Eden Prairie High School boys swim and dive beat St Michael-Albertville in a home meet at EPCC on Feb. 9. Photo by Juliana Allen
Eden Prairie High School boys swim and dive trounced St. Michael-Albertville 107-71 in the final dual meet of the season, held at the Eden Prairie Aquatic Center on Friday, Feb. 9.
The team then celebrated the Eagle seniors in a ceremony attended by friends and family, featuring personal speeches by junior teammates.
Sam Kendall, the team’s head coach, said, “What a great way to end the dual meet season at home, on senior night, in front of a large crowd, and continuing to have a lot of success as a group.”
Assistant coach Eva Potvin, dive coach Kelly Derouin, and head coach Sam Kendall stand on deck at the Eden Prairie Aquatic Center. Photo by Juliana Allen
Kendall noted several highlights. “Senior Mark Derouin locked down the 200 Free and the 500 Free with an impressive anchor of the winning 200 Free Relay. He has been very impactful all year long, and that reigns true yet again on senior night,” he said.
Kendall also complimented senior Luke Anderson, who won the 50 Free, placed second in the 100 Back, and was part of the first-place 200 Medley Relay.
“It’s been fun to watch him grow as a swimmer and individual in his last high school swim season and visualize the impact he will have on the team in a week at sections,” Kendall said.
Senior Yash Dagade achieved a personal best in diving with a score of 211.10 over six dives.
“He has had a massive impact in his senior campaign, not only with tremendous leadership but with his work ethic and how he holds himself every day,” Kendall said.
Kendall also noted senior Abhi Madireddy’s first place in the 100 Fly and fourth in the 100 Back, senior Lucas Johnson’s fifth in the 100 Free, and the 400 Free Relay A, which consisted of all four senior swimmers, finishing second overall.
400 Free Relay seniors: Luke Anderson left the block as Abhi Madireddy touched the wall; Lucas Johnson and Mark Derouin looked on (right). Photo by Juliana Allen
Senior diver Yash Dagade scored a personal best at the STMA meet. Photo by Juliana Allen
Senior Mark Derouin (pictured center). Photo by Juliana Allen
Teammates Luke Anderson (in the water) and Abhi Madireddy (standing) celebrate their relay swim. Photo by Juliana Allen
Senior swimmer, co-captain and longtime team standout Brian Shi was on deck with the team but has been out of the pool all season due to an ongoing injury and did not compete in the meet.
Kendall said, “I specifically want to shout out all the seniors — Luke Anderson, Yash Dagade, Mark Derouin, Lucas Johnson, Abhi Madireddy, and Brian Shi. They were an amazing group of leaders in a year where the team needed some sort of new identity after losing a massive senior class that inevitably won a state championship.
“It has been a treat to work with them, and I am looking forward to all they do here at the end of the season and what they choose to do beyond the sport of swimming. A sincere thank you. Go Eagles!” Kendall said.
Eagle seniors and co-captains (L-R) Lucas Johnson, Mark Derouin, Yash Dagade, Abhi Madireddy, Brian Shi, and Luke Anderson. Photo by Juliana Allen
JV Conference Finals are Feb. 17, Section 2AA Tournament Feb. 21-23
The team’s next challenge will be the JV Conference meet, to be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17, at Minnetonka Aquatic Center. Fans hoping to cheer on the team’s JV swimmers can purchase tickets here.
The Section 2AA Tournament will be held the next week. Chanhassen High School will host the competition at Chaska’s Pioneer Ridge Middle School.
Swimming prelims will begin at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 21 (purchase tickets here).
Diving will begin at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 22 (purchase tickets here).
Swimming finals begin at 6 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 23 (purchase tickets here).
The 2023-24 EP boys swim and dive team celebrating the end of their final dual meet. Photo by Juliana Allen