By Jim Rueda
Free Press Sports Editor
MANKATO — They may not be among the top point-scorers on their respective teams but on Saturday, at the Class A True Team boys swimming and diving meet, Kale Karstens and Kevin White played key roles for Mankato East/Loyola and Mankato West.
The Cougars’ Karstens and the Scarlets’ White provided some necessary depth for both squads at the annual true team competition inside the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center. Mankato West ended up fifth with 1,186.5 points and East/Loyola, which lost 20 points on disqualifications, finished sixth with 1,170 points. St. Thomas Academy placed first with 1,701.
“Every swimmer counts up here,” Karstens said between events. “It’s not just five or six guys carrying the team, it’s everybody scoring points. It’s a pretty cool concept.”
White agreed: “This is my third time up here at the true team meet and it’s still a marvelous place to swim. There are a lot of guys here on every team who will never make it to state as individuals but they’re up here today helping their teams.”
Karstens’ top performance Saturday came as part of a 200-yard freestyle relay team. He joined with Peter Hurd, Matt Miller and Parker Halldin to finish 13th in 1:39.76.
White’s top event proved to be the 200-medley relay. He combined with Steve Sorenson, David Boswell and Matt Buck for a 17th-place time of 1:54.
Karstens and White, both seniors, have similar backgrounds. Both were skiers in junior high but opted to go out for their respective swim programs as freshmen.
It’s a decision neither regrets.
“I switched because one of my best friends (Greg Vose) talked me into going out,” White said. “I sort of clicked with it my first season. I discovered I was pretty good at the breaststroke right away, and I was a decent sprint freestyler, too.”
Karstens said the camaraderie has been a big draw for him.
“I’ve made a lot of good friends,” he said. “I’m a cross country runner, too, and I may try to go out for the MSU cross country team next year, but I still love swimming. It’s a lot of fun.”
Zach Small had the highest finish of any Mankato competitor. The East senior scored 346.85 points to place second in the one-meter dive.
Ross Wempen had a big day for West. He was second in the 100-butterfly (55.64), third in the 200-individual medley (22.47), and combined with Randall Wempen, Kelly Davis and Chris Kolb to place fifth in the 200-medley relay. Ross Wempen also joined with Greg Vose, Austin Koepp and Mitch Peters to take fifth in the 400-free relay (3:30.93).
Andrew Hall had a third-place finish for East/Loyola in the 200-freestyle (1:49.61). Teammate Max Rykhus was fifth in the 100-backstroke in 58.51.
“Swimming in a place like this is special,” White said. “There’s an eight-lane warm-up pool, an eight-lane competition pool, and a big diving well. It’s so much bigger than any of the high school pools we swim in.”
Karstens concurs: “There’s so much space; they even have two lanes in the diving well. This is an experience every swimmer should get a chance to enjoy.”
