Eagan senior competes in 2 state tourneys in 1 day
Eagan senior competes in 2 state tourneys in 1 day
For any high school athlete, making it to state is a major accomplishment. But imagine competing in two state tournaments on the same day.
EAGAN, Minn. (FOX 9) - For any high school athlete, making it to state is a major accomplishment. But imagine competing in two state tournaments on the same day.
Raising the bar
What we know:
Stone Larson hits the weight room for a couple of hours a day, six days a week.
But soon he'll be doing his heaviest lifting yet as a dual sport athlete on two of the state's biggest stages.
"I'm just trying to be as calm as I can. Just treat it as any other meet and don't think of it anything more," said Larson.
Larson already has three state records for Olympic weightlifting, in snatch and clean and jerk as well as the total of the two.
On Saturday, he will not only compete in the state tournament for weightlifting in Cannon Falls in the morning.
He also qualified to make a splash at the swimming and diving state championships at the University of Minnesota on Saturday night.
"It's exciting. I've never heard of anyone doing it. So being able to do something that no one else has ever done is kind of like it's cool," said Larson.
Two-sport athlete
The backstory:
Larson started diving for the Eagan Wildcats back in 2021 after falling head over heels for aerial acrobatics on his backyard trampoline.
He started pumping iron for the school's weightlifting team the following year and since then, he's been to state in both sports a couple of times, but never on the same day.
"You hear about kids going to state tournaments, multiple state tournaments throughout the year, but to have it both in one day, that's almost unheard of. So that's why the opportunity is so amazing," said Larson's Olympic weightlifting coach, Casey Odell.
Double the fun
What they're saying:
Larson hopes appearing in two state tournaments in one day will be twice as nice.
"I'm hoping in lifting I'll win. And diving, I just want to compete my best. Hopefully get in the top two. That's my goal," said Larson.
Larson already has a scholarship for diving at the University Of Nebraska in Omaha next year.
He also hopes to continue weightlifting, this time for Team USA, next year as well.