The final push

PALMER — With one event to go, the Wasilla Warriors stood at the top of the boys’ team rankings. All that was left between them and first place was the 400-yard freestyle relay.

But the Kodiak Bears had other ideas.

Kodiak used a win in the 400 freestyle relay to edge the Warriors in the boys overall team standings, and complete the sweep of the team titles during the Valley Invitational swimming and diving meet at the Palmer Pool Saturday morning.

“The kids swam well and we finished strong,” Kodiak head coach John Lindquist said with a smile.

In a swim meet that went to the last event to decide the winner, the Bears placed first in both the boys’ and girls’ team rankings in the annual Invite, finishing with 69 points for the boys and 122 points for the girls.

Down only a couple of points to Wasilla going into the last event of the meet, the Bears completed their rally during the final event.

Kodiak used a time of 3 minutes and 27.70 seconds to place first in the 400 relay and edge second-place Soldotna by two seconds.

“It is great preparation for the state meet and were trying to get our team ready and our format down,” Lindquist said.

In the largest event of the year hosted by a Mat-Su school, the Valley Invitational included 13 programs from all across the state.

“We drove about 305 miles to get here,” said Dustin Hopkins, a chaperone for the North Pole boys team and a father of a Patriot swimmer. “It is a big meet a lot of schools are invited, and all the kids really look forward to it.”

The meet also included a handful of schools from the Kenai Peninsula. Valdez was also at the invite, as well as two teams from off the road system — Nome and Unalaska.

Seniors Jeff Frey and Christian Long each earned victories to lead the Warriors to a second-place finish in the boys’ standings. Frey won the 100 freestyle, while Long was first in the 500 freestyle.

Frey was also second in the 200 freestyle.

Nicholas Brunger led the Colony boys to a fourth-place finish in the team standings, with his win in the 50 freestyle. Alexander Deedy captured the 1-meter diving individual title for CHS.

Zane Mileur finished second in the 200 individual medley for the Knights.

Winter Heaven was among the top swimmers hailing from the Peninsula. The Soldotna standout finished first in the 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly.

On the girls’ side, Wasilla senior Rachel Kennedy led Valley athletes with a victory in the 1-meter dive.

Karina Barria (50 freestyle) and Mariah Schachel (1-meter dive) each placed second for the fifth-place Warriors.

Katelyn Payne finished third in the 100 backstroke and fourth in the 200 freestyle to help Colony finish eighth in the girls team standings.

Olivia Bowen won the 100 butterfly and 200 individual medley to lead the Stars to a second-place finish in the team standings.

Contact Frontiersman reporter Lanier Hutcheson at lanier.hutcheson@frontiersman.com.

Valley Invitational

Saturday, Palmer Pool

Girls team scores:

1. Kodiak 122, 2. Soldotna 49, 3. Homer 38, 4. North Pole 36, 5. Wasilla 30, 6. Kenai 20, 7. Valdez 16, 8. Colony 15, 9. Seward 4.

Girls individual results:

200-yard medley relay — 1, Kodiak ‘A’ 1:55.76. 2, Soldotna 1:56.92. 3, North Pole 2:02.30. 4, Homer ‘A’ 2:02.45. 5, Kodiak ‘B’ 2:02.85. 6, Wasilla ‘A’ 2:10.03.

200 freestyle — 1, Lindquist, Jori, Kod, 2:02.32. 2, Perkins, Shelby, NP, 2:02.40. 3, Pfeifer, Olivia, Ken, 2:06.34. 4, Payne, Katelyn, Col, 2:12.79. 5, Newgren, Alena, Sol, 2:14.27. 6, Bitterman, Sara, Homer, 2:14.58. (B - Final) 7, Martinez, Tory, NP, 2:18.15. 8, Jones, Sonja, Kod, 2:18.68. 9, Willard, Janessa, Col, 2:22.52.  10, Shattuck, Christina, Was, 2:24.35. 11, Ramponi, Angela, Sol, 2:25.83. 12, Coleman, Debbie, NP, 2:27.63.

200 IM —  1, Bowen, Olivia, Sol, 2:15.27. 2, Beck-Goodell, Celeste,  Kod, 2:19.02. 3, Schmidt, Marie, Homer, 2:25.10. 4, Jester, Megan, Kod, 2:29.72. 5, Jones, Sammye, Kod, 2:30.84. 6, Shattuck, Brittany, Was, 2:33.28. (B - Final) 7, Perkins, Kyle, NP, 2:32.83. 8, Polsey, Patty, NP, 2:35.52. 9, Schmidt, Emily, Homer, 2:37.20. 10, Schmidt, Kathryn, Homer, 2:39.88. 11, Mokracek, Sara, Sol, 2:43.23. 12, Daly, Austin, Ken, 3:00.29.

