of a state record. The team’s 400 free relay (Gray, Gabe Baker, Keegan Duffy and Larson) went 3:01.76 to scrape within two tenths of another state record. Larson was 43.21 on the anchor leg.

Edina also got another key win from senior Gray. His 1:37.68 won a thriller against Prior Lake’s Sean Dwyer (1:37.87) in the 200 free. That helped them outlast team runners-up Chanhassen-Chaska, who were second in both free relays in a very depth-based team effort.

The other individual standout was St. Louis Park sophomore Zheng, who won the 200 IM and 100 breast. Zheng destroyed the field with a big-league 29.93 breaststroke split in the IM, going 1:48.25 for the win. The 16-year-old now ranks 69th all-time on USA Swimming’s 15-16 age group rankings in that event. His big race, though, came in the 100 breast at the end of the meet. Zheng blasted a 53.86 to smash the state record and move to #12 all-time in USA Swimming 15-16 age group history.

Lakeville North senior Andrew Trepanier was another standout, though he was overshadowed some by Larson. Trepanier broke the 50 free state record in prelims with a 20.12, but only held it for a heat before Larson broke 20. Trepanier was second in the 50 and then used his speed to win a showdown with 200 free champ Gray in the 100 fly. Trepanier was 48.49 to Gray’s 48.95, getting a huge 22.05 front half.

Other event winners:

• Wayzata High School put together an outstanding 200 medley relay, going a 1:30.03. That would have broken state records in most states, but Minnesota’s state mark is held by the national public school record-holders. Sam Kennedy led off in 22.36, with Nick Kale, Casey Stowe and Beau Brinkman capping off the relay. Kennedy is a senior and will attend the University of Minnesota next year. Kale, a sophomore, nearly matched Zheng for the best breaststroke split in the field at 24.75, and the junior Stowe was 21.52 on fly, better than anyone besides Trepanier. Brinkman anchored in 21.4.
• Stowe would go on to win the 100 back in 48.45 for Wayzata, going 1-2 with Kennedy right behind.
• Stillwater’s Josiah Fick won diving with 389.35 points.
• Dwyer won the 500 free handily, going 4:32.00.

Top 5 Teams:

1. Edina – 268
2. Chanhassen-Chaska – 205
3. Wayzata – 176
4. Eden Prairie – 175
5. Minnetonka – 153