MINNEAPOLIS -- The look on Ronnie Hehn's face told the story Saturday night. After battling a sophomore and admittedly himself, the Moorhead senior swimmer bobbed in the water with a blank stare.
The disbelieving gaze never left Hehn's face for the next 10 minutes after he finished runner-up to Eden Prairie's Mark Solfelt in the 100-yard breaststroke at the Minnesota Class 2A state swimming and diving meet at the University of Minnesota Aquatics Center.
Despite swimming a personal-best time of :57.50, Hehn placed second in the 100 freestyle -- an event he won last year. Solfelt finished in :57.27.
"That's a heartbreaker. I just didn't go as fast as I should have today," Hehn said.
Hehn also finished second to Solfelt in the 200 individual medley, a race in which Hehn produced a personal-best time of 1:52.14 but fell short to Solfelt's state-record time of 1:49.76. Hehn eventually led the Spuds to a 10th place team finish to cap off a "rebuilding year" in Moorhead.
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For Hehn, the 100 freestyle will stick in his craw for awhile.
"It's not that I finished second," Hehn said. "I can't control what he (Solfelt) does. If I had won those two (events), I would have been disappointed. It's just not as fast as I wanted to be."
Perhaps the pain of losing the 100 freestyle, the meet's second to last event, was eased by his obligation in the final event of the night. After walking off the second-place podium, Hehn ditched his warm-ups and readied himself -- as much as he could -- for his leg of the 400 freestyle relay in the consolation heat.
The Spuds started the relay with Shaun Seaburg. Adam Matson took over for Seaburg before Rob Schaefer moved the Spuds into third in the heat. Hehn took over and made up enough ground to win the final length, using more desire than strength.
"I had nothing," Hehn said, alluding to what was left in his gas tank. "That was pure want at the end of that. It's my last swim, my senior year. I wanted to go out on a good note."
The 9th place overall finish in the 400 freestyle relay bumped the Spuds from 13th place to 10th. It also put a smile on Moorhead coach Pat Anderson's bearded face.
"Top 10 is very respectable for this group," Anderson said. "I hold my head high about these guys and what they do."
Hehn's times in the 200 IM and the 100 freestyle earned him automatic All-American status.
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In 2003, Hehn finished second in the event to the previous state record-breaker, Michael Zee of Apple Valley.
Seaburg finished 10th overall in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:46.10. Directly behind Seaburg was teammate Rob Schaefer, who tied for 11th place.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Tim Salwei at (701) 241-5549
