Fusion clinch spot at state true team

The Melrose-Sauk Centre Fusion swimmers and divers finished second to Alexandria Jan. 14 in the Section 5A True Team Meet at the University of Minnesota-Morris in Morris.

“It was close between two with a 27-point difference,” said Nathan Meyer, co-head coach. “We had a good meet, and we did qualify for state true team as a wild card.”

M-SC finished with 1,199 points as Alexandria’s 1,226 points earned first place

“We had people out with injuries, so for us to make the trip using younger guys and having guys fill in bigger roles is really, really good,” Meyer said. 

The performances of the young swimmers stood out in the shortest and longest races of the meet. In the 50-yard freestyle, 10th graders Grant Eveslage and Isaiah Zink and eighth graders Anthony Bierschbach and Samuel Stangler finished in fourth, ninth, 13th and 16th place, respectively. The 500 freestyle saw ninth grader Thatcher Van Beck, 10th grader Parker Sorenson and seventh grader Hunter Leslie finish in the top 10, with eighth grader Sullivan Stumler earning 12th place.

“In the sprint, it was two sophomores and eighth graders,” Meyer said. “Thatcher Van Beck keeps improving. The young guys have stepped up.”

In diving, where Andrue Stalboerger took second, senior Spencer Marthaler earned eighth and ninth grader Zaron Olmschenk received ninth place.

“Andrue Stalboerger is doing a great job for us,” Meyer said. “Spencer Marthaler just came out this year, and Zaron Olmschenk came back about week ago.”

The team’s top swimmers held their own. The 200 medley relay of Adam Wilwerding, Sevrin Anderson, Jacob Robischon and Eveslage impressively earned first place with their best time of the year. 

Adam Wilwerding won the backstroke, Anderson topped the breaststroke leaderboard, and Robischon won both the 200 individual medley and 100 butterfly. The 100 breaststroke had three in the top 10, with Anderson taking third. 

The good day for the Fusion concluded with the 400 freestyle of Eveslage, Alex Wilwerding, Robischon and Adam Wilwerding earning second place.

The Class A State True Team Meet will be Saturday, Jan. 21, at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center in Minneapolis.

M-SC: 200MR: 1. Adam Wilwerding, Anderson, Robischon and Eveslage 1 minute, 44.66 seconds; 5. Alex Wilwerding, Nolan Fleischhacker, Zink and Zaron Olmschenk 1:55.24; 12. Rayden Weber, Zander Olmschenk, Stangler and Bierschbach 2:09.58; 16. Devin Crawford-Klinnert, Stalboerger, Aiden Felling and Grant Linscheid 2:19.59. 200FS: 5. Van Beck 2:02.67, 11. Sorenson 2:14.96, 12. Leslie 2:19.19 and 16. Stumler 2:26.75. 200IM: 1. Robischon 2:07.15, 4. Anderson 2:19.27, 6. Fleischhacker 2:22.72 and 12. Zander Olmschenk 2:41.47. 50FS: 5. Eveslage 24.55, 9. Zink 25.92, 13. Bierschbach 26.9 and 16. Stangler 27.67. Diving: 2. Stalboerger 349.55 points, 8. Marthaler 240.30 and 9. Zaron Olmschenk 237.75. 100FLY: 1 Robischon 56.44, 7. Zink 1:08.68, 9. Zaron Olmschenk 1:12.30 and 12. Weber 1:17.69. 100FS: 3. Adam Wilwerding 51.89, 6. Eveslage 55.93, 9. Alex Wilwerding 57.48 and 15. Felling 1:05.61. 500FS: 3. Van Beck 5:33.70, 9. Sorenson 6:18.24, 10. Leslie 6:20.55 and 12. Stumler 6:30.77. 200FSR: 4. Zink, Zander Olmschenk, Fleischhacker and Anderson 1:42.48; 8. Bierschbach, Stangler, Sorenson and Van Beck 1:47.78; 12. Linscheid, Stalboerger, Marthaler and Graham Radjenovich 2:02.24. 100BK: 1. Adam Wilwerding, 54.76, 4. Alex Wilwerding 1:03.15, 15. Weber 1:19.23 and 18. Crawford-Klinnert 1:21.89. 100BR: 3. Anderson 1:06.81, 6. Fleischhacker 1:11.77, 9. Zander Olmschenk 1:15.35 and 14. Bierschbach 1:25.53. 400FSR: 2. Eveslage, Alex Wilwerding, Robischon and Adam Wilwerding 3:32.43; 7. Zander Olmschenk, Stangler, Sorenson and Van Beck 4:00.79; 12. Leslie, Stumler, Weber and Felling 4:20.22, 15. Marthaler, Linscheid, Crawford-Klinnert and Radjenovich 4:44.80.

M-SC 117, Montevideo 67

The Fusion took first in every event but one, defeating Montevideo 117-67 Jan. 12 at Sauk Centre High School in Sauk Centre.

Those placements helped M-SC grab first, but the margin of the score came with other finishes. The team had two of the top-three spots in most events, and it took first and second in the 500 freestyle, 100 backstroke and 100 breaststroke. 

The diving corps continued to improve. Stalboerger had a season best 211.80 to take first.

M-SC: 200MR: 1. Adam Wilwerding, Anderson, Robischon and Eveslage 1:46.80; 3. Alex Wilwerding, Fleischhacker, Zink and Zaron Olmschenk 1:55.68. 200FS: 1. Van Beck 2:02.28, 3. Sorenson 2:14.93 and 5. Stumler 2:22.99. 200IM: 1. Anderson 2:17.89, 3. Fleischhacker 2:22.72 and 5. Zander Olmschenk 2:39.21. 50FS: 1. Robischon 23.39 and 3. Eveslage 24.72. Diving: 1. Stalboerger 211.8, 3. Zaron Olmschenk 141.35 and 4. Marthaler 132.45. 100FLY: 1. Robischon 57.97, 4. Zink 1:0885 and 5. Zaron Olmschenk 1:13.59. 100FS: 1. Adam Wilwerding 51.53, 4. Alex Wilwerding 57.52 and 5. Stangler 1:01.74.  500FS: 1. Van Beck 5:29.8, 2. Eveslage 5:51.71 and 4. Sorenson 6:16.00. 200FSR: 2. Zink, Zaron Olmschenk, Fleischhacker and Anderson 1:41.96; 4. Zander Olmschenk, Bierschbach, Sorenson and Van Beck 1:48.8. 100BK: 1. Adam Wilwerding 55.37 and 2. Alex Wilwerding 1:04.76. 100BR: 1. Anderson 1:07.97, 2. Fleischhacker 1:10.97 and 3. Zander Olmschenk 1:13.51.  400FSR: 1. Eveslage, Alex Wilwerding, Robischon and Adam Wilwerding 3:37.00; 3. Van Beck, Sorenson, Stangler and Zink 4:00.74.