The Prior Lake boys swimming team faced some top Section 2AA competition up in Grand Rapids Dec. 28.

The Lakers were competing in the Up North Invitational and finished second out of eight schools with 532.5 points. Minnetonka ran away with the title with 679 points.

Chaska-Chanhassen was a distant third (362), followed by host Grand Rapids (277.5), Rock Ridge (180), Mesabi East (172), Burnsville (46) and Chisholm (44).

Section 2AA is one of the strongest in the state with four ranked teams in the field — No. 2 Minnetonka, No. 6 Eden Prairie, No. 7 Chaska-Chanhassen and the No. 8 Lakers.

Shakopee, Burnsville, Waconia and Bloomington Jefferson are also in the field.

At the Class AA state meet last year, Section 2AA had four schools in the in top seven in the team standings. Eden Prairie won the title, followed by Prior Lake in third, Minnetonka in fourth and Chaska-Chanhassen in seventh.

Meanwhile, at the invite, the Lakers won five events, including the 200 medley relay. The foursome of junior Ethan Kosin, sophomore Owen Beaudette and seniors Kaiden Cheung and Victor Trinh has a winning time of 1:36.82.

Kosin also won the 500 freestyle (4:48.12), while sophomore Braxton Helmers was tops in the 200 freestyle (1:50.73). Cheung claimed the 100 butterfly (52.47), while junior Maddox Mork won diving with 420.60 points.

Prior Lake’s 200 freestyle relay team of Trinh, Helmers, Beaudette and junior Griffin Leining took second (1:28.72), as did the 400 freestyle team of Cheung, Leining, Helmers and Kosin (3:15.12).

Trinh was runner-up in the 50 freestyle (21.88), while Kosin was third (21.98).

The Lakers had three in the top five in the 100 breaststroke with Beaudette taking second (1:02.71), followed by junior Matt Ondracek in fourth (1:06.48) and Trinh in fifth (1:06.55).

Leining was third in both the 200 freestyle (1:54.20) and the 100 butterfly (54.27) for Prior Lake, as was Cheung in the 200 individual medley (2:02.59) and Helmers in the 100 freestyle (50.03).

Junior Reese Haycraft finished fourth in the 500 freestyle (5:14.83) and fifth in the 200 individual medley (2:11.34)

Other finishes for the Lakers came from senior Alex Prasanna in the 200 individual medley (8th, 2:12.32) and the 100 backstroke (8th, 1:00.43), Beaudette in the 100 butterfly (7th, 56.49) and sophomore Luke Schwandt in diving (7th, 259.15).

Prior Lake also improved to 3-0 in South Suburban Conference duals Dec. 19 with a 91-59 victory over Burnsville. The Lakers won all 12 events.

Cheung, Ondracek, Beaudette and Leining opened the meet winning the 200 medley relay (1:48.08). Leining, Ondracek, Prasanna and Helmers were tops in the 200 freestyle relay (1:35.07), as were Trinh, Beaudette, Helmers and Cheung in the 400 freestyle relay (3:23.87).

Helmers won both the 200 freestyle (1:50.42) and 100 freestyle (51.30), while Cheung claimed both the 500 freestyle (5:05.12) and the 100 breaststroke (1:02.81).

Beaudette was tops in the 200 individual medley (2:03.73), as were Ondracek in the 100 butterfly (58.20), Leining in the 50 freestyle (23.06) and Trinh in the 100 backstroke (58.66).

Mork claimed the diving comeptition with 289.90 points.

The Section 2AA competition is scheduled for Feb. 21-23 in Chanhassen.

This year’s Class AA state competition starts Feb. 29 with diving and continues March 1-2 with the swimming portion at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center.

Before last season, the Lakers’ best state team finish was fourth in 2016. The program also had four top 10 finishes between 2013 and 2018.