On Senior Night for the Austin boys' swimming and diving team, the seven senior captains did not disappoint. Thanks in large part to their efforts, the Packers scored a 94-84 win over Rochester John Marshall at Ellis Middle School that was not as close as the final score indicated.

The Packers started out strong, thanks to a victory by the 200-yard medley relay team of Chase Kusterer, Ben Petersen, Erik Sherman, and senior Derek Hall, who hope to parlay their experience from last season's near-miss of the state tournament into a trip to the Twin Cities this year. Led by Carl Bauer and senior Ethan Simonson, Austin also dominated the 200 freestyle to jump out to a quick 23-7 advantage.

Beau Webber followed with another strong performance to secure deep-end supremacy for the divers.

"Nearly all of us (seniors) have been swimming together for six or seven years," said Webber, "so it's nice to go out with a win."

While the only record Webber left with Thursday night was "the only one he hasn't broken," a

round vinyl one presented to him by his teammates. Webber heads into his final postseason looking to improve upon his fifth-place finish at last year's state tournament.

While Austin led by a count of 52-26 at the intermission, there was no letdown as swimming resumed. Wins by Simonson in the 100 freestyle, Erik Sherman in the 100 butterfly, and the senior- dominated 200 freestyle team of Derek and Josh Hall, Levi Van Pelt, and Simonson again put the meet out of reach for John Marshall.

The Rockets were led by eighth-grader John Delmundo, who tallied two impressive victories in the 100 breaststroke and the 200 individual medley. While JM also captured the 50 and 500 freestyles, all four of its first-place finishes in the meet were negated by 2-3-4 sweeps by Austin.

While Austin's record stands at a respectable 5-4, there was a general sentiment among the Packer seniors that it could have been even better.

"We were really close to pulling out a couple of meets that we ended up losing," said Van Pelt, "and we've got the depth to do well in the postseason."

Simonson added that he felt this class was "the best in the last four years."

Reflecting the modest demeanor of AHS head coach Lynn Gulbrandson, Petersen was quick to credit the coaching staff for the team's success this year, but he shared his teammates' sentiment that the Packers have "a great chance to do well at the Big 9" and beyond.

With their regular season complete, the Packers head to the Rochester Rec Center next Thursday for the Big Nine meet, where, in the words of Van Pelt, they hope to "tear it up."

Results:

(Winners and Austin top three)

200 medley relay--1. Austin (Chase Kusterer, Ben Petersen, Erik Sherman, Derek Hall) 1:51.94; 200 freestyle--1. Carl Bauer (A) 1:58.99; 2. Ethan Simonson (A) 2:00.02; 3. Jake Rausch (A) 2:00.55; 200 individual medley--1. John Delmundo (JM) 2:16.28; 2. Sherman (A) 2:20.85; 3. Petersen (A) 2:25.39; 50 freestyle--1. Ben Leslie (JM) 23.63; 2. Derek Hall (A) 23.84; 3. Levi Van Pelt (A) 24.64.

Diving--1. Beau Webber (A) 270.95; 3. Ryan O'Leary (A) 201.60; 100 butterfly--1. Sherman (A) 1:00.93; 3. Philip Heins (A) 1:07.90; 100 freestyle--1. Simonson (A) 52.98; 2. Rausch (A) 54.48; 3. Van Pelt (A) 55.65; 500 freestyle--1. Jordan Halvorson (JM) 5:30.44; 2. Brian Forman (A) 5:44.18; 3. Bauer (A) 5:56.85.

200 freestyle relay--1. Austin (D. Hall, J. Hall, Simonson, Van Pelt) 1:37.03; 100 backstroke--1. Kusterer (A) 1:04.38; 100 breaststroke--1. Delmundo (JM) 1:11.21; 2. Ben Johnson (A) 1:13.91; 3. Petersen (A) 1:15.84; 400 freestyle relay--1. Austin (Bauer, Van Pelt, Rausch, Simonson) 3:37.49.