Winona Area Public Schools
Members of the Winona Senior High School boys swimming team pose for a picture on the pool deck at the University of Minnesota during the true team state meet. A Herczeg photo.
MINNEAPOLIS — The Winona Senior High School boys swimming team is hitting the home stretch. And if Saturday's Minnesota True Team Class A State Meet is any indication, the Winhawks are peaking at just the right time.
Winona had several record-setting performances en route to a fourth-place finish at the meet, which tests a team’s true depth. Winona finished behind Class A powers Breck/Blake, St. Thomas Academy and Sartell-St. Stephan at the University of Minnesota Jean K Freeman Aquatic Center, site of next month’s MSHSL state meet.
Jack Herczeg helped lead the record-breaking parade. The Ohio State University recruit won the 200-yard freestyle in 1:40.61, breaking the meet record. Herczeg also won the 100 freestyle in 45.17, which broke his own meet record.
He swam with two winning relays as well. The 200 freestyle relay broke the meet record in 1:26.32, and Herczeg’s 50 time of 20.92 was a meet record. Other swimmers on the relay included Alex Jorgenson, Grant Wolner and Tanner Lozenski.
In the 400 freestyle, Herczeg was the anchor and led a come-from-behind win as Winona finished in 3:14.23. Other team members included Jorgenson, Brayden Coudron and Lozenski.
Herczeg wasn’t the only record-setting Winhawk. Wolner got in on the fun in winning the 100 butterfly in a record-setting 50.84 seconds. He nearly added another first-place finish in the 200 individual medley, but finished in 1:54.77, a little more than three-tenths of a second behind the winner.
Jorgenson added a third-place finish in the 50 freestyle (22.05) and Lozenski was sixth in the 500 freestyle (5:00.52.)
The true team state meet kicks off the postseason push for the Winhawks. The Big 9 Conference Meet is set for Feb. 6, while the section meet is Feb. 19 and 21. Winona hopes to return a strong contingent to the University of Minnesota for the state meet Feb. 28-29.