West Express Swim Club sees club records broken, events won at Age Group Championships

Ahead of one of the most significant meets of the summer season, West Express Swim Club age group coach Ron Jacobson said what was most important for the swimmers was to have fun.

Following the meet, it is safe to say the team not only enjoyed itself but also was happy with the results. Behind seven team record-breaking performances and two individual event winners, West Express finished ninth overall and second against AA or other mid-sized teams at the 2023 Minnesota Age Group Long Course Championships July 27-30.

According to Jacobson, though, the success the team had will not be the main takeaway from the meet for the swimmers.

“Fifteen to 20 years from now, they’re not going to remember what their times were. They’re going to remember if they went out and had pizza with their buddies or whatever it may be, and that to me is the important thing,” Jacobson said.

West Express finished with 679.5 points for its ninth-place finish. The team was behind just Great Wolf Swim Club in the AA division who scored 908.5 points.

Bryson Hougas had a strong showing for the club in the boys 11-12-year-old division, winning two events and setting five club records in that age group during the weekend. Hougas won the 50 meter freestyle (27.49) and the 50 meter butterfly (29.39).

Other club records set by Hougas include the 100 meter freestyle (1:00.23), 100 meter butterfly (1:08.40) and 50 meter backstroke (32.51).

Two other swimmers for West Express broke individual club records, as Nic Hirner broke the boys 200 meter butterfly (2:42.71) while Oliver Fauzie broke the boys 400 meter individual medley (6:05.93).

Before the meet, Jacobson and head coach Heidi Miler talked about how they want to instill a strong team culture with younger swimmers so it will continue with them all the way through to when they are 18 years old. With the number of athletes competing at the Age Group Championships, they are both excited about the swimmers’ future.

“They’ve all done a super job… the super fun thing is the fact that [we] kind of have this core group that push each other, help make each other better. With that, they’ve brought up the level of the whole group,” Jacobson said.

He added: “They’re a pretty close group of kids… that’s one of the cool things is seeing them make friends.”

With the state meet completed, seven West Express swimmers in Hougas, Archer Hougas, Sam Kvam, Samantha Lang, Eli Melquist, Olivia Patrick and Makenzie Royal will now compete at the 2023 Central Zone 14 and under Championship meet Aug. 3-6 in Lenexa, Kansas. Seven swimmers at the Central Zone meet is the most the club has sent to the meet. It will be one of the last meets of the summer season, and Jacobson is thankful for the time he has spent with the group throughout the year.

“They’re a super fun group that comes in and works hard,” Jacobson said. “They’re a super good group of kids that I really really enjoy being around with… Having this group be the last thing I do at the end of a really long day is super fun because it ends my day in a great way.”

West Express also competed in the Minnesota Senior Long Course State Championship meet July 20-23, with six individual events and five relays finishing in the top 20. On the boys side, Casey Parker finished 19th in the 100 meter freestyle (54.73) while Ayden Pana finished 18th in the 200 meter butterfly (2:17.58). The boys 200 freestyle relay finished 20th (1:43.34) and the 800 freestyle relay finished 14th (8:35.55).

On the girls side, Gretta Hansen finished 15th in the 200 meter backstroke (2:28.89) and 20th in the 400 individual medley (5:22.54). Abby Voelker finished 10th in the 100 meter butterfly (1:04.65) and Sophie Dahl finished 20th in the 200 meter backstroke (2:31.06). The girls 200 freestyle relay (17th, 1:53.18), 800 freestyle relay (15th, 9:13.48) and 200 medley relay (14th, 2:06.65) all finished in the top 20 as well.

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