Senior Mike Arnold will cap his six-year Bemidji Lumberjacks swim career by competing in the state tournament this weekend at the Minnesota University pool.
Arnold was the lone Jack to qualify this year after Bemidji sent four individuals and a relay in 2006.
Tyler Sand was the only qualifier in 2005 ending a three-year lapse when the Jacks failed to send anyone to the big meet.
Arnold reached the state in the 500 freestyle, battling Josh Seaburg of Moorhead to the final stroke before settling for second.
Neither reached the state qualifying standard of 4:56.17 with Seaburg clocked at 4:59.11 and Arnold at 4:59.8.
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But Arnold knocked 10 seconds off his Friday qualifying time and seems capable of lowering his time more tonight.
Because of the blizzard, the meet has been shortened to only one day and will be reduced to timed finals.
The Class A finals will be at 11 a.m. and the Class AA at 6:30 with swimming and diving held concurrently.
Tyler Sand scored at last year's meet taking 13th in the 200 free for four points. Those were the first Bemidji points in five years. The school high is 99 in the Scott Welle, Derek Berg era.
Arnold finished fifth in the team totals this year with 364 points, one of eight swimmers to top 300 points.
Arnold qualified for last year's state in three events, the 200, 00 and 400 free relay.
The relay qualified 17, missing the scoring column by one place. Neither Arnold nor Felix Dyrna in the I.M. reached the final 16.
With only four seniors, just three among the scoring leaders, the Jacks future looks brighter. The top three scorers were two sophomores and a junior with two juniors, three sophs and two freshmen among the top 10.
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Arnold was seeded 20 going into tonight's prelims.
