Scott Swanson
Sweet Home’s girls team won the District 3 Swimming Championships Saturday by a comfortable 94-point margin over Salem Academy, while the boys placed second to a very deep Salem Academy team, 303-247.
“It was a great team effort,” said Coach Doug Peargin. “We’re in one of the toughest districts in the state and, as usual, it turned out to be tough again this year.”
He said the Huskies started a little slowly in Friday’s preliminaries, but “after a few events we got on a roll and swam like I knew we could.”
The girls continued a streak of district titles that extends back to 1983, on either the boys or girls side.
The Huskies won five individual championships, along with the 200 and 400 Freestyle Relays on the girls side. The boys took home three individual titles, and won the 200 Freestyle Relay in a state-leading time of 1:33.86 after holding off North Marion to win by half a second.
Individual titlists for the girls were junior Lucie Davis, who won her third straight championships in the 200 and 500 Freestyle, Lauren Yon in the 200 Individual Medley and the 100 Freestyle, and junior Jessica Coats in the 100 Butterfly.
For the boys, Brandon Vasfaret won the 200 Individual Medley and the 500 Freestyle, Nathan Hager won the 200 Freestyle title.
Sweet Home’s girls scored 340 points, followed by Salem Academy with 246, Philomath with 169 and Blanchet with 142.
Senior Esther Gunselman said the Huskies started loose and stayed that way.
“I think we entered this meet with more of a fun mindset. I think it was less stressful,” she said. “For us, this is it, let’s give it all we’ve got, not hold anything back.”
Behind the Huskies on the boys side was North Marion, 31 points back at 216, and Philomath with 155.
Salem Academy’s depth was “a little bit of a shocker” for the boys, as senior Grant Jones put it.
Junior Brandon Vasfaret said the runner-up finish was “kind of disappointing” after “a very good season so far.
“We came in second. but they did have us in depth. They had a lot more kids than we had in the boys section.”
Jones noted that the Huskies have had a good year.
“The season was a great season. Overall, we’ve had huge improvements for everyone, including new people. Today we all improved. Overall, it was a very good meet.”
The Huskies qualified for state in all three relays on both sides, with the boys earning the No. 1 seed in the 200 Freestyle relay.
Individual qualifiers for the boys were: Hager, seeded third in the 100 Freestyle and sixth in the 200 Freestyle; Vasfaret, seeded second in the 200 IM and fifth in the 500 Freestyle; Rawlins Lupoli, seeded third in the 200 IM behind Vasfaret, and fifth in the 100 Breaststroke; Rowland Lupoli, seeded sixth, behind his brother, in the 100 Breaststroke and ninth in the 50 Freestyle; and Sean Wolthuis, seeded 12th in the 100 Backstroke. Sweet Home’s boys are seeded fifth in the 200 Medley Relay, and sixth in the 400 Freestyle Relay.
For the girls, Davis is the favorite to repeat for the third time as champion in the 200 and 500 Freestyles; Yon is the favorite in both the 200 IM and the 100 Freestyle; Coats is seeded second in the 100 Butterfly and fourth in the 100 Backstroke; Makayla Nelson is seeded fourth in the 500 Freestyle and eighth in the 100 Backstroke; Sarah Hewitt is seeded sixth in the 200 Freestyle, behind Davis, and 10th in the 500 Freestyle, in which the Huskies have four qualifiers; Mia Davis is seeded sixth in the 500 Freestyle and 10th in the 200 IM; Elea Hewitt is seeded ninth in the 200 IM and 11th in the 100 Breaststroke; Esther Gunselman is seeded seventh in the 100 Butterfly, behind Coats, and 10th in the 100 Backstroke. The girls are seeded fourth in the 200 Medley Relay, third in the 200 Freestyle Relay, and second in the 400 Freestyle Relay, half a second behind North Bend.
Swimmers said their focus is now on state. Preliminaries are 9 to 11:15 a.m. Friday, Feb. 19, and finals will be from 8:15 to 11:15 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 20, at Mt. Hood Community College Aquatic Center, 26000 SE Stark St. in Gresham.
For the girls, the top tier on the podium is the goal, but it’s going to come down to the wire. North Bend, to whom the Huskies lost by half a point last year, is back and although Sweet Home beat the Bulldogs earlier this season in a Christmas holiday meet, North Bend qualified with the fastest time in the state in all three relays and has the same number of individual slots at state as the Huskies.
“They’ve lost two of their girls and we haven’t lost anybody,” said Nelson, a senior who’s been in more state races than any other Husky. “I think we have a really good shot. We can do it.”
