Photo courtesy of Stephen Wiblemo/Hutchinson Leader Marshall’s Brandon Groenewold (right) gets himself psyched up before leading off Montevideo's 200-yard freestyle relay as his teammates warmed up behind him during the state swimming tournament at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center Saturday.

MONTEVIDEO – It’s been a long time since Marshall High School offered boys swimming and diving as a varsity sport. This winter, however, for the first time in many years, four Marshall boys swimmers competed on a squad. The team they swam for, though, was the Montevideo Thunder Hawks.

It started with Matt Dunn and Brandon Groenewold, a couple of Marshall seniors who swam on a club team together. After years of swimming in club leagues, they wanted to give the Minnesota State High School League a try.

But instead of trying to start a team in Marshall, the families thought it would be better to join a team that was already well established. That’s where Montevideo came in.

“Some of the Marshall parents approached our activities director and said they (the kids) would like to swim since there is no boys program (in Marshall),” said Montevideo’s head coach, Matthew Olson said. “That’s how the ball got started. They approached me and we were hoping for it … We thought it would be a great marriage for both of us.”

After getting the go-ahead from both school’s activities directors, the co-op was agreed on and Marshall had four swimmers join Montevideo’s ranks. Along with Dunn and Groenewold, sophomore Nicholas Dunn and freshman Addison Clarin made the switch to high school.

Of course there was still one more big question: How would Montevideo’s boys take to the new swimmers on the team.

“It was a lot better than what I thought,” Groenewold said. “I thought it would be awkward at first because I didn’t know anyone, but then I jumped in and it just felt really welcoming. We got right into swimming and became friends.”

“It was a lot of fun. I thought they really pushed us, because everyone thought they had their spot on the team, and then we had some guys come in and that were the same speed,” said Carson Hein, a Montevideo senior. “They pushed us all to do better.”

The four Marshall swimmers fit right in and were able to carve out spots on the team. Of course it took a little get using to. High school meets are different than club meets. Club meets have boys and girls events, for instance, and there are more events.

“It’s a little different,” Matt Dunn said. “It’s faster, there are faster swimmers, and there is more excitement in the air. The atmosphere is more pumped up here. Way more than club.”

Marshall’s swimmers all helped Montevideo’s team in the section finals, but Groenewold and Matt Dunn were the only two to qualify for state. They went as members of the 200-yard medley and freestyle relay teams.

The state swimming championship finals were Saturday at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center. The medley relay team, with Dunn swimming, took 16th place with a time of 1:47.60.

Groenewold swam on the 200 freestyle relay team that took 10th place with a time of 1:29.83. He even swam his fastest 50-yard split with a time of 22.72.

“I couldn’t wish for a better experience. It was awesome. I don’t know how else to explain it,” Groenewold said. “Had the best race of my life, too.”

The co-op is a two-year agreement, so even though Groenewold and Matt Dunn will be graduated, Clarin and Nicholas Dunn can return. Olson also hopes more Marshall kids will join them, and the coop continues to help the Thunder Hawks grow.

“They definitely helped out the team and made our guys work harder,” the coach said.”We would love to see it keep happening, but we know there’s a lot of traveling.”

The travel between the two towns is the hardest part about the co-op. It’s a 45-minute rive, but it wasn’t every day. And the guys who did it say it was worth the time and effort.

“We tried to do it about three times a week, sometimes it would be two,” Matt Dunn said about the drive to Montevideo. “The days we didn’t go up we went to the college or the YMCA and swim our own workouts. It’s a fairly big commitment, but if you’re looking for a great time and you love swimming, it’s worth it.”