DULUTH — When he stepped into the starting blocks for the 200-yard individual medley at the 7AA meet in Coon Rapids last weekend, Duluth swimmer Lucas Warren believed he was ready.
He and his teammates had been lifting weights and training in the pool nearly every day, not just during the season but all year, but they were unprepared for what happened.
Warren took to the water and ran the race of his life, turning in a blistering 1:55.23. This was Warren's win in only her third year of competitive swimming, and not only did she set an automatic state qualifying time, but it was also 11 seconds faster than her previous personal record. .
“We started weight training last spring, which was the first time in our lives, and we continued until we basically stopped cutting weight a few weeks ago,” Warren said. “We swam almost every day for eight months. It's a process, we had a good time and we're really happy with last weekend's results.”
Duluth won 10 of 12 events Saturday in Coon Rapids, dominating the section competition and winning its fifth straight section title.
This is an incredible follow-up for a team that lost All-American swimmer Grant Wodney. Wodney won the Class AA 200-yard and 500-yard freestyle races two years ago and was second in the same event last season.
Jed Carlson / Duluth Media Group
Although he didn't win a state title last year, Wadney is the most decorated swimmer in program history. He currently swims for the Minnesota Golden Gophers and with so many other good swimmers out there, it looked like Duluth was ready to take a step back, but that didn't happen.
Instead, they not only dominated the section meet once again, but are consistently ranked in the state's top 10 as a team, higher than last season, according to coach Cliff Knettel.
“We have a core group that swims together year-round and does their own training on land,” Knettel said. “That core group actually took on more than a leadership role, but set themselves up as an example of what hard work can really lead to.”
In addition to Warren, that core group includes senior Travis Elling, junior Elliott Jung and sophomore Joey Zelen.
Zelen won the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle and is the No. 4 seed in the state heading into Thursday's heat in Minneapolis. Zelen not only cited Wodny as a role model, but also his older brother, Ryan Zelen. Zelen, a senior, swam at the University of Wisconsin after finishing his career at Duluth.
“Certainly they were always the fastest on the team, but they were also the hardest working and they deserved it,” Zelen said. I think it helps if you can see them work as hard as they used to and get just as good results. It motivated us and showed us that if we work as hard as them, we can achieve it. ”
Elling, who took on Wodney's role in the 200-yard and 500-yard freestyle races, said just being around Wodney and other former Duluth greats helped them improve as a team.
Jed Carlson / Duluth Media Group
“Grant left us with some big challenges, but he set a great example for us,” Elling said. “Being conscious of speed makes you go faster, right? Being around fast people makes you faster, and just being in that environment definitely makes us more likely to try to emulate what has been done in the past.” It helped us become a stronger team.”
Jed Carlson / Duluth Media Group
After much of the year has been spent lifting weights and grueling pool training, the boys are currently in a “taper” phase, reducing their intensity in preparation for important competitions.
Most of the preparation for the state meet is spent resting and going over your race in your head, a process called “visualization.”
“Close your eyes, take a few minutes, and picture your race in your head,” Warren said. “You can swim the 'perfect race' in your head and know exactly what you need to do to execute when the time comes. I think that's really helped.”
Jed Carlson / Duluth Media Group
Zelen said sprinting like the one he competes in requires “doing everything right.”
“Check all the boxes and make it perfect,” he said. “Because if you make one mistake, it could cost you a tenth of a dollar. This doesn't seem like a lot of money.”
In a sprint, a tenth of a second can be an eternity. There is a possibility that the difference will be close in the endurance race that Wodny participated in. At last season's Minneapolis state meet, he placed second in both races by a combined margin of 0.16 seconds.
Jung said they have prepared as well as they can at this point in the season and now it's time to believe in themselves.
“You have to believe in yourself and believe that you have come this far,” Yong said. “After eight months and coming this far, you have to think about what you came to practice with every day, believe in yourself and trust in your training.”
The Minnesota Class AA qualifier begins Friday at 6 p.m. at the Gene K. Freeman Aquatic Center in Minneapolis.
Jamie Malcolm has been the high school sports reporter for the Duluth News Tribune since October 2021. He has covered news and sports for the Lake County News Chronicle and Crockett Pine Journal in Two Harbors for the past six years. He graduated from George Washington University in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in history and literature, and George also earned a master's degree in secondary English education from Mason University.
