Benny Westcott
First-year Sweet Home High School Swim Head Coach Ajay Bronson learned quickly that when so many athletes dominate on their way to the state championships, it’s hard to pick just one recipient per end-of-season award.
“(Assistant Coach Doug Peargin and I) asked ourselves ‘How do you pick out the winners of state?'” Bronson said. “And we thought, ‘You know what? You can’t.'”
So he made his job easier a number of times at the March 7 swim banquet, held at the Community Chapel Barn.
First, he selected four Most Outstanding Varsity Girls: seniors Chloe Tyler, Malia Hewitt, Jamie Seward and Isabel Sayer.
The same group led Sweet Home to the Feb. 19 4A Division State Championship, where the Huskies’ 87 points easily outpaced Catlin Gabel’s 66 and defending champion Newport’s 25. (The team went 9-0 in dual meets on their way to state.)
They also won the 200 medley relay and combined for five individual state titles.
Tyler set a state record in her 100-meter backstroke win and took the 100 freestyle as well. According to Bronson, her finish in the former came after a disappointing earlier effort.
“One of the hardest things is to have a not fantastic swim and move forward,” he said as he discussed the senior’s willingness to help her teammates improve. “Throughout the season she’s always correcting other people’s strokes, helping them with turns and starts. She’s a true leader of the team.”
Hewitt won the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke, while Seward titled in the 50 freestyle.
“I can’t say enough good things about (Hewitt’s) attitude at practice,” Bronson said. “Every time she walks in the room the entire pool lights up and it’s incredibly happy.”
As for Seward, Bronson and Peargin debated putting her in the 50 free during the weeks leading to the state meet. Peargin told Bronson that Seward would win if she was first in the water. When that happened, he shook the head coach and said, repeatedly, “She’s gonna be first,” nearly knocking him off his chair. He was right.
Bronson described how Sayer overcame a disqualification in the 100 butterfly at districts.
“She had a little bit of a stumbling block,” he said. “That would shut down most athletes for the meet. They’d say, ‘I’m done. I’m checking out. I can’t do this.’ But after about five minutes, [Sayer] came back and said, ‘I’m gonna win this.'”
Sayer took the 500 freestyle at districts, then dropped 13 seconds in the event between districts and state, where she finished sixth.
The freshman duo of Kirsten Sautel and Peyton Markell were both named Most Outstanding Freshman/Sophomore Girl.
“Two freshmen made it to state and scored points at state, so those two freshmen are outstanding swimmers,” Bronson said.
Sautel took second in the 200 freestyle at state, where she also comprised the second-place 400 freestyle relay team with Sayer, Markell and Hewitt.
“She really worked hard and did a phenomenal job,” Bronson said of Sautel. “She pushed forth on every single set and everything we did, and we couldn’t be prouder of what she did.”
Individually, Markell finished ninth in the 200 freestyle.
“Anything you asked of her she did, and she nailed it hard and did a phenomenal job,” Bronson said.
The boys swim team also landed a winning season, going 5-4 in dual meets en route to an 11th place 4A finish.
The Most Outstanding Varsity Boy Award went to senior Micah Wright, who took part on a 200 freestyle team of RJ Abbott, Blake Arthur and Bill Hawken that took seventh at state.
“I know he had other commitments, but he made sure that every time we had a meet, every time we needed him there, he was there at practice. He definitely put the team first,” Bronson said.
Wright’s relay teammate Abbott received Most Outstanding Freshman/Sophomore Boy honors. The freshman finished third in the 200 individual medley and fourth in the 500 freestyle at state.
“He’s definitely one of the future leaders, as we’re losing three of our senior boys,” Bronson said.
Freshmen Shayne Schuster and Tierney Clarno won Most Improved Boy and Girl accolades, respectively.
The end of the season also marked the culmination of Doug Peargin’s tenure with the Sweet Home swim program, which spanned 51 years, 50 of which he spent as head coach.
“This is not an easy job in any sense of the word, nor is it easy to come after Coach [Peargin],” Bronson said. “I can’t thank you all enough for allowing me to be a part of this family and trusting me to move forward with this program.”
Peargin had some final words of wisdom for the athletes and their families.
“To put in the time that these swimmers put in, they’ve got to be good kids,” he said. “And they only become good kids from good families. Parents put in as much time as (the athletes do), patting them on the back after we get through whupping on them. But they’re going to be better people because of it in the long run.”