Dickinson swimmers ready for state meet

The high school boys swimming and diving season is winding down.
There’s only one meet left and it’s the most important of the season - state.
Members of the Williston boys swimming and diving team from Dickinson are ready for the state meet which begins at 11:30 a.m. today in Bismarck.
“We’ve had a quite a lot of progress,” Dickinson coach Mike Sullivan said. “They all look really solid going into the state meet. It should be good to see what we can get done.”
The four Dickinson swimmers qualified for the state meet are seniors James Gordon, Ben Piktin, Ryan Fahy and sophomore Jacob Ellerkamp.
Gordon, who has the fourth-best time in the 50-meter freestyle at 22.55 seconds, said eager for the state meet to begin. The Dickinson senior will compete in the 50 and 100 freestyle.
“At this point, the 50 is (my strongest event), but I’m hoping to cut a little bit of time, because I want to get into the second-place range for state,” Gordon said. “That’s my goal.”
Ellerkamp is qualified in seven events, but he will compete in 100 breaststroke and 200 freestyle.
The sophomore said the breaststroke is his strongest event. Ellerkamp holds the 29th time in the event at 1:09.04.
“We are definitely going to go as hard as we can in prelims to get your seed and then just compete hard from there,” Ellerkamp said.
Piktin has qualified in five events. His top two events are butterfly stroke and backstroke at 19th and 28th place, respectively. Individually, Fahy is qualified in the 50 and 100 freestyle and in the 200 freestyle relay.
With the team tapering off, Sullivan said the physical strength to compete for two straight days is there, but the team needs to have the mental ability for the same amount of time.
“Mental toughness is important in any sport,” Sullivan said. “Going into bigger tournaments, regional tournaments and state meets, your mental preparation is key.”
McGregor is the sports editor of The Dickinson Press. Call him at 701-456-1214 and tweet him at SirRoyal.