Coats, who has placed second at state three times, said she’s hoping for more this time.
“Individually, I was decently happy with my times today,” she said Saturday. “I’m hoping for better at state in the backstroke and the fly. I am excited to see what we can do. That’s my goal, (winning). I’ve been second every year.”
Gunselman said she believes the Huskies can get there.
“Last year we did really well. I think if we go into it like we did last year, I think we’ve got a good chance. If we stay as strong as we’ve been all season, I think we have a definite shot.”
The boys are also aiming for a team trophy after a third-place finish last year. Peargin said the boys race will be tight, with seven teams all capable of a spot on the podium.
Vasfaret said he thinks Sweet Home can pull it off.
“ I think that we should place high like we did last year, hopefully place first in our relays,” he said.
Peargin, who is in his 42nd year of coaching swimming at Sweet Home, said he believes his girls are one of the state’s top two teams, with North Bend.
“But to trophy at state, you can’t be just pretty good – you’ve got to be flat tough,” he said.
District 3 Swimming Championships
Top 3 Individuals and
Sweet Home Finals Finishers
State Meet Qualifier
Girls Results
Team Scores – (1) Sweet Home 340; (2) Salem Academy 246; (3) Philomath 169; (4) Blanchet 142; (5) Stayton 79; (6) Sisters 75; (7) Cascade 73; (8) North Marion 21.
200 Medley Relay – (1) Salem Academy 1:55.20; (2) Sweet Home “A” (Esther Gunselman, Elea Hewitt, Mia Davis, Sarah Hewitt) 2:01.90; (3) Blanchet 2:07.92; (4) Philomath 2:08,44; (5) Stayton 2:17.13; (6) Salem Academy “B” 2:18.76; (7) Sweet Home “B” (Natasha Benson, Milah Weld, Ella Parker, Kendra Vorce) 2:18.32.
200 Freestyle – (1) Lucie Davis (SH) 1:58.12; (2) Sarah Hewitt (SH) 2:05.92; (3) Ana Kosiewicz (Blanchet) 216.63; (4) Ella Parker (SH) 2:22.75; (9) Megan Oberg (SH) 2:32.56.
200 Individual Medley – (1) Lauren Yon (SH) 2:11.08; (2) Kiera Supple (Salem Academy) 2:19.55; (3) Elea Hewitt (SH) 2:25.08; (4) Mia Davis (SH) 2:26.53; (8) Sara Helfrich (SH) 2:44.16; (11) Natasha Benson (SH) 2:57.33.
50 Freestyle – (1) Kendra Sheeder (Philomath) 25.68; (2) Hawley Harrer (Sisters) 25.82; (3) Callie Hinson (Salem Academy) 26.07; (5) Kendra Vorce (SH) 29.01; (11) Livvie Hindmarsh (SH) 31.07.
100 Butterfly – (1) Jessica Coats (SH) 1:02.22; (2) Emma Boles (Salem Academy) 1:03.98; (3) Esther Gunselman (SH) 1:06.20; (9) Sara Helfrich (SH) 1:19.10; (11) Ella Parker (SH) 1:21.59.
100 Freestyle – (1) Lauren Yon (SH) 54.62; (2) Kendra Sheeder (Philomath) 57.00; (3) Kisa Fukuda (Blanchet) 57.30; (7) Kendra Vorce (SH) 1:05.71; (10) Livvie Hindmarsh (SH) 1:11.14.
500 Freestyle – (1) Lucie Davis (SH) 5:17.14; (2) Makayla Nelson (SH) 5:31.50; (3) Mia Davis (SH) 5:31.76; (4) Sarah Hewitt (SH) 5:40.66; (12) Megan Oberg (SH) 6:59.14.
200 Freestyle Relay – (1) Sweet Home “A” (Lauren Yon, Jessica Coats, Makayla Nelson, Lucie Davis) 1:45.29; (2) Salem Academy 1:47.77; (3) Philomath 1:52.70; (4) Sisters 1:52.99l (5) Blanchet 1:57.90; (6) Cascade 2:04.02; (1st in consolation final) Sweet Home “B” (Kristen Adams, Ella Parker, Sara Helfrich, Kendra Vorce) 1:59.22.
100 Backstroke – (1) Kiera Supple (Salem Academy) 59.94; (2) Emma Boles (Salem Academy) 1:01.13; (3) Jessica Coats (SH) 1:03.40; (5) Makayla Nelson (SH) 1:04.99; (8) Esther Gunselman (SH) 1:06.24.
