By Satina Tolman
For The New Era
Sweet Home made waves at the 2025 Blanchet December Invite, held Saturday, Dec. 13, at the Salvation Army Kroc Community Center in Salem.
The girls earned third place behind Valley Catholic and McNary, while the boys captured first place by a decisive 10-point margin.
Despite a limited roster, the girls’ team delivered determined performances.
Sophomore Chloe Sautel dominated the girls’ events, winning the 200-yard individual medley by 29.5 seconds. She also claimed victory in the 500-yard freestyle, out-touching teammate junior Ella Haggas by an astounding 71.4 seconds. Haggas earned second place and swam 29.2 seconds faster than Blanchet’s third-place finisher.
Junior Lexi Rundell earned third place in both the girls’ 100-yard and 200-yard freestyle, while Haggas took fourth in the 200-yard freestyle.
Sautel and Haggas teamed with Rundell and senior Kylie Melkvik in the 400-yard freestyle relay, edging out their competition by six seconds in a thrilling race to claim first place. The same relay team also earned a third place in the 200-yard freestyle relay, coming behind second place by only 1.33 seconds.
The boys’ first-place victory was driven by standout individual swims and strong team performances in the relays.
Junior Austyn Hogan led the charge with wins in the 200-yard freestyle by 6.3 seconds and the 500-yard freestyle by 49.2 seconds.
Remarkably, Hogan and Sautel finished the 500-yard freestyle just 0.78 seconds apart, hinting at an exciting—and friendly—rivalry between Sweet Home’s top boy and girl distance swimmers this season.
Senior Andrew Tolman added a victory in the 100-yard backstroke by exactly five seconds and earned third place in the 100-yard butterfly. Junior Henry Jones made a statement in the boys’ 100-yard freestyle, touching the wall 2.7 seconds ahead of the competition. Junior Grayson Savri took second in the 100-yard breaststroke and third in the 200-yard individual medley.
Tolman, Jones, Hogan, and Savri then teamed up to win the 200-yard freestyle relay by 6.3 seconds. The same quartet earned second place in the 200-yard medley relay, falling to McNary by just 1.3 seconds.
Hogan, one of the team’s student captains, praised his teammates’ efforts.
“I think we did really well,” Hogan said.
“It was only our second meet, and we were down a couple of swimmers, but it was a great meet.”
He added that Jones’ performance stood out.
“I think he surprised himself at how well he did. He really stepped it up this meet, and if he keeps doing that, he will have a great season.”
Head Coach A. Jay Bronson expressed pride in the team’s growth and resilience, especially when facing larger programs.
“The kids swam really well,” Bronson said. “It’s nice to have a bigger-style meet this early in the season, and they rose to the challenge.”
The boys’ roster remains at 10 swimmers after losing one athlete and gaining sophomore Malakai Walls. With one boy and one girl out for the meet, Sweet Home competed with just nine boys and six girls.
Bronson noted the challenge of competing against larger schools such as McNary, a 6A program with more than 40 swimmers. “Numbers are always going to be our biggest challenge,” he said.
“That’s just something we can’t overcome sometimes. Still, we had great time drops from a variety of swimmers.”
Walls made his competitive debut at the meet.
“This was Malakai’s first meet and only his sixth day in the water,” Bronson said. “He’s already showing incredible improvement.”
Bronson also highlighted strong performances from underclassmen and newcomers.
“Marshall, Malakai, and Ethan really stood out,” he said. “Their improvement is off the charts.”
He added that underclassmen Sadie, Persephone, and Westin made valuable contributions. “Having club experience really gives them a leg up early in the season. I’m proud of all the swimmers and where we are right now.”
Up next, the Huskies will host Philomath and Marist Friday at 4 p.m.
On Dec. 26 they will hold the Green and Gold Alumni Meet, starting at 2 p.m.