Wave of emotion

ANCHORAGE — The final moments of the ASAA/First National Bank Alaska Swimming and Diving State Championships were bittersweet for the Wasilla Warriors.

For the first time, maybe ever, the Wasilla boys swimming and diving team was included in the list of contenders for a state title. Wasilla placed swimmers in six different events in the finals and senior David Kennedy was also in the state diving final round.

Kennedy and its 400-yard freestyle relay team were both seeded first for Wasilla, and a few different Warriors had realistic potential of becoming the first WHS student-athlete in 18 years to win an individual title at the state championships.

Wasilla was also still riding the wave of momentum created when the Warriors earned their first Region III team title in program history last weekend in Valdez.

But while the Warriors spent the weekend swimming within reach of their loftiest goals, in the end, Wasilla came up just short.

Despite posting solid finishes in several events, the Warriors were forced to settle for third place in the team standings, finishing behind 2008 state champion Juneau-Douglas and runner-up Dimond.

Even though the Warriors had hoped to be hoisting a trophy after the final horn sounded, the Warriors were proud of the achievements earned in what will be remembered as a historic year for Wasilla swimming.

“We were hoping for more; we gave it all we had,” Wasilla junior Jeff Frey said. “But it was a great season. It was a lot of fun.”

Wasilla first-year coach Matt Hanley had nothing negative to say about the effort of his athletes.

“I’m extremely proud,” Hanley said. “They worked hard, swam fast.”

Frey, the winner of the boys’ most outstanding male swimmer at the Region III championships, posted a pair of second-place finishes for Wasilla at the state meet.

Frey finished second to Juneau’s Nick Rutecki in both the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events. Frey was just off Rutecki’s mark in both races. Rutecki finished with a time of 46.71 seconds in the 100, as compared to Frey’s 47.07. In the 50, Rutecki’s title-winning time of 21.18 was just faster than 21.87.

“The 50 free, that was a quick heat,” Frey said.

Wasilla’s unit of Charles Frey, Pavle Pavlovic, Max Merriam and Dylan Spargo finished second in the 200 freestyle relay. The Warriors’ time of 1:29.46 was just less than three seconds behind Juneau’s first-place relay squad.

Kennedy, Charles Frey and Christian Long posted third-place finishes for the Warriors. Merriam also placed fifth in the 100 breastroke for Wasilla.

Charles Frey was third in the 100 backstroke with a time of 56.74, while Long was third in the 500 freestyle thanks to his time of 4:46.09.

Long was also sixth in the 200 freestyle.

Kennedy, the top seeded diver in the boys’ 1-meter, finished third with 368.55 points.

While he was happy with his work in the final round, Kennedy said, the Wasilla senior was initially disappointed by his third-place finish.

“I didn’t have a very good day this morning,” Kennedy said, referring to the meet’s semifinal round. “But I had a great last three dives, so that’s the important thing.”

Kennedy — who has been accepted to the United States Naval Academy and has earned the chance to dive for the military academy’s Division I squad —  received solid scores throughout the final round, but finished a mere five points shy of second-place Datlon Haas, of Service.

“I wish I would have had a better dive to get that,” Kennedy said. “I think overall I had a great three last dives. Those were my strongest dives.”

Kodiak’s Scott Wandersee was first with 445.10 points.

Wasilla held the top seeded relay team in the final event, the 400 freestyle relay, but after holding an initial lead, the Warriors finished third behind first-place Dimond and runner-up Juneau.

Overall, Hanley said the competition throughout the boys’ meet was very strong.

“Dimond was on fire and Juneau swam out of their minds,” Hanley said. “They were either breaking records or very close.”

Jeff Frey echoed his coach’s sentiments.

“It was a really fast year in a lot of events,” Frey said. “If we would have done the same times last year, we would have run away with it.”

Colony finished eighth in the boys’ standings with 26 points.

Rhowe Stefanski swam in a pair of events during the finals. Stefanski was third in the 100 freestyle and seventh in the 50 freestyle.

Nicholas Brunger was seventh in the 100 freestyle.

Alexander Deedy was fifth in the 1-meter dive and Knights also finished seventh in the 400 freestyle relay.

