For the last six years, the Prior Lake boys swim and dive team has held a firm grip on the South Suburban Conference, refusing to drop a single dual meet.

This past week, that streak faced a significant challenge.

After a dominant showcase of depth against Burnsville, the Lakers traveled to Farmington for a showdown that came down to the final touch of the final race. Thanks to a clutch anchor leg and a total team effort, the Lakers escaped with the win, keeping their quest for a sixth straight conference title alive.

Here is the recap of a busy week for Prior Lake.

A glimpse of the future against Burnsville

Before the close call at Farmington, the Lakers hosted the Burnsville Blaze on Jan. 9, delivering a commanding 102-68 victory. While the senior captains led the charge, the story of the night was the sheer depth of the program, specifically the emergence of the middle school talent.

The night began with a win in the 200-yard medley relay by freshman Ethan Fischer, senior captain Braxton Helmers, junior Cameron Peterson and freshman Brady Shaban.

The youth movement continued in the 200-yard freestyle. While senior captain Owen Beaudette took the win, 8th grader Mason Zobrack finished second and 7th grader Jace Obleman took third, proving the future of Laker distance swimming is in good hands.

The Lakers continued to rack up points across the board:

• 200-yard individual medley: Peterson took 1st, followed by freshman Peter Kellen in 2nd.
• 50-yard freestyle: A sprint sweep with Helmers (1st), Fischer (2nd) and junior Connor Kelsey (3rd).
• Diving: Junior Nikita Ginsburg secured huge points with a second place finish.
• 100-yard butterfly: Eighth grader Emmett Beaudette touched first for the win, with sophomore Alex Zheng taking second.
• 100-yard freestyle: Owen Beaudette grabbed the top spot, flanked by Kelsey (2nd) and sophomore Leon Szabo (3rd).
• 500-yard freestyle: Zobrack showed his range by claiming the top spot.

The back half of the meet was a clinic in team dominance. The 200-yard freestyle relay team (Helmers, Fischer, Owen Beaudette and Zobrack) took gold. The Lakers then swept the top three spots in both the 100-yard backstroke (Kellen, Zheng, Shaban) and the 100-yard breaststroke (Helmers, Obleman, Peterson).

The night concluded with the team of Zobrack, Zheng, Kelsey and Owen Beaudette winning the 400-yard freestyle relay.

The Farmington freestyle thriller

If Burnsville was a comfortable win, Farmington was a battle. The matchup against the Tigers proved to be the closest meet of the season, putting the Lakers’ six-year unbeaten conference run in jeopardy.

Prior Lake fought for every inch. Helmers was a double-winner, taking top honors in the 200-yard individual medley and the 100-yard freestyle. Owen Beaudette matched him, winning the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard butterfly. On the boards, Ginsburg came up clutch, winning the diving competition to keep the score tight.

Despite these individual performances, the math was difficult. Heading into the final event — the 400-yard freestyle relay — the Lakers were down by 3 points.

To win the meet, Prior Lake not only had to win the relay, but their “B” relay team also had to take third place to swing the point total. Anything less, and the streak was over.

The “A” relay team of Helmers, Fischer, Peterson and Owen Beaudette dove in. As the race progressed, Farmington held the advantage. When Beaudette hit the water for the anchor leg, the Lakers trailed by nearly two seconds.

With 50 yards to go, Beaudette was still 0.5 seconds behind. Then, he unleashed the swim of his life.

Beaudette rocketed off the final turn, splitting an incredible 46.3 seconds for his 100 yards. He ran down the Farmington anchor to touch the wall first.

Moments later, the Lakers’ second relay team touched out their opponents to secure third place.

The 11-point swing secured the victory and kept the Lakers undefeated.

The road ahead

With the win in Farmington, the Lakers move one step closer to history. There are now just four meets remaining on the schedule as the team chases their sixth consecutive South Suburban Conference title.

Shawn Beaudette is a parent of two athletes for the Lakers boys swimming and diving team.