50 freestyle — 1, Norris, Hannah, Val, 25.86. 2, Barria, Karina, Was, 25.88. 3, Johnston, Elyse, Kod, 26.10. 4, Howard, Denise, NP, 26.84. 5, Scholze, Myra, Kod, 27.09. 6, Young, Kyla, Kod, 27.12. (B Final) 7, Meierotto, Kelly, NP, 26.52. 8, Shirnberg, Michaela, Sol, 27.26. 9, Olesch, Dana, Homer, 27.73. 10, Spence, Katherine, Homer, 27.76. 11, Mileur, Melody, Col, 27.82. 12, Swindells, Stacy, Pal, 28.13.

1-meter dive — 1, Kennedy, Rachel, Was, 361.75. 2, Schachel, Mariah, Was, 327.40. 3, Seneff, Lindsey, Homer, 234.35. 4, Graham, Hillary, Was, 219.35. 5, Hogen, Sophie, Kod, 216.40. 6, Byerley, Erica, Sol, 190.65.

100 butterfly — 1, Bowen, Olivia, Sol, 59.50. 2, Young, Kyla, Kod, 1:04.12. 3, Jester, Megan, Kod, 1:07.62. 4, Olesch, Dana, Homer, 1:07.97. 5, Wetterhall, Victoria, NP, 1:08.42. 6, Audette, Eileen,  Sew, 1:10.12. (B - Final) 7, Howard, Denise, NP, 1:09.92. 8, Fifarek, Shania, Val, 1:10.54. 9, Bitterman, Sara, Homer, 1:12.12. 10, Shattuck, Brittany, Was, 1:12.26. 11, Dresdow, Shelby, Kod, 1:14.01. 12, Arndt, Lydia, Homer, 1:16.00.

100 freestyle — 1, Norris, Hannah, Val, 55.93. 2, Barria, Karina, Was, 56.10. 3, Griffing, Laura, Kod, 56.38. 4, Johnston, Elyse, Kod, 57.06. 5, Freestone, Randi, Sol, 58.22. 6, Clark, Kalsin, Kod, 1:00.26. (B - Final) 7, Ashwell, Kendra, Ken, 1:00.79. 8, Swindells, Stacy, Pal, 1:02.24. 9, Louthan, Kaitlyn, Ken, 1:02.88. 10, Mileur, Melody, Col, 1:04.16. 11, Kirsis, Katie, Homer, 1:04.58. 12, Fry, Irene, Pal, 1:05.96.

500 freestyle — 1, Perkins, Shelby, NP, 5:25.32. 2, Beck-Goodell, Celeste, Kod, 5:27.51. 3, Pfeifer, Olivia, Ken, 5:36.11. 4, McNulty, Donna, Homer, 5:50.59. 5, Newgren, Alena, Sol, 6:02.38. 6, Jones, Sonja, Kod, 6:06.18. (B - Final) 7, Anderson, Kayla, Col, 6:09.00. 8, Polsey, Patty, NP, 6:13.37. 9, Mokracek, Sara, Sol, 6:15.24. 10, Olson, AnnieKate, NBHS, 6:39.98. 11, Merriam, Maddie, WwhAk,  6:43.15. 12, Darminio, Maryna, Kod, 6:53.03.

200 freestyle relay — 1, Kodiak High School ‘A’ 1:45.46. 2, North Pole High School Girls ‘A’ 1:46.11. 3, Kodiak High School ‘B’ 1:48.44. 4, Kenai Central High School-AK ‘A’ 1:49.72. 5, Colony 09-AK ‘A’ 1:51.50. 6, Valdez High School ‘A’ 1:53.43.

100 backstroke — 1, Lindquist, Jori, Kod, 1:01.19. 2, Schmidt, Marie, Homer, 1:06.24. 3, Payne, Katelyn, Col, 1:06.46. 4, Shirnberg,  Michaela, Sol, 1:06.57. 5, Clark, Kalsin, Kod, 1:06.68. 6, Perkins, Kyle, NP, 1:09.82. (B - Final) 7, Spence, Katherine, Homer, 1:10.76. 8, Martinez, Tory, NP, 1:12.46. 9, Irish, Bridget, Val, 1:13.68. 10, Ramponi, Angela, Sol, 1:14.99. 11, Schmidt, Kathryn, Homer, 1:15.32. 12, Magiera, Makenzi, Ken, 1:15.82.