Rachel Kennedy lead the Wasilla girls with a third-place finish in the 1-meter dive. The WHS junior finished with 314.25 points, about 10 shy of second-place Lindsey Veit of South Anchorage.

Sophomore Mariah Schachle was eighth in the 1-meter dive for the Warriors.

Katelyn Payne led the Colony girls with an eighth-place finish in the backstroke.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

ASAA/First National Bank Alaska  Swimming and Diving State Championships

Saturday, Bartlett

Girls Team scores — 1, Service 121. 2, East 78.5. 3, Kodiak 59. 4, Chugiak 56. 5, Ketchikan 34. 5, Dimond 34. 7, South 33. 8, North Pole 25. 9, West Valley 19. 10, Juneau-Douglas 16. 11, Petersburg 15. 12, Lathrop 13.5. 13, Monroe Catholic 12. 14, Soldotna 9. 15, Homer 8. 16, West 7. 16, Wasilla 7. 18, Valdez 5. 19, Eagle River 2. 20, Colony 1.

200-yard medley relay — 1, Service (McDuffie L., Kirk, Adams, McDuffie E.), 1:50.03. 2, East 1:50.75. 3, Kodiak 1:52.51. 4, Dimond 1:57.09. 5, Juneau-Douglas 1:58.24. 6, Ketchikan 1:59.21. 7, Homer 2:00.52. 8, West Valley 2:00.84.

200 freestyle — 1, Goering, Anne, West Valley, 1:55.27. 2, Caldwell, Jordyn, Chugiak, 1:55.37. 3, Johnson, Emilee, Ketchikan, 1:58.27. 4, Knight, Chelsea, South, 1:59.34. 5, Iverson, Hannah, Service, 1:59.83. 6, Hyams, Ariel S, West, 2:00.72. 7, Perkins, Shelby, North Pole, 2:02.73. 8, Philpot, Karen, Kodiak, 2:04.40.

200 individual medley — 1, Wicks, Sam, East, 2:09.98. 2, Wray, Nikki, Dimond, 2:11.15. 3, Bennett, Elizabeth, Monroe, 2:12.27. 4, Keill, Alyssa, Lathrop, 2:13.75. 5, Hawkins, Michelle, Dimond, 2:15.49. 6, Miller, Chloe, Service, 2:16.00. 7, Jones, Lori, East, 2:16.65. 8, Bowen, Olivia, Soldotna, 2:19.36.

50 freestyle — 1, McDuffie, Erin, Service, 24.44. 2, Williams, Ava, Chugiak, 24.69. 3, Hasbrouck, Tessa, Petersburg, 25.26. 4, Kirk, Christine, Service, 25.28. 5, Johnston, Elyse, Kodiak, 25.54. 6, Norris, Hannah, Valdez, 25.58. 7, Day, Kendra, Lathrop, 25.62. 7, Walker, Taylor, East, 25.62.

1-meter diving — 1, Jordan, Renee, East, 374.80. 2, Veit, Lindsey, South, 324.35. 3, Kennedy, Rachel, Wasilla, 314.25. 4, Klancher, Rachel, Service, 304.25. 5, RoseFigura, Rachel, West, 294.90. 6, Sharp, Sam, Juneau, 273.85. 7, Sanders, Kathryn, Eagle River, 271.15. 8, Schachle, Mariah, Wasilla, 259.45.

100 butterfly — 1, Adams, Margot, Service, 57.98. 2, Stacy, Janelle, Ketchikan, 59.07. 3, Bennett, Elizabeth, Monroe, 59.23. 4, Clark, Auri, Juneau, 1:00.46. 5, Bowen, Olivia, Soldotna, 1:00.65. 6, Brakora, Kelly, East, 1:01.44. 7, Young, Kyla, Kodiak, 1:02.00. 8, Streuli, Erin, Petersburg, 1:02.44.

100 freestyle — 1, McDuffie, Erin, Service, 52.99. 2, Wicks, Sam, East, 53.44. 3, Goering, Anne, West Valley, 53.80. 4, Williams, Ava, Chugiak, 54.44. 5, Hasbrouck, Tessa, Petersburg, 54.56. 6, G riffing, Laura, Kodiak, 54.58. 7, Norris, Hannah, Valdez, 55.43. 8, Johnston, Elyse, Kodiak, 56.12.

