Some last-minute schedule changes put Sweet Home’s swimmers in Molalla on Friday, Dec. 16, instead of in Lebanon on Saturday, but the difference gave the Huskies a chance to see teams they generally don’t during the regular season.
“I didn’t know if there would be four teams or eight teams there,” Coach A Jay Bronson said, noting that he had to scramble to find a competition.
Sweet Home won both the boys and girls team competitions, but it wasn’t by much on the girls side, as Corbett gave the Huskies a run for their money on the girls side with 113 points to Sweet Home’s 124. Stayton was third with 99.
On the boys side, Sweet Home finished ahead of Molalla, 135-116.5, with Westside Christian third with 87 points.
“Corbett, Molalla and Western Christian had some good swimmers,” Bronson said. “This was a good competition as a precursor for district’s. It was kind of a bigger meet mentality.”
Sweet Home’s girls won the 200 Medley Relay and the 200 Freestyle Relay, while the boys finished first in the 400 Freestyle Relay.
Individual winners for the girls were Kirsten Sautel in the 200 Freestyle and the 100 Breaststroke, and Payton Brookfield in the 100 Butterfly.
RJ Abbott led the boys with wins in the 200 Individual Medley and the 100 Freestyle, Arman Marble won the 200 Freestyle and Blake Arthur the 50 Freestyle.
Bronson noted Daisy Lalonde’s fourth-place finish in the 500 Freestyle as a good one for the Huskies.
“She came out of the pool and said, ‘I really like that event,'” he recalled. “You don’t really hear that about the 500.”
Garrett Peake had a good day for the boys, setting personal bests in both the 200 and 500 freestyle events, he said.
“He kind of started the meet that way,” Bronson said. “That’s always good.”
Sweet Home will visit Woodburn Thursday, Dec. 22, where they will face the hosts along with Cascade, North Marion and Stayton. They will compete again Thursday, Dec. 29, at the Stayton Invitational, where the distances will be metric.