Albert Lea boys’ swimming sends 2 relay teams to consolation finals

ROCHESTER — The Albert Lea boys’ swim team traveled to Rochester Wednesday night to take part in the preliminary rounds of the Section 1A swim and dive meet.

To qualify for the finals on Saturday afternoon, teams or individuals must finish in first through eighth place of their respective events. Swimmers finishing in ninth through 16th place qualify to compete in the consolation rounds of their events, also on Saturday.

Despite sending two relays to the consolation finals, the Tigers failed to send any events to the championship finals.

The first event of the meet saw sophomores Adam Fitzlaff and Sonny Ortega-Roseli, freshman William Taylor and senior Alec Wendelboe compete in the 200-yard medley relay. The team finished with a time of 2:06.46, good for ninth place and a spot in the consolation final.

Next up for the Tigers was Taylor in the first individual event of the night, the 200-yard freestyle. Taylor swam a time of 2:08.31, earning him 25th place. Wendelboe was up next for Albert Lea, competing in the 200-yard individual medley. Wendelboe completed the race in 25th place with a time of 2:29.72.

Eighth-grader Jakob Malakowsky and Ortega-Roseli both swam in the first heat of the 50-yard freestyle. Malakowsky finished with a time of 32.25 for 32nd place, while Ortega-Roseli came in 33rd place with a time of 32.40.

Fitzlaff would then take his turn in an individual event, finishing in 20th place in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:07.04. Malkowsky and Ortega-Roseli would again swim together in the opening heat of event seven, the 100-yard freestyle. Malakowsky clocked in with a time of 1:11.28, while Ortega-Roseli finished in 1:11.64. The duo finished in 30th place and 31st place, respectively.

Taylor would then take his second attempt at an individual event in the longest race of the night, the 500-yard freestyle. He would come in with a time of 5:42.70, good enough to take 23rd place.

Next up was the second relay of the meet, the 200-yard freestyle relay. The team of Wendelboe, Fitzlaff, Ortega-Roseli and Taylor swam in the first heat of the race, but failed to record a time as they were disqualified for a violation during the race. Due to the low number of teams in the event, however, the team will still race in the consolation final of the event on Saturday.

Fitzlaff would finish off his individual portion of the meet with a 22nd-place showing in the 100-yard backstroke. Wendelboe would finish the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:10.50, finishing in 18th place, the best individual finish by a Tiger at the meet. 

Two relays, the 200-yard medley relay and the 200-yard freestyle relay, will race again on Saturday in the consolation finals. Check back with the Tribune for meet results as they become available.