500 freestyle — 1, Caldwell, Jordyn, Chugiak, 5:09.87. 2, Keill, Alyssa, Lathrop, 5:10.11. 3, Iverson, Hannah, Service, 5:22.35. 4, Beck-Goodell, Celeste, Kodiak, 5:22.43. 5, Perkins, Shelby, North Pole, 5:22.50. 6, Gallaway, Courtney, Ketchikan, 5:30.09. 7, Schmidt, Marie, Homer, 5:30.84. 8, Iverson, Jordan, Service, 5:32.11.

200 freestyle relay — 1, East (Brakora, Jordan, Walker, Wicks), 1:39.65. 2, Chugiak 1:40.19. 3, Service 1:42.38. 4, South 1:42.56. 5, Kodiak 1:43.02. 6, North Pole 1:43.12. 7, Petersburg 1:43.89. 8, Homer 1:46.55.

100 backstroke — 1, Adams, Margot, Service, 58.68. 2, Hawkins, Michelle, Dimond, 59.55. 3, Stacy, Janelle, Ketchikan, 1:00.34. 4, McDuffie, Laura, Service, 1:01.55. 5, Brakora, Kelly, East, 1:01.56. 6, Yoo, Paulina, South, 1:01.57. 7, Philpot, Karen, Kodiak, 1:01.88. 8, Payne, Katelyn, Colony, 1:03.17.

100 breast stroke — 1, Griffing, Laura, Kodiak, 1:06.08. 2, Meierotto, Sarah, North Pole, 1:08.90. 3, Wray, Nikki, Dimond, 1:09.56. 4, Kirk, Christine, Service, 1:10.21. 5, Freestone, Randi, Soldotna, 1:11.29. 6, Miller, Chloe, Service, 1:12.05. 7, Johnson, Emilee, Ketchikan, 1:12.14. 8, Rawson, Leslie, East, 1:12.36.

400 freestyle relay — 1, Service (McDuffie E., Adams, Bulkow, Iverson), 3:40.19. 2, Chugiak 3:41.88. 3, Kodiak 3:44.58. 4, East 3:44.93. 5, South 3:47.95. 6, North Pole 3:50.82. 7, Ketchikan 3:51.00. 8, West 3:51.12.

Boys Team scores — 1, Juneau-Douglas 102. 2, Dimond 81. 3, Wasilla 77. 4, Kodiak 58. 5, North Pole 48.5. 6, Service 33. 7, Lathrop 31. 8, Colony 26. 9, South 25. 10, West Valley 16. 11, Soldotna 12. 12, Bartlett 10. 13, East 6.5. 14, Hutchinson 5. 14, Seward 5. 16, Kenai 4. 16, Ketchikan 4. 16, Petersburg 4. 19, Chugiak 2. 19, Mt. Edgecumbe 2. 19, West 2. 22, Homer 1.

200-yard medley relay — 1, Dimond 1:38.97. 2, Juneau-Douglas 1:39.89. 3, Wasilla 1:40.58. 4, South 1:42.55. 5, Lathrop 1:42.70. 6, Service 1:44.32. 7, Kodiak 1:45.40. 8, West Valley 1:47.53.

200 freestyle — 1, Brunette, Cody, Juneau, 1:40.58. 2, Adams, Wyatt, Service, 1:42.72. 3, Hussong, Austin, Dimond, 1:43.90. 4, Armstrong, Tanner, Bartlett, 1:44.66. 5, Peck, Bryce, North Pole, 1:47.05. 6, Long, Christian, Wasilla, 1:48.02. 7, Hanneman, Logan, Lathrop, 1:48.47. 8, Wholecheese, Charlie, Mt. Edgecumbe, 1:51.26.

 200 individual medley — 1, Summers, Matt, Dimond, 1:56.66. 2, Severns, Keegan, Lathrop, 2:00.14. 3, Schulte, Jay, South, 2:01.35. 4, Heaven, Winter, Soldotna, 2:01.55. 5, Kowalewski, Adam, Dimond, 2:01.66. 6, Cayce, Seth, Juneau, 2:02.04. 7, Wilson, Dan, East, 2:04.95. 8, Marsh, Preston, Petersburg, 2:07.20.

