With a big influx of freshman girls and a small boys team, Sweet Home swim coach Doug Peargin wasn’t sure what to expect this season.
So far, he’s been surprised – in a good way.
“We’re swimming better than we usually do this time of the year, than we did last year,” Peargin said after the Husky girls won eight of 11 events to beat Stayton, regarded as one of the top teams in the district, in a dual meet on Thursday, Dec. 6. Then the boys beat Stayton too.
“We swam really well. The new ones are coming on. People are fighting for relay spots.”
Senior Naomi Gunselman won four events for the Huskies, counting relays, and freshman Makayla Nelson duplicated that feat, including anchoring the 200 Freestyle Relay team to a school record in 1:51.5 – and a win over the Eagles.
“That surprised me,” he said, noting that Stayton finished seventh in the state last year in that event. “I told (the girls) that these people are going to state and we should just see how we match up. We took them.”
Other winners for the girls were Esther Gunselman in the 50 Freestyle (27.6) and Emily Thompson in the 500 Freestyle (6:28.8).
On the boys side, the Huskies won five events, led by Victor Stupin in the 200 Freestyle (2:06.9) and the 50 Backstroke (32.9), and Zane Jackson in the 50 Freestyle (26.1) and 100 Freestyle (1:00.9), and a win from Hunter Burge in the 100 Breaststroke (40.0).
“We only have eight guys on the team but we haven’t been beat yet,” Peargin said. “If it’s tight, we’re going to beat you.
“We had a lot of good swims. I can’t criticize any swims we had in the pool. Every girl and every boy on the team scored a point for us. That’s how you win meets. It wasn’t that Stayton wasn’t doing well. We just had a good meet.”
Sweet Home will be back in action Thursday, Dec. 13, at Philomath. The Huskies will host Junction City on Dec. 20.
Sweet Home Results vs Stayton
Sweet Home 92, Stayton 70
200 Medley Relay – (2) Sweet Home (Natasha Benson, Emily Thompson, Sara Helfrich, Paige Sanders) 2:21.6.
200 Freestyle – (1) Naomi Gunselman 2:13.0; (4) Sara Helfrich 2:40.3; (6) Sierrah Owen 2:57.6.
100 IM – (1) Makayla Nelson 1:05.9; (4) Natasha Benson 1:20.9; (5) Livvie Hindmarsh 1:34.7.
50 Freestyle – (1) Esther Gunselman 27.6; (3) Paige Sanders 30.2; (6) Megan Oberg 1:40.3.
50 Butterfly – (1) Naomi Gunselman 28.8; (3) Sierrah Owen 38.6; (6) Emily Claborn 47.2.
100 Freestyle – (3) Paige Sanders 1:12.1; (5) Livvie Hindmarsh 1:22.9; (6) Megan Oberg 1:40.3.
500 Freestyle – (1) Emily Thompson 6:28.8; (2) Sara Helfrich 7:01.3.
200 Freestyle Relay – (1) Sweet Home “A” (Esther Gunselman, Paige Sanders, Naomi Gunselman, Makayla Nelson) 1:51.5; (4) Sweet Home “B” (Jenny Yoon, Megan Oberg, Emily Claborn, Sierrah Owen) 2:38.6.
50 Backstroke – (1) Makayla Nelson 30.0; (3) Natasha Benson 36.7; (4) Emily Claborn 45.2.
50 Breaststroke – (2) Esther Gunselman 41.1; (3) Emily Thompson 41.2; (4) Livvie Hindmarsh 48.1.
400 Freestyle Relay – (1) Sweet Home “A” (Esther Gunselman, Emily Thompson, Naomi Gunselman, Makayla Nelson) 4:15.8; (3) Sweet Home “B” (Livvie Hindmarsh, Natasha Benson, Sierrah Owen, Sara Helfrich) 5:11.4.
Boys Results
Sweet Home 75, Stayton 48
200 Medley Relay – (1) Sweet Home “A” (Ryan Yon, Hunter Burge, Jaeger Howatt, Natasha Benson) 2:00.1.
200 Freestyle – (1) Victor Stupin 2:06.9; (3) Grant Jones 3:00.8.
100 IM – (2) Jaeger Howatt 1:11.5; (3) Ryan Yon 1:16.4.
50 Freestyle – (1) Zane Jackson 26.1.
50 Butterfly – (2) Jaeger Howatt 29.6; (3) Elric Benson 30.1.
100 Freestyle – (1) Zane Jackson 1:00.9.
500 Freestyle – (2) Ryan Yon 6:07.9.
200 Freestyle Relay – (2) Sweet Home “A” (Hunter Burge, Grant Jones, Zane Jackson, Victor Stupin) 2:01.2.
50 Backstroke – (1) Victor Stupin 32.9; (2) Elric Benson 34.4.
50 Breaststroke – (1) Hunter Burge 40.0; (2) Grant Jones 44.2.
400 Freestyle Relay – No Sweet Home finishers.