2023 MSHSL Boy’s Class A Swimming and Diving State Championships
- March 2-4, 2023
- University of Minnesota Aquatic Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Short Course Yards (SCY)
- Full Meet Results
- Results on MeetMobile: “2023 MSHSL Boys A Swim & Dive Championships”
For the seventh straight year, the boys of the Breck-Blake co-op came away from the MSHSL Class A State Championship meet with the state title. Breck-Blake was dominant as they continued their winning streak, finishing with double the score of runner-up St. Thomas, even after graduating their best swimmer and one of the best high school swimmer’s in the state’s history, Charlie Crosby.
Class A includes the state’s smaller high schools. Even with the combined efforts of two schools, Breck School and Blake School in Minneapolis, the Breck/Blake Co-Op still only includes only about 1,000 students in grades 9-12.
Helping Breck-Blake to its dominant win were Josiah March and Charlie Egeland, with both setting new Class A records during the meet.
March’s record-setting performance came in the 500 free, where he took down a record that was set just last year by Nico Losinki of Simley at 4:34.46. After sitting in second through the first half of the race behind eventual runner-up Cash Walz of Sauk Rapids-Rice, March split 55.77 and 53.47 over the final 100’s to claim gold and the state record in a time of 4:34.39.
While March’s record came in a tight race, Egeland’s came in a dominant performance, with the senior winning by over two seconds. Egeland became the first Class A swimmer to finish the 100 breast under 54.0, touching in 53.84 to break former teammate James Pan‘s record of 54.16 .
While he was slightly slower during finals of the event, Egeland added a second state record during prelims of the 200 IM. In his first swim of the event, he broke another record previously held by James Pan, touching in 1:47.27. He was slightly slower during finals, winning in 1:48.08. The 2023 Yale commit now owns three individual state records, having set the 200 free record at 1:38.00 a year ago.
Breck-Blake wasn’t the only program to set records at the meet as Hutchinson junior Conner Hogan also took down a record of his own. Breaking the 49.0 barrier in the 100 fly for the first time in Class A history, Hogan took gold with a time of 48.93. Prior to the meet, the state record stood at 49.28, set by Winona’s Grant Wolner in 2020. That performance marks a huge best time for Hogan who, entering the meet, had never been below 50.0 in the race. Hogan would also add a second title in the 50 free, winning with a time of 20.21.
Nearly taking down Egeland’s 200 free state record was teammate Henry Webb, who finished just over a tenth off of Egeland’s time from a year ago. Webb finished in a time of 1;38.14, with March joining him on the podium in second (1:42.65).
Webb would later battle with teammate Jack Schurtz-Ford for the top spot in the 100 free. In that race, it was Schurtz-Ford who came out on top, upsetting the defending champion in the race. Like Webb in the 200 free, Schurtz-Ford narrowly missed the Class A record in the 100 free, finishing in 44.85. Webb was just behind him with a time of 44.92.
Schurtz-Ford later picked up a second state title in the 100 back. He was the only swimmer to dip below 50.0 in the race, finishing with a time of 49.78.
On the diving board it was senior Jimmy Nord who claimed his first title in the event. Nord finished with a score of 442.0.
Breck-Blake showcased it’s depth by easily sweeping the three relays. The school opened the meet by winning the 200 medley relay in 1:32.45 before later adding golds in the 200 free relay (1:25.27) and 400 free relay (3:02.58).
Team Scores
- Breck-Blake – 408
- St. Thomas – 204
- Orono – 167
- Sauk Rapids-Rice – 158
- Alexandria – 148
