Crimson Bears girls swim to Region V team championship

One swim into the 2024 Region V Swim & Dive Championships Saturday at the Petersburg Aquatic Center and the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears had their first event title, champions of the girls 200-yard medley relay in 1:52.80.

“I think it was just a good way to start the meet off,” JDHS senior Pacific Ricke said after the event. “Started on some good energy for finals and I hope we just continue that momentum of doing great as a team.”

[Official results]

Ricke swam the first leg backstroke in 29.42, classmate Parker Boman the second leg breaststroke in 32.45, sophomore Amy Liddle the third leg butterfly in 25.89 and junior Deedee Mills brought home the final leg freestyle in 25.04.

“So far it has been really great swimming with new people and I would say that we are all really excited for that, and we did as well as we thought we would,” Mills said.

The JDHS girls would score a lopsided 240 points for the region crown, 170 more than runner up Petersburg’s 70. Ketchikan placed third with 66, Sitka 36, Craig 32 and Wrangell 21.

The Ketchikan boys got the better of the JDHS lads. The Kings totaled 173 points to the Crimson Bears 131. Sitka was third with 112, Craig 43 and Petersburg 16.

JDHS was in a battle with Kayhi in the meets second event, the boys 200 medley relay.

Crimson Bears freshman Liam Kiessling (back), seniors Matthew Plang (breast) and Matthew Godkin (fly) and sophomore Josh Edwards (free) were nicked at the wall by Ketchikan’s Gavin Harold, Evan Dash, Kaden Aldrich and Parker Hagan 1:39.85 to 1:39.88.

“That sets the tone of the meet,” Ketchikan coach Zach Tredeau said. “Now those boys can ride that wave the rest of the meet.”

It would be the JDHS girls that would ride most of the waves through the day into the evening.

Sophomore Amy Liddle won the day’s third event, the 200 freestyle, in 1:56.14, and was joined on the podium by PSGs Lexie Tow in 2:00.17 and Sitka’s Mia Turner in 2:04.82.

Liddle also won the 500 free later in the day in 5:15.20 with teammate Ricke second in 5:28.09 and classmate Maddox Rasmussen third in 5:35.64 for a podium sweep.

“I feel like the 200 is more of a mid-distance so they are pretty much in the same category,” Liddle said of her two individual wins. “I was nervous for sure. It was really stressful but I was just trying to go out there and swim my best. Trying to maybe get some good times.”

Boman won the day’s fifth event, the girls 200-yard IM in 2:30.79. Crimson Bears sophomore Riley Soboleff was second in 2:35.04 and freshman teammate Delphine Hochstoeger rounded out the podium in third with 2:45.43.

“Before the race I was just remembering that this is what I have worked up to all season,” Boman said. “I just kept that in my mind, just thinking like I have practiced this a bunch of times, I know how to do it, it is just making sure that I kept that mentality throughout the swim.”

Of being a region champion Boman said, “it is nice, yeah. I helped the team score. That is probably what I like most is that I’m helping my team out.”

Sophomore Bailey Fisher won the 50 free in 25.70 (2. Brooklyn Whitethorn PSG 25.99; 3. Myleigh Sambrano KTN 26.44).

“So the 50 free, I really like it because it is sprinting, but it is just a down and back,” Fisher said. “It is not as hard as the other sprinting events where you have to keep going. And I really like doing the 50 free. I am really excited to swim it at state. I am feeling excited and tired, mainly sore but, yeah, I am excited.”

Mills would win the girls 100 free in 56.21 with Fisher second in 56.48 and Petersburg’s Brooklyn Whitethorn in the third podium spot with 57.54.

“My first 50 (26.41) was a good split time,” Mills said. “It is the best split time I have ever had in a 50 and then the second 50 (29.80) I slowed down a bit. But it is something we can work on when I go to state. So that is pretty exciting.”

Mills said the team championship “was something we have been working hard for all season and that is what we have been training for. It is pretty exciting. It’s an all new team and our coaches are working really hard.”

JDHS Chapell (26.53), Fisher (30.66), Miller (21.68) and Mills (25.73) would win the girls 200 free relay in 1:44.60 and JDHS would win the girls 400 free relay in 3:46.46 with Fisher (57.56), Ricke (56.41), Miller (58.35) and Liddle (54.14).

“That was really fun,” Liddle said. “Relays are always the best part about swim meets. Winning is just like a bonus.”

Sitka’s Taryn Fleming won the girls 100 fly in 1:00.08 with JDHS senior Lucia Chapell second in 1:01.71 and JDHS sophomore Kennedy Miller third with 1:03.16, senior Caitlin Sanders fourth in 1:02.52 and Chapell fifth in 1:02.71.

