Todd Fritze can add an undefeated season to his list of accomplishments as head coach of the Park Rapids boys swimming and diving team.
The Panthers capped off their dual-meet season with a 101.50-82.50 win at Bemidji Thursday night. That gave Park Rapids a 7-0 record in dual meets and the first undefeated season in the history of the boys swimming program.
"It's exciting. I'm excited for the guys. This is for them and for all the guys before them who set the stage," said Fritze. "We had some good swims and the guys raced pretty well, even though some of the times didn't reflect that. It's a nice way to end our dual season, but I told the guys to don't forget how hard they worked to get to this point. We still have some work to do."
A 1-3 showing in the 200-yard medley relay gave the Panthers a lead they would extend throughout the meet. Marcus Benson, Kaleb Carlson, Zach Behrens and Sam Eystad clocked a winning time of 1:49.94 in the first event to set the tone.
Matt Benson's 1:59.09 and Behrens' runner-up 2:02.68 led to a 1-2 finish in the 200 freestyle before Casimir Simonson's 2:19.14 and Marcus Benson's runner-up 2:24.14 produced a 1-2 showing in the 200 individual medley as the Panthers led 32-14.
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Spencer Fritze led the field in the 50 freestyle with a 24.02 and in diving with 254.95 points and Behrens won the 100 butterfly in 59.87 as Park Rapids held a 57.50-36.50 advantage.
Simonson's winning time of 52.71 in the 100 freestyle and Matt Benson's winning time of 5:22.34 in the 500 freestyle made it 75.50-50.50.
Fritze, Simonson, Eystad and Matt Benson teamed for a 1:37.98 to win the 200 freestyle relay before Marcus Benson won the 100 backstroke in 59.23 and Carlson clocked a runner-up 1:08.21 in the 100 breaststroke for a 101.50-70.50 lead.
Park Rapids swam exhibition in the final event as Matt Benson, Fritze, Behrens and Simonson clocked a 3:37.27, which would have produced another first-place finish.
The Panthers will prepare for the Mid-State Conference meet at Detroit Lakes on Friday.
Park Rapids 101.50, Bemidji 82.50
200 medley relay: 1, Park Rapids (Mar. Benson, Carlson, Behrens, Eystad), 1:49.94. 2, Bemidji, 1:51.36. 3, Park Rapids (Williams, Breitweser, Huot, T. Walsh), 2:00.88. JV: Park Rapids (Backmann, D. Walsh, Christenson, Wattenhofer), 2:29.22; Park Rapids (Neubauer, Etter, Zinniel, NIchols), 2:43.32.
200 freestyle: 1, Mat. Benson, PR, 1:59.09. 2, Behrens, PR, 2;02.68. 3, Goodwin, B, 2:08.78. 4, Berglund, B, 2:10.14. 5, Graves, B, 2:12.30. 6, J. Walsh, PR, 2:21.68. JV: Bruce, PR, 2:17.03; Zinniel, PR, 2:53.37; Nichols, PR, 2:59.21.
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200 individual medley: 1, Simonson, PR, 2:19.14. 2, Mar. Benson, PR, 2:24.14. 3, Yartz, B, 2:24.33. 4, Williams, PR, 2:32.19. 5, Michalicek, B, 2:37.19. JV: Huot, PR, 2:38.13; D. Walsh, PR, 2:54.64.
50 freestyle: 1, S. Fritze, PR, 24.02. 2, Goodwin, B, 25.08. 3, Ryan, B, 25.98. 4, Bateman, PR, 26.12. 5, Forte, B, 26.48. JV: Etter, PR, 29.60; Backmann, PR, 30.02; Wattenhofer, PR, 38.74.
Diving: 1, S. Fritze, PR, 254.95 points. 2, H. Thorsgard, B, 209.95. 3, Breitweser, PR, 198.60. 4, B. Thorsgard, B, 179.60. 5, Sari, B, 159.10. 6, Christenson, PR, 154.80.
100 butterfly: 1, Behrens, PR, 59.87. 2, Olson, B, 1:05.94. 3 (tie), Huot, PR, and Ryan, B, 1:06.69. 5, Graves, B, 1:08.39. 6, Z. Fritze, PR, 1:09.23.
100 freestyle: 1, Simonson, PR, 52.71. 2, Hendricks, B, 55.09. 3, Goodwin, B, 55.59. 4, Bateman, PR, 58.41. 5, Forte, B, 59.50. 6, T. Walsh, PR, 1:01.52. JV: Bruce, PR, 59.75; Neubauer, PR, 1:08.10; Nichols, PR, 1:13.04.
500 freestyle: 1, Mat. Benson, PR, 5:22.34. 2, Berglund, B, 5:57.83. 3, Eystad, PR, 5:58.16. 4, Goodwin, B, 6:04.49. 5, J. Walsh, PR, 6:17.58.
200 freestyle relay: 1, Park Rapids (S. Fritze, Simonson, Eystad, Mat. Benson), 1:37.98. 2, Bemidji, 1:41.37. 3, Bemidji, 1:47.07. 4, Park Rapids (Bateman, Breitweser, J. Walsh, Z. Fritze), 1:50.76. 5, Park Rapids (Huot, D. Walsh, Christenson, Bruce), 1:52.16.
100 backstroke: 1, Mar. Benson, PR, 59.23. 2, Hendricks, B, 1:01.45. 3, Williams, PR, 1:03.57. 4, T. Walsh, PR, 1:07.15. 5, Yartz, B, 1:12.82. JV: Zinniel, PR, 1:28.23; Backmann, PR, 1:28.89; Neubauer, PR, 1:44.32.
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100 breaststroke: 1, Olson, B, 1:07.09. 2, Carlson, PR, 1:08.21. 3, H. Thorsgard, B, 1:14.81. 4, Breitweser, PR, 1:17.17. 5, Christenson, PR, 1:20.81. JV: D. Walsh, PR, 1:25.60; Etter, PR, 1:28.28.
400 freestyle relay: 1, Bemidji, 3:53.90. 2, Bemidji, 4:11.77. Exhibition: Park Rapids (Mat. Benson, S. Fritze, Behrens, Simonson), 3:37.27; Park Rapids (Eystad, Z. Fritze, Mar. Benson, Bateman), 4:01.58.
