Sean C. Morgan
Sweet Home’s swimmers turned in an epic performance Saturday night, Feb. 18, winning both the boys and girls team titles and 12 individual events at the 4A/3A/2A/1A state championship meet held at Mt. Hood Community College.
“This is only the third time in the history of 4A swimming that the boys and girls (from one school) both won the state championship,” said Coach Doug Peargin, who has had a number of team champions during his 43-year coaching career in Sweet Home, the most recent being the girls first-ever title last year. “Having a championship team is something a coach will never forget, but to get two of them is wonderful.”
The boys, who last won a title in 2010, outscored last year’s winner La Grande 68-51, while the girls outscored North Bend for the second year in a row to win, this time 99-58.
The Huskies also had individual champions in eight events and won all four freestyle relays, the girls setting school and state records in both.
Megan Hager, Jessica Coats, Lauren Yon and Lucie Davis swam 1:40.25 in the 200 relay and Hager, Sarah Hewitt, Yon and Davis combined to go 3:36.55 in the 400.
For the boys, Rowland Lupoli, Rawlins Lupoli, Brandon Vasfaret and Nathan Hager combined to set a school record of 1:31.07 in the 200 Freestyle Relay.
Rowland Lupoli, Sean Wol-thuis, Vasfaret and Hager iced the win for the boys with a victory in the 400 Freestyle Relay.
“Amazing,” said sophomore Sarah Hewitt, following the awards ceremony. “It’s surreal. It’s been good. It’s all in the positive attitude.”
“I’m proud,” Hager said. “And I’m proud of my team and everybody.”
Senior Nathan Hager (100 Freestyle) and junior Rowland Lupoli (100 Butterfly) won individual titles for the boys – the first for both.
For the girls, Davis, a senior, won the 200 and 500 Freestyles for the fourth year in a row, setting a school record of 1:52.32 in the 200.
Senior Jessica Coats won her first state title in the 100 backstroke – in a school-record time of 59.04.
Junior Lauren Yon won the 200 Individual Medley and the 100 Breaststroke, setting a school record of 1:06.82 in the latter, and freshman Megan Hager notched her first state win, in the 100 Freestyle.
The season’s biggest triumph wasn’t a total surprise for the girls, who were loaded with talent and experience – and everybody was healthy, which hasn’t been the case in previous state meets for these swimmers.
“We had an idea last week,” Yon said.
By the time they finished preliminaries Friday, the Huskies were pretty sure the girls would win, and the boys knew they had a clear shot at a title too.
While the outcome for the girls wasn’t in much doubt, it was a different story for the boys, who had to get a best effort from everyone to have a chance to beat defending champion La Grande.
Just before the championships started, Peargin said the boys had a shot at it, and he was happy just to have that shot.
The boys were busy Friday night looking at times.
“We calculated the points up in our hotel room,” Rowland Lupoli said. “We knew what we needed to do to get it.”
Key was the 4×100 Freestyle Relay, which the girls had just won when the boys entered the water for their final event. Fortunately for Sweet Home, La Grande finished fourth as the Huskies won.
The individual events were key as well.
“I hadn’t expected to be champion in the fly,” Lupoli said. But he came in as the No. 1 seed in the 100 Butterfly after the prelims on Friday. “I knew I had to get first again for the points.”
He and his twin brother Rawlins were third and fourth in the 100 Breaststroke, which also boosted the boys’ point tally.
“I was a little nervous after districts,” said Rawlins, who edged his brother by four-hundredths of a second to win the breaststroke in the district finals.
The two weren’t sure if they’d have a shot, but after qualifying for the final, they mapped out a route to the championship.
Winning the championship with the girls “was pretty amazing,” he said.
Peargin said that he knew his teams were in the mix.
“When you take 14 swimmers to state and all 14 place for your team, you know you’re going to be in the hunt for a trophy,” he said. “We went into this meet on a mission. We had a strategy, a game plan, and the conditioning to back it up. Our kids were as focused as I’ve ever seen a team. We were on a mission – not as a girls team and a boys team – we went as one team.”
“It’s been four years of work manifested into one weekend,” Nathan Hager said.
He and his sister both credited the years of swimming with the same swimmers with their success.
The Sweet Home Swim Club played a big part in preparing her to compete in swimming and win state championships, Megan Hager said.
Both of them won their 100 freestyle events after placing second in the 50 free in the only year they were able to be part of the same high school team.
“I’m just so proud of my brother,” Megan said, and he felt likewise.
Peargin said his seniors showed necessary leadership to get the job done all season long, when weather cancelled meets and when the flu bug decimated the ranks.
“I knew if I gave my heart, they would give it back,” Peargin said. “Boy did they over-exceed.”
In terms of character, he noted that most of his athletes “are probably in the 3.9 GPA range, and they’re competitive and smart.
“The girls, as of late, have picked up the tempo and are competing, every one of them,” Peargin said.