100 breaststroke — 1, Scholze, Myra, Kod, 1:09.97. 2, Freestone, Randi, Sol, 1:13.05. 3, McNulty, Donna, Homer, 1:13.22. 4, Audette, Eileen, Sew, 1:14.15. 5, Jones, Sammye, Kod, 1:14.94. 6, Dresdow, Shelby, Kod, 1:17.41. (B - Final) 7, Meierotto, Kelly, NP, 1:17.24. 8, Coleman, Debbie, NP, 1:20.55. 9, Schmidt, Emily, Homer, 1:20.73. 10, Shattuck, Christina, Was, 1:24.03. 11, Kirsis, Katie, Homer, 1:26.41. 12, Merriam, Maddie, Was, 1:28.04.

400 freestyle relay — 1, Kodiak High School ‘A’ 3:46.33. 2, Soldotna Swimming & Diving ‘A’ 3:54.73. 3, Homer High School ‘A’ 4:06.23. 4, Kenai Central High School-AK ‘A’ 4:07.06. 5, Colony 09-AK ‘A’ 4:14.89. 6, Wasilla H.S. Warriors 09 ‘A’ 4:15.40.

Boys team scores:

1. Kodiak 69, 2. Wasilla 57, 3. Soldotna 54, 4. Colony 39, 4. (tie) Homer 39, 6. North Pole 27, 7. Kenai 24, 8. Seward 16, 9. Skyview 2, 9. Unalaska 2, 11. Palmer 1.

Boys individual results:

200-yard medley relay — 1, Wasilla ‘A’ 1:46.80. 2, Soldotna ‘A’ 1:49.35. 3, Homer ‘A’ 1:53.56. 4, Colony ‘A’ 1:54.90. 5, Kenai ‘A’ 1:54.93. 6, North Pole ‘A’ 1:55.61.

200 freestyle —  1, O’Leary, Ryan, Sew, 1:47.68. 2, Frey, Jeff, Was,  1:47.92. 3, Reed, Austin, Kod, 1:52.24. 4, Schauff, Clayton, Kod, 1:56.02. 5, Nyquist, Anders, Ken, 1:58.89. 6, Hopkins, Kyle, NP, 1:59.14. (B - Final) 7, Schauff, Brandon, Kod, 1:59.80. 8, McMaster, Ryan, Skyview-AK, 2:00.45. 9, Iverson, Gradey, Ken, 2:08.30. 10, Rickman, Ehren, Sol, 2:12.26. 11, Foy, Michael, Was, 2:13.28. 12, McAuliff, Levi, Col, 2:17.85.

200 IM — 1, Burnside, Carlton, Kod, 2:15.53. 2, Mileur, Zane, Col, 2:19.51. 3, Wentz, Kyle, Homer, 2:22.08. 4, Reece, Trevor, NP  Boys, 2:24.50. 5, Murray, Matthew, NP, 2:26.24. 6, Pulver, Keith, Was, 2:30.72. (B - Final) 7, Smith, Michael, Kod, 2:32.68. 8, Landry, Tanner, Ken, 2:33.92. 9, Waddell, Zachery, Homer, 2:35.80. 10, Levan, Axl, Kod, 2:40.55. 11, Rife, Joseph, Sol, 2:46.27. 12, Iverson, Jake, Ken, 2:49.63.

50 freestyle — 1, Brunger, Nicholas, Col, 23.69. 2, Piech, Kenneth, NP, 23.81. 3, Wannamaker, Dylan, Ken, 24.09. 4, Fletcher, Alder, Homer, 24.25. 5, Paulson, Chad, Kod, 24.82. 6, Spargo, Dylan, Was, 24.84. (B - Final) 7, Gaudet, Josh, Kod, 24.53. 8, Talbot, Chase, Col, 24.77. 9, Hardy, Nathanael, Homer, 25.38. 10, Blandford, Nathan, NBHS, 25.68. 11, Bloom, Spencer, Pal, 25.71. 12, Newman, Riley, Pal, 25.79.

1-meter dive — 1, Deedy, Alexander, Col, 378.35. 2, Tate, Cody, Sol, 288.20. 3, Hall, Garrett, Homer, 257.30. 4, Fishback, Tyler, Was, 254.25. 5, Baird, Davey, Homer, 247.60. 6, Frazier, Cody, NP, 229.85. --, Eshleman, Connor, Col, x.

