Sweet Home’s girls swim team finished in a three-way tie for seventh, with fellow district teams Sisters and Salem Academy, at the state 4A/3A/2A/1A swim championships Saturday.
The Husky boys qualified for one final, the 400 Freestyle Relay, and finished in a tie for 17th.
“We couldn’t have done any better,” Coach Doug Peargin said.
“Everyone who had a chance to get to the finals made it.”
For the first time since 2006 the Huskies did not have an individual or relay state champion. Senior Naomi Gunselman, who was defending her state championship in the 200 Individual Medley, placed fifth in that event (2:19.65), though she took third in the 100 Butterfly (1:02.38).
“This girls meet is the toughest it’s ever been,” Peargin said. “I think we have a lot of age-group kids coming up into high school.”
Gunselman said she actually enjoyed the increased competition.
“It’s really awesome,” she said. “I really love it when we have swimmers like this, more competition.”
She said she was particularly impressed by Cascade Christian sophomore Breanna Sapienza’s 55.32 winning time in the 100 Butterfly.
“That is impressive,” she said. “Such a fast time made it a fun meet.”
Gunselman said she was satisfied with her performance in the 200 IM, but had a slight delay on the third of the four turns in the 100 Butterfly.
“I definitely had a turn that I messed up when I caught my goggles with my finger,” she said.
Freshman Makayla Nelson swam lifetime bests to take third in the 200 Freestyle (2:01.58) and the 500 Freestyle (5:24.36) – the only finalist to double in those events.
She said she was hoping to break two minutes in the 200, but ran out of gas.
“I felt pretty good the first 100, but after that I felt my arms and legs giving out,” she said. “I’ll take 2:01.”
“In the 500 my plan was to stay with the girl next to me (the leader) and give it all I had a the end. I’m happy with two lifetime bests.”
Also posting a lifetime best was freshman Esther Gunselman in the 100 Backstroke, in which she placed 12th (1:05.31).
In the girls 400 Freestyle, the only relay the Huskies qualified for on the girls side after two disqualifications in the district meet, they finished fifth – one place higher than they were seeded going into the final.
“I think we could have gone faster, but there was a really big gap” at the end of the race between fourth and fifth place,” said Esther Gunselman, who swam the lead-off leg. “It wasn’t really there.”
It was a chance for her and fellow freshman Sara Helfrich to get a taste of the state finals competition, though.
“Esther had a great year,” Peargin said. “And Sara Helfrich, who has had one year of age-group swimming, they made the final.”
The boys 400 Freestyle Relay team was disqualified in the prelims Friday after posting the seventh-fastest time, because a swimmer jumped early as his teammate came in to the wall.
“We were hoping it was someone else, because that would have put us in the final,” said senior Zane Jackson.
In the 200 Freestyle Relay final on Saturday, the Huskies were careful and finished sixth in 1:38.65 – a second faster than their district finals time – in an event they were not expected to place in at all.
“We played it safe,” Jackson said. “I got a PR again – 24 seconds for my last swim. Sixth is something to be proud of for me.”
Teammate Victor Stupin, who placed 11th in the 200 Freestyle and 12th in the 500 Free prelims on Saturday, said he enjoyed the relay finish to their careers.
“It’s a heck of a race when you get four fast guys like that,” he said. “I’m really happy. We weren’t even expected to place.”
Peargin said he was “proud” of the team.
“They did a good job on Friday. All eight of them are swimming today,” he said during the finals.
“They swam well above what they did at district,” he said later. “They went up there and they didn’t mess around. They did the best they could possibly do.
“It’s cool when everybody goes to state and everybody comes home with something.”
MAKAYLA NELSON swims to third place in the 500 Freestyle.
4A/3A/2A/1A State Swimming Championships
Sweet Home Girls Results
*Prelims place and time
Team Scores – (1) North Bend/Oregon Coast Tech 45 (2-tie) Henley, Phoenix 44; (4) Valley Catholic 27; (5-tie) Madras, LaGrande 23; (7-tie) Sweet Home, Sisters, Salem Academy 18; (10) Ridgeview 15; (11) Cascade Christian 14; (12) Gladstone 10; (13-tie) Blanchet Catholic, Philomath, Riverdale, LaSalle 2.