50 freestyle — 1, Rutecki, Nick, Juneau, 21.18. 2, Frey, Jeff, Wasilla, 21.87. 3, Macinko, Nando, Kodiak, 22.07. 4, O’Leary, Ryan, Seward, 22.19. 5, Friccero, Eric, Kodiak, 22.45. 6, Vandermeer, Drew, West Valley, 22.55. 7, Stefanski, Rhowe, Colony, 22.63. 8, Wooten, Shawn, East, 22.97.

1-meter diving — 1, Wandersee, Scott, Kodiak, 445.10. 2, Haas, Dalton, Service, 373.25. 3, Kennedy, David, Wasilla, 368.55. 4, White, Sam, North Pole, 363.45. 5, Deedy, Alexander, Colony, 317.15. 6, Koop, Cory, North Pole, 312.55. 7, Fullmer, Colton, Chugiak, 280.90. 8, Teal, Nathan, Juneau, 278.70.

100 butterfly — 1, Brunette, Cody, Juneau, 49.19. 2, Heaven, Winter, Soldotna, 51.99. 3, Adams, Wyatt, Service, 52.26. 4, Evershed, Gregory, Hutchison, 53.98. 5, Martinez, Phillip, North Pole, 53.99. 5, Wilson, Dan, East, 53.99. 7, Schauff, Clayton, Kodiak, 54.53. 8, Wholecheese, Charlie, Mt. Edgecumbe, 55.04.

100 freestyle — 1, Rutecki, Nick, Juneau, 46.71. 2, Frey, Jeff, Wasilla, 47.07. 3, Stefanski, Rhowe, Colony, 48.92. 4, Friccero, Eric, Kodiak, 49.01. 5, Anderson, Josh, Juneau, 49.96. 6, Rockwell, Ben, South, 50.05. 7, Brunger, Nicholas, Colony, 50.07. 8, Hanneman, Logan, Lathrop, 50.31.

500 freestyle — 1, Summers, Matt, Dimond, 4:42.51. 2, Peck, Bryce, North Pole, 4:45.48. 3, Long, Christian, Wasilla, 4:46.09. 4, Armstrong, Tanner, Bartlett, 4:49.68. 5, Wadley, Grant, Ketchikan, 4:59.09. 6, Hopkins, Kyle, North Pole, 5:03.28. 7, Danielson, Jeff, Lathrop, 5:04.47. 8, Linscheid, Hayden, Kodiak, 5:11.42.

 200 freestyle relay — 1, Juneau-Douglas (Mickelson, Anderson, Schick, Rutecki), 1:26.83. 2, Wasilla 1:29.46. 3, Kodiak 1:30.75. 4, North Pole 1:31.13. 5, Colony 1:32.07. 6, South 1:32.20. 7, West Valley 1:34.23. 8, Dimond 1:35.89.

100 backstroke — 1, Hussong, Austin, Dimond, 54.33. 2, Vandermeer, Drew, West Valley, 56.14. 3, Frey, Charles, Wasilla, 56.74. 4, Macinko, Nando, Kodiak, 57.20. 5, Wannamaker, Dylan, Kenai, 57.50. 6, Barto, Alex, Juneau, 57.67. 7, Schick, Cody, Juneau, 57.86. 8, Miller, Adam, Service, 58.99.

100 breast stroke — 1, Severns, Keegan, Lathrop, 59.17. 2, Cayce, Seth, Juneau, 1:00.72. 3, Kowalewski, Adam, Dimond, 1:00.89. 4, Martinez, Phillip, North Pole, 1:02.06. 5, Merriam, Max, Wasilla, 1:03.95. 6, Marsh, Preston, Petersburg, 1:04.12. 7, Bullington, Nick, West, 1:04.49. 8, McNulty, Michael, Homer, 1:04.98.

400 freestyle relay — 1, Dimond (Hussong, Summers, Wilcox, Kowalewski), 3:15.63. 2, Juneau-Douglas 3:17.53. 3, Wasilla 3:19.77. 4, Kodiak 3:20.40. 5, North Pole 3:22.95. 6, Service 3:23.14. 7, Colony 3:24.15. 8, Lathrop 3:27.88.