“I love these kids like they were my own,” he said. “They don’t leave anything in the tank, and they love each other.
“It’s been a tremendous season. These are tremendous kids. I’m proud to be a part of such a great group of parents and swimmers.”
– Staff writer Scott Swanson contributed to this report.
OSAA 4A/3A/2A/1A
State Swimming Championships
Finalists and Sweet Home Finishers
(Results lower than
sixth place are preliminaries times)
Girls Results
Team Scores – (1) Sweet Home 99; (2) North Bend 58; (3) La Grande 32; (4) Sisters 29; (5) Marshfield 25; (6) Tillamook 22; (7) Newport 17; (8) Catlin Gabel 11; (9) St Mary’s 7; (10-tie) Cascade, Salem Academy 3; (12) Molalla 2.
200 Medley Relay – (1) North Bend 1:53.47; (2) La Grande 1:55.64; (3) Sweet Home (Jessica Coats, Elea Hewitt, Mia Davis, Sarah Hewitt) 1:56.13; (4) Tillamook 1:57.75; (5) Catlin Gabel 1:58.32; (6) 1:59.22.
200 Freestyle – (1) Lucie Davis (SH) 1:52.32; (2) Anna Hutchins (Marshfield)1:58.35; (3) Sarah Hewitt (Sweet Home) 2:01.06; (4)Allison Bachart (Newport) 2:02.57; (5) Sierra Trichler (North Bend) 2:06.47; (6) Kristal Jensen (La Grande) 2:06.62.
200 Individual Medley – (1) Lauren Yon (Sweet Home)2:07.76; (2) Riana Scott (La Grande) 2:12.35; (3) Makayla Proett (North Bend) 2:17.54; (4) Angela Liu (Catlin Gabel) 2:19.41; (5) Rena Krahn (Marshfield) 2:24.98; (6) Elea Hewitt (Sweet Home) 2:29.72 .
50 Freestyle – (1) Vianka Hoyer (North Bend) 24.68; (2) Megan Hager (Sweet Home) 24.82; (3) Whitney Averill (Tillamook) 25.76 ; (4) Maryn Ringger (St. Mary’s) 26.02; (5) Sophie Dziak (Newport) 26.08; (6) Alyssa Monohon (North Bend) 26.30.
100 Butterfly – (1) Vianka Hoyer (North Bend) 57.24; (2) Anna Hutchins (Marshfield) 58.48; (3) Jessica Coats (Sweet Home)1:00.07; (4) Zaraya Estrada (Marshfield) 1:01.98; (5) Alisha Issa (Molalla) 1:03.15; Whitney Averill (Tillamook) 1:03.46; (9) Mia Davis (Sweet Home) 1:03.56.
100 Freestyle – 1 Megan Hager (Sweet Home) 53.57; (2) Allison Bachart (Newport) 56.08; (3) Kara Putman (Tillamook) 57.06; (4) Sophie Dziak (Newport) 57.16; (5) Alyssa Monohon (North Bend) 57.18; (6) Hawley Harrer (Sisters) 57.90.
500 Freestyle – 1 Lucie Davis (Sweet Home) 5:00.39; (2) Lydia Bartlett (Sisters) 5:14.50; (3) Sarah Hewitt (Sweet Home) 5:27.73; (4) Mia Davis (Sweet Home)5:28.25; (5) Defne Alpay (Catlin Gabel) 5:33.19; )(6) Meredith Mandal (Sisters) 5:34.11.
200 Freestyle Relay – (1) Sweet Home (Megan Hager, Jessica Coats, Lauren Yon, Lucie Davis) 1:40.39; (2) Sisters 1:43.53; (3) North Bend 1:43.83; (4) La Grande 1:44.37; (5) Tillamook 1:45.37; (6) Catlin Gabel 1:48.98.
100 Backstroke – (1) Jessica Coats (Sweet Home) 59.04; (2) Riana Scott (La Grande) 1:00.93; (3) Annika Strasman (North Bend) 1:03.30 ; (4) Ivy Frisbee (St. Mary’s) 1:04.01 ; (5) Sarah Kuykendal (North Bend) 1:04.58; (6) Trinity Pierce (Salem Academy) 1:05.11.
100 Breaststroke – (1) Lauren Yon (Sweet Home) 1:06.38; (2) Romayne Ricker (La Grande) 1:07.81;(3) Kara Putman (Tillamook) 1:10.89; (4) Min Wei (Cascade) 1:11.18; (5) Brooke Robillar (Sisters) 1:12.60; (6) Sierra Trichler (North Bend) 1:12.70; (10) Elea Hewitt (Sweet Home)1:16.57.
400 Freestyle Relay – (1) Sweet Home (Megan Hager, Sarah Hewitt, Lauren Yon, Lucie Davis) 3:36.55 (New State Record); (2) Sisters 3:47.38; (3) Marshfield 3:49.78; (4) North Bend 3:49.93; (5) Newport 3:58.54; (6) Salem Academy 4:02.73.