200 Freestyle – (1) Alyssa Bennett (North Bend) 2:00.29; (2) Becca Haynes (LaGrande) 2:01.46; (3) Makayla Nelson (SH) 2:01.58; (4) Aurora Gerhardt (Madras) 2:01.96; (5) Willa Holmes (Riverdale) 2:02.13; (6) Marisa Jack (Valley Catholic) 2:03.57.
200 Individual Medley – (1) Sophie Gemelas, Madras, 2:14.84; (2) Rachel Haney (Ridgeview) 2:16.43. (3) Leta Spradley (Henley) 2:18.73; (4) Haley Steiner (Henley) 2:19.41; (5) Naomi Gunselman (SH) 2:19.64.
100 Butterfly – (1) Breanna Sapienza (Cascade Christian) 55.32; (2) Sarah Clyde (Gladstone) 1:01.26; (3) Naomi Gunselman (Sweet Home) 1:02.38; (4) Marisa Jack (Valley Catholic) 1:02.47; (5) Aunika Torres (Henley) 1:04.31; (6) Olivia Sanchez (Phoenix) 1:05.22.
500 Freestyle – (1) Cassie Dallas (North Bend) 5:17.12; (2) Sarah Clyde (Gladstone) 5:21.89; (3) Makayla Nelson (SH) 5:24.36; (4) Kiera Supple (Salem Academy) 5:28.70; (5) Leta Spradley (Henley) 5:33.53; (6) Haley Houghton (Ridgeview) 5:33.56.
100 Backstroke – (1) Rachel Haney (Ridgeview) 58.85; (2) Alyse Darnall (Phoenix) 59.19; (3) Kiera Supple (Salem Academy) 1:01.94; (4) Becca Haynes (LaGrande) 1:03.06; (5) Emma Boles (Salem Academy) 1:03.41; (6) Aurora Gerhardt (Madras) 1:03.54.; (10) Esther Gunselman (SH) 1:05.31.*
Girls 400 Yard Freestyle Relay – (1) Phoenix 3:47.24; (2) Henley 3:48.03. (3) LaGrande 3:48.08; (4) Valley Catholic 3:51.59; (5) Sweet Home (Esther Gunselman 9, Sara Helfrich 9, Naomi Gunselman 12, Makayla Nelson 9) 4:00.27; (6) Blanchet Catholic 4:07.07.
Sweet Home Boys Results
*Prelims place and time
Team Scores – (1) Madras 59; (2) Newport 53; (3) Cottage Grove 32; (4) Philomath 27; (5) Riverdale 19; (6) LaSalle Prep 18; (7) LaGrande 16; (8-tie) Rainier, Seaside 14; (10-tie) Corbett/Corbett Charter, North Marion 12; (12) Valley Catholic 7; (13) North Bend/Oregon Coast Tech 4; (14-tie) Klamath Union, Blanchet Catholic, Ridgeview 3; (17-tie) Sweet Home, Junction City, Sisters, Henley 2; (21-tie) Central, Stayton 1.
200 Freestyle – (1) Bryce Williams (Madras) 1:48.68; (2) David Spurgeon (Valley Catholic) 1:49.06; (3) Brandon Hill (Cottage Grove) 1:51.01; (4) Andrew Pence (Riverdale) 1:53.20; (5) Liam O’Shea (Riverdale) 1:54.69; (6) Patrick Williamson (Philomath) 1:55.96; (11) Victor Stupin (SH) 1:59.66.*
500 Freestyle – (1) Liam O’Shea (Riverdale) 4:50.87; (2) Bryce Williams (Madras) 4:53.26; (3) Karl Stuntzner-Gibson (North Bend) 4:54.44; (4) Grant Gooding(LaSalle) 4:58.24; (5) David Spurgeon (Valley Catholic) 4:59.23; (6) Logan Nash (Cottage Grove) 4:59.64; (12) Victor Stupin (SH) 5:32.12.*
200 Yard Freestyle Relay – (1) Newport 1:32.09; (2) Madras 1:35.50; (3) Philomath 1:36.19; (4) Seaside 1:36.33; (5) Rainier 1:36.56; (6) Sweet Home (Justin Hilburn 12, Jaegar Howatt 10, Zane Jackson 12, Victor Stupin 12)1:38.65.