100 Breaststroke – (1) Brooke Robillard (Sisters) 1:13.02; (2) Grace Warde (Salem Academy) 1:14.40; (3) Min Wei (Cascade) 1:15.31; (4) Elea Hewitt (SH) 1:16.64.
400 Freestyle Relay – (1) Sweet Home “A” (Lauren Yon, Jessica Coats, Makayla Nelson, Lucie Davis) 3:48.68; (2) Salem Academy 3:54.67; (3) Sweet Home “B” (Mia Davis, Esther Gunselman, Sarah Hewitt, Elea Hewitt) 3:57.80; (4) Blanchet 4:11.59; (5) Salem Academy “B” 4:23.31; (6) Stayton 4:38.57; (7) Philomath 4:35.51.
Boys Results
Team Scores – (1) Salem Academy 303; (2) Sweet Home 247; (3) North Marion 216; (4) Philomath 155; (5) Blanchet 105; (6) Cascade 76; (7) Stayton 36; (8) Junction City 21; (9) Sisters 9.
200 Medley Relay – (1) Salem Academy 1:44.25; (2) North Marion 1:46.99; (3) Sweet Home “A” (Sean Wolthuis, Rawlins Lupoli, Nathan Hager, Craig Hansen) 1:47.78; (4) Philomath 1:52.74; (5) Blanchet 1:55.93; (6) Cascade 1:58.15; (7) Sweet Home “B” (Adam Barber, Grant Jones, Bradley Wolthuis, Wesley Parker) 2:02.19.
200 Freestyle – (1) Nathan Hager (SH) 1:50.73; (2) Caleb Warde (Salem Academy) 1:56.90; (3) James Dye (Philomath 1:57.41; (7) Grant Jones (SH) 2:09.67; (10) Seth Wright (SH) 2:15.16; (!2) Wesley Parker (SH) 2:21.40.
200 Individual Medley – (1) Brandon Vasfaret (SH) 2:07.38; (2) Rawlins Lupoli (SH) 2:07.48; (3) Paul Hegeny (Blanchet) 2:15.25; (10) Bradley Wolthuis (SH) 2:46.20.
50 Freestyle – (1) Noah Norris (North Marion) 21.08; (2) Taden Swing (Salem Academy) 22.98; (3) Rowland Lupoli (SH) 23.78; (10) Craig Hansen (SH) 26.41.
100 Butterfly – (1) Wesley Norris (North Marion) 54.49; (2) Clay Youker (Philomath) 56.33; (3) Elijah Leutwyler (Salem Academy) 1:01.87; (7) Bradley Wolthuis (SH) 1:14.45.
100 Freestyle – (1) Noah Norris (North Marion) 46.04; (2) Nathan Hager (SH) 49.14; (3) Ian Shultz (Salem Academy) 49.97; (11) Wesley Parker (SH) 59.75; (12) Craig Hansen (SH) 59.76.
500 Freestyle – (1) Brandon Vasfaret (SH) 5:10.28; (2) James Dye (Philomath) 5:19.93; (3) Caleb Warde (Salem Academy) 5:21.57; (7) Sean Wolthuis (SH) 5:24.47; (10) Grant Jones (SH) 6:02.91.
200 Freestyle Relay – (1) Sweet Home “A” (Rowland Lupoli, Rawlins Lupoli, Brandon Vasfaret, Nathan Hager) 1:33.86; (2) North Marion 1:34.23; (3) Salem Academy 1:36.61; (4) Philomath 1:38.63; (5) Cascade 1:44.11; (6) Sweet Home “B” (Seth Wright, TJ Baham, Wesley Parker, Craig Hansen) 1:45.02.
100 Backstroke – (1) Taden Swing (Salem Academy) 56.81; (2) Wesley Norris (North Marion) 57.92; (3) Sean Wolthuis (SH) 1:01.92; (8) Adam Barber (SH) 1:09.84.
100 Breaststroke – (1) Ian Shultz (Salem Academy) 1:02.39; (2) Rawlins Lupoli (SH) 1:04.80; (3) Rowland Lupoli (SH) 1:05.08.
400 Freestyle Relay – (1) Salem Academy 3:27.01; (2) Sweet Home (Rowland Lupoli, Sean Wolthuis, Grant Jones, Brandon Vasfaret) 3:36.54; (3) Salem Academy “B” 3:50.14; (4) Blanchet 3:54.82; (5) North Marion 4:00.01; (6) Philomath 4:00.27; (7) Sweet Home “B” (Seth Wright, TJ Baham, Cameron Taber, Adam Barber) 4:01.10.