100 butterfly —  1, Heaven, Winter, Sol, 53.46. 2, Schauff, Clayton, Kod, 56.17. 3, Nyquist, Anders, Ken, 57.53. 4, Fletcher, Alder, Homer, 58.81. 5, Ginter, Richard, Homer, 59.40. 6, McAuliff, Levi, Col, 1:03.94. (B - Final) 7, Talbot, Chase, Col, 1:04.23. 8, Snavley, Kevin, Was, 1:04.38. 9, Hardy, Nathanael, Homer, 1:06.33. 10, Reece, Trevor, NP, 1:07.85. 11, Fernendez, Michael, Unala, 1:10.93. 12, Foy, Michael, Was, 1:16.79.

100 freestyle — 1, Frey, Jeff, Was, 47.58. 2, O’Leary, Ryan, Sew, 48.22. 3, Reed, Austin, Kod, 50.07. 4, Brunger, Nicholas, Knight AK, 50.97. 5, McMaster, Ryan, Skyview-AK, 52.80. 6, Piech, Kenneth, NP, 52.98. (B - Final) 7, Paulson, Chad, Kod, 53.87. 8, Carrico, Christian, Sol, 54.14. 9, Gaudet, Josh, Kod, 54.23. 10, Bloom, Spencer, Pal, 55.91. 11, Blandford, Nathan, NBHS, 58.37. 12, Fife, Benjamin, Was, 59.05.

500 freestyle — 1, Long, Christian, Was, 4:59.64. 2, Hopkins, Kyle, NP, 5:18.15. 3, Schauff, Brandon, Kod, 5:23.03. 4, Smith, Michael, Kod, 5:27.84. 5, Mileur, Zane, Col, 5:51.07. 6, Rickman, Ehren, Sol, 5:57.15. (B - Final) 7, Eavis, Josh, Sew, 6:07.12. 8, Bennett, Benjamin, NP, 6:09.11. 9, Levan, Axl, Kod, 6:14.73. 10, Reid, James, Homer, 6:42.02. 11, Gilman, Ben, Ken, 6:45.77. 12. Dean, Packer,  Pal, 6:54.20.

200 freestyle relay — 1, Kodiak High School ‘A’ 1:33.93. 2, Wasilla H.S. Warriors 09 ‘A’ 1:34.51. 3, Homer High School ‘A’ 1:38.83. 4, Soldotna Swimming & Diving ‘A’ 1:42.76. 5, Kodiak High School ‘B’ 1:43.72. 6, Seward High School-AK ‘A’ 1:44.23.

100 backstroke — 1, Heaven, Winter, Sol, 58.80. 2, Long, Christian, Was, 59.63. 3, Wannamaker, Dylan, Ken, 1:00.28. 4, Burnside, Carlton, Kod, 1:00.41. 5, Werner, Samuel, Sew, 1:06.65. 6, Rickman, Sawyer, Sol, 1:09.50. (B - Final) 7, Pulver, Keith, Was, 1:06.71. 8, Wentz, Tyler, Homer, 1:08.29. 9, Eavis, Josh, Sew, 1:08.98. 10, Snavley, Kevin, Was, 1:09.16. 11, Cryer, Isaac, Ken, 1:13.14. 12, Do, Eric, Unala, 1:14.39.

100 breaststroke — 1, Carrico, Christian, Sol, 1:06.64. 2, Ginter, Richard, Homer, 1:10.28. 3, Spargo, Dylan, Was, 1:10.62. 4, Murray, Matthew, NP, 1:12.39. 5, Fernendez, Michael, Unala, 1:13.76. 6, Newman, Riley, Pal, 1:14.70. (B - Final) 7, Youngren, Mark, Sol, 1:11.88. 8, Wentz, Kyle, Homer, 1:12.39. 9, Whitaker, Austin, Sol, 1:12.64. 10, Fife, Benjamin, Was, 1:16.78. 11, Bizzarro, Caleb, NP, 1:18.71. 12, McKay, James, Val, 1:19.24.

400 freestyle relay — 1, Kodiak High School ‘A’ 3:27.70. 2, Soldotna Swimming & Diving ‘A’ 3:39.58. 3, Colony 09-AK ‘A’ 3:39.69. 4, Kenai Central High School-AK ‘A’ 3:40.72. 5, North Pole High School Boys ‘A’ 3:47.45. 6, Kodiak High School ‘B’ 3:57.49.