Boys Results
Team Scores – (1)Sweet Home 68; (2) La Grande 51; (3) Newport 47; (4)Salem Academy 24; (5) Baker/Powder Valley 16; (6-tie) North Bend, Marshfield 15; (8) Valley Catholic 14; (9) Madras 12; (10) Tillamook 9; (11-tie) Henley, St. Mary’s 8; (13-tie) Catlin Gabel, Philomath 7; (15) Cascade Christian 3; (16-tie) Phoenix, Stayton 2.
200 Medley Relay – (1) La Grande 1:41.96; (2) Sweet Home (Sean Wolthuis, Rawlins Lupoli, Brandon Vasfaret, Stewart Curtis) 1:45.56; Newport 1:46.09;(4) St. Mary’s 1:49.46; (5) Marshfield 1:49.95; (6) Salem Academy 1:51.09.
200 Freestyle – (1)Ben Settle (Valley Catholic) 1:42.88; (2) Garren Dutto (La Grande) 1:45.67; (3) Caleb Warde (Salem Academy) 1:48.26; (4) James Dye (Philomath) 1:49.38; (5) Sean O’Meara (Newport) 1:49.91; (6) Connor Fromm (Marshfield) 1:54.03; (8) Sean Wolthuis (Sweet Home)1:55.24.
200 Individual Medley – (1) Jared Miller (Baker/Powder Valley) 1:56.88; (2)Ryan Trichler (North Bend) 2:01.22; (3) Lucas Ellingson-Cosen (Newport) 2:03.44; (4) Rawlins Lupoli (Sweet Home) 2:04.13; (5) Jasper Zhu St. Mary’s (2:05.76); (6) Brandon Vasfaret (Sweet Home) 2:05.89.
50 Freestyle – (1) Garrett Webb (Madras) 22.16; (2) Nathan Hager (Sweet Home) 22.33; (3) Ryland Pampush (Tillamook) 22.35; (4) Christian Scagl (Cascade Christian) 22.44; (5) TJ Morgan (Henley) 22.63; (6) Wilson McLean (Salem Academy) 22.66.
100 Butterfly – (1) Rowland Lupoli (Sweet Home) 54.32; (2) Danny Woodruff (North Bend) 54.64; (3) James Dye (Philomath) 55.84; (4) Tony Clay (La Grande) 56.12; (5) David Liu (Catlin Gabel) 56.20; (6) Sid Pai (Catlin Gabel) 56.46.
100 Freestyle – (1) Nathan Hager (Sweet Home) 48.54; (2) Ryland Pampush (Tillamook) 49.38; (3) Sean O’Meara (Newport) 49.70; (4) Caleb Warde (Salem Academy) 50.08; (5) TJ Morgan (Henley) 50.09; (6) Wyatt Perry (La Grande) 50.95; (8) Sean Wolthuis (Sweet Home) 51.28.
500 Freestyle – (1) Garren Dutto (La Grande) 4:45.98; (2) Ryan Trichler (North Bend) 4:52.74; (3) Lucas Ellingson (Newport) 4:53.38; (4) Connor Fromm (Marshfield) 5:05.05; (5) Justin Miller (Baker/Powder Valley) 5:07.42; (6) Caden Shanks (Newport) 5:07.83.
200 Freestyle Relay – (1) Sweet Home (Rowland Lupoli, Rawlins Lupoli, Brandon Vasfaret, Nathan Hager 1:31.22; (2) La Grande 1:32.86; (3) Newport 1:33.23; (4) Salem Academy 1:33.69; (5) Henley 1:37.39; (6) Phoenix 1:38.43.
100 Backstroke – (1) Ben Settle (Valley Catholic) 51.96; (2) Jared Miller (Baker/ Powder Valley) 51.99; (3) David Liu (Catlin Gabel) 56.72; (4) Caden Shanks (Newport) 56.98; (5) Ryan Russell(Newport) 58.66; (6) Tommaso Garbi (Marshfield) 58.67.
100 Breaststroke – (1) Lance Denny (La Grande) 1:00.88; (2) Garrett Webb (Madras) 1:01.13; (3) Rawlins Lupoli (Sweet Home) 1:01.22; (4) Rowland Lupoli (Sweet Home) 1:02.73; (5) Eric Seitz (Stayton) 1:04.51; (6) Chandler Arnsdo (Newport) 1:05.26.
400 Freestyle Relay – (1) Sweet Home (Rowland Lupoli, Sean Wolthuis, Brandon Vasfaret, Nathan Hager) 3:19.58; (2) Newport 3:24.75; (3) Salem Academy 3:29.07; (4) Marshfield 3:29.23; (5) La Grande 3:29.80 ; (6) Baker/Powder Valley 3:33.42.