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Update: The Spring Lake Park High School's boys' swimming and diving team finished in 29th place with 13 points at the state tournament on Saturday, March 2.
Senior Joe Privratsky finished his high school career with an all-state eighth place finish in the 100 Breaststroke.
The 200 Medley Relay team of Joe Privratsky, Nick Starcevich, Andrew Ullman and Kieran Ripken also scored at the state meet with their 16th place finish.
After a successful season and finishing second at the 5AA section meet, members of the Spring Lake High Schools boys’ swimming and diving team are advancing to the state tournament.
Greg Kugler, SLPHS boys’ swimming and diving coach, said the team had a great season finishing with a 6-1 dual meet record. In addition to being runner up at the section meet, the team was also the Section 5AA True Team Runner Up.
“It was a difficult season to train for with all of the days missed with school closures, but the guys handled the changes remarkably well and prepared remarkably well when it mattered most,” said Greg Kugler.
Below is the list of Panther athletes advancing to state:
- 200 Medley Relay – Nick Starcevich, ninth grade; Andrew Ullman, 11th grade; Kieran Ripken, 11th grade and Joe Privratsky, 12th grade
- 100 Butterfly – Joe Privratsky
- 100 Breaststroke – Joe Privratsky
Coach Kugler was also named the Section 5AA Coach of the Year.
Kugler, who has been teaching at SLP since 1994, started coaching boys’ swimming and diving team in 1992 and the girls’ swimming and diving team in 1993. He has coached nine state champions, five in swim and dive and four in track & field as well as won multiple conference, section and section true team championships.
“It is a great honor to be recognized by other remarkable coaches in our section, but it’s really about the kids and all the hard work that they put in throughout the season,” Kugler said. “They believe in the training that they do and know that it will allow them to hit peak performance at the end of the season when it counts the most. It has been an honor watching hundreds of athletes grow and mature into amazing young people.”
State Tournament Information
- The state tournament will be held at the University of Minnesota March 1-2.
- Prelims start Friday, March 1 at 6 p.m. and finals take place on Saturday, March 2 at 6 p.m.