PSGs Lexie Tow won the girls 100 backstroke in 1:08.30 with JDHS’ Boman second at 1:11.14 and JDHS’ Miller third with 1:12.03

The JDHS divers kept the point scoring rolling with sophomore Moira Bahn taking first with 284.25 total score and classmate Adeline Williams second with 223.25.

“Just a lot of practice,” sophomore Moira Bahn said. “It takes a lot to get all the dives and in the right category. I just worked with my coaches for, like, the past three months…I think my best dive is probably my inward somersault. It is consistent and scores as well, and it is fun. The team title is cool, it is a whole team effort to do that.”

Senior Paul Smith earned 359 points to place third and qualify for state behind Ketchikan’s Liam Woodward and Clayton Huff.

“Yeah, it is pretty exciting,” Smith said. “It is the coaches, the people around me, it is really enjoyable. They are very supportive. I was really shocked with my reverse dive,” he said. “I haven’t been throwing it much and my front double as well. It is a very stressful dive for me, just very exciting that I got that down so good.”

Bahn, Williams, Smith and sophomore Easton Berger qualified for state.

At state Smith said, “I’m going to keep my routine going I’m pretty sure. Just work on those dives. Get them locked down.”

Senior Matthew Plang won the boys 50 free in 22.52, touching out Sitka’s Corin Colliver (22.72) with classmate Matthew Godkin third (23.40).

Plang also controlled the boys 100 breaststroke with a 1:00.14, topping KTNs Harold (1:02.28) and Max Meredith (1:03.08).

“Coming into this meet I wasn’t really expecting to go my best times,” Plang said. “But I was definitely aiming for those first spots to get me to state and I think I got that done obviously. I wasn’t being too harsh on myself this weekend and I think that kind of helped. I am excited for state because I will be fully tapered and in shape, yeah, it is going to be fun.”

JDHS’ Edwards (23.84), senior Owen Rumsey (23.76), Godkin (22.88) and Plang (22.36) won the boys 200 free relay in 1:32.84.

Ketchikan’s Evan Dash would win the boys 200 yard free in 1:47.94 (2. Logan Tow PSG 1:48.38; 3. Tommy McCarthy SIT 1:50.61) and the 100 fly in 52.12 with JDHS’ Godkin second in 55.76.

CRGs Grant Maygren won the boys 100 back in 54.50 (2. Hagan KTN 57.05; 3. Kiessling JDHS 58.15).

Sitka’s Zach Martens won the boys 200 IM in 2:03.28 (2. Gavin Harold KTN 2:03.54; 3. Grant Maygren CRG 2:07.60).

KTNs Parker Hagan won the boys 100 free in 49.25 (2. Corin Colliver SIT 49.70; 3. Kaden Aldrich KTN 52.66).

PSGs Logan Tow won the boys 500 free in 4:57.01 (2. Zach Martens SIT 4:57.20; 3. Phin Edwards SIT 5:21.54).

KTNs Hagan, Aldrich, Harold and Dash won the boys 400 free in 3:21.44 and JDHS’ Owen Rumsey, Clive Mateo, Cole Reel and Liam Kiessling placed third in 3:21.44.

“I am pretty pleased,” JDHS coach Josiah Loseby said. “I’m very happy with how everything went down this weekend. I’m very proud, and I hope the kids are also very proud of themselves too. I knew that we were going to swim really well and dive really well and we just did even better than expected…for the girls we knew it was JDHS all the way…for the boys we knew coming in it was going to be an uphill battle for first with Ketchikan.”

“In prelims yesterday we all talked about needing to step up and every time that we are in the water and we’re swimming we are pushing ourselves for the sake of our own performances and we’re also pushing ourselves for the sake of our teammates performances as well…They really rose to the occasion yesterday, all the boys swam exceptionally well and Ketchikan just also swam exceptionally well…State will be great.”

The Craig Panthers won the team sportsmanship award.

JDHS’ Boman, freshman Mae Crocker, sophomore Nolan Bas and junior Clive Mateo were selected to the Region V Good Sport Team along with Ketchikan’s Easton Yoder and Myleigh Sambrano, Wrangell’s Johanna Sanford, Craig’s Grant Maygren and Kyleigh McCoy, Sitka’s Elliott Galanin and Mia Turner, and Petersburg’s Logan Tow and Brooklyn Whitethorn.

JDHS seniors making the All-Academic team included Matthew Godkin, Pacific Ricke, Caitlin Sanders, Owen Rumsey, Cole Reel, Nolan Noel, Oliver Lamkin, Gabby Ely, Lucia Chapell, Parker Boman, Kellen Arvidson, Nova Brakes-Hines, and Matthew Plang.

The 2024 ASAA Swim & Dive State Championships are Nov. 8-9 at Anchorage’s Bartlett High School Pool.

• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@juneauempire.com.