Competition, camaraderie highlight Palmer Invitational

PALMER — At the Palmer Invitational, fierce competition is paired with camaraderie of swimmers and coaches alike, who all come together for one of the state's biggest swim meets in a preview before the region and state championships.

Colony senior standout Jake Simmons battled his rival Talon Lindquist, of Kodiak, in the 200-yard individual medley final. Simmons led for the first six lengths of the pool, but Lindquist caught him in the backstroke.

"I knew whoever made it to the wall first for the freestyle was going to win. He just had more energy than me at the end," said Simmons.

Whenever two of the state’s fastest swimmers meet in the pool, it gets the attention of everyone watching. The spectacle was described by Colony junior Sarah Crosley in one word.

"Crazy."

Simmons would get another shot.

Lindquist lapped the field in the 500 freestyle. His time of 4:36.80 is just 20 seconds off the national record. But just two events later, the Knights 200 freestyle relay team was neck-and-neck with Kodiak. Along with Simmons, Colony sprint star Gabe Vestri-Giovanni held off Lindquist for the title by just 14 hundredths of a second.

Vestri-Giovanni is an exchange student from Invorigo, Italy.

"We are working a lot on turns and finish. When I came here I wasn't really a swimmer. In my country I do rescue swimming. It's really enjoyable. I like to do it," said Vestri-Giovanni.

Vestri-Giovanni bested his own school record in the 50 freestyle for the fourth race in a row. He also beat his school record in the 100 freestyle. He has his sights set on state records in both events, and plans to qualify for the rescue swimming championships when he returns to Italy.

Palmer senior Max Snelders was second in the region in the 50 freestyle last year. He has changed his focus to the 200 freestyle with the surprise arrival of Vestri-Giovanni.

"He came out of nowhere," said Snelders. "I decided that at the beginning of the season, I was going to do the 200 freestyle. I raced Jake (Simmons), got my best time by two seconds, felt awesome, and I beat him too. I can do it. That's what I've been focusing on.”

The Palmer Invite serves as a preview for the upcoming region and state swim meets. Some find out where they stand in their individual races, and other top swimmers sit out their best events to swim something different before their focus turns to winning titles and setting records.

"I get to race someone I haven't raced before. I'm going for our school record, I'm two seconds off," said Snelders. “It's one of our longest standing records and I don’t like it."

During the diving portion of the meet, you could hear a pin drop. That is not the case during a relay race, where nearly every swimmer around the pool is cheering on their teammates and friends.

"Ryan Chastain has the most hype out of anyone. He has all the team spirit," said Simmons. "He will get you pumped up and get your adrenaline going. He is behind the blocks all the time just, screaming."

Chastain enjoys not just the competition of seeing so many different swimmers at one meet, but finds inspiration in the camaraderie.

"Kids who don’t place high but appreciate everybody, they say 'How's it going? What are you swimming next? I'll be cheering for you, lets go!'" said Chastain.

The volume of coaches and swimmers improve one another not only in the pool, but once they get out as well.

"It's not just my coaches. With swimming the coaches aren't just coaching their swimmers, they help everyone," said Palmer sophomore Gretchen Snelders. "I get inspired from all of them. It's nice to get an outside view."

Tim Rockey is a freelance writer for the Frontiersman. Contact him at timothy.rockey@frontiersman.com.

Palmer Invitational

Thursday-Saturday, Palmer Pool

Girls team scores:

1. Kodiak 73; 2. Palmer 66; 3. Homer 56; 3. (tie) Colony 56; 5. Soldotna 53; 6. Wasilla 16; 7. Kenai 10.

Boys team scores:

1. Koidak 106; 2. Colony 61; 3. Kenai 45; 4. Palmer 37; 5. Wasilla 28; 6. Homer 19; 7. Unalaska 14; 8. Soldotna 11 9. Seward 5.

Girls individual results:

200 medley relay — 1. Homer 1:56.38; 2. Palmer 1:58.0; 3. Soldotna 1:58.72; 4. Kodiak 1:59.24; 5. Colony 1:59.24; 6. Kenai 2:07.04.

200 freestyle — 1. M. Cummiskey, Kod 1:58.74; 2. C. Dayton, Col 2:00.85; 3. A. Mattson, Col 2:07.55; 4. M. Blackmon, Kod 2:09.32; 5. J. Beck, Pal 2:13.10; 6. D. McMillan, Sol 2:13.26.

200 IM — 1. M. Story, Hom 2:19.43; 2. L. Spear, Kod 2:23.09; 3. D. Cummiskey, Kod 2:27.74; 4. P. Padilla, Sol 2:28.18; 5. T. Nelson, Col 2:32.16; 6. A. Berry, Hom 2:33.81.

50 freestlye — 1. S. Juliussen, Sol 25.54; 2. G. Snelders, Pal 25.80; 3. S. Crosley, Col 26.30; 4. E. Blaton-Yourkowski, Hom 26.42; 5. H. Glover, Kod 26.80; 6. A. Bales, Hom 26.97.

1 meter dive — 1. J. Chan, Was 371.45; 2. C. Hartman, Pal 358.85; 3. C. Mayer, Was 350.55; 4. E. Cyr, Col 319.85; 5. A. Thorton, Col 308.15; 6. T. Coffman, Pal 307.00.

100 butterfly — 1. M. Cummiskey, Kod 1:02.36; 2. E. Farring, Col 1:03.67; 3. D. Cummiskey, Kod 1:03.91; 4. S. Juliussen, Sol 1:06.89; 5. A. Berry, Hom 1:09.73; 6. K. Creglow, Sol 1:12.66.

100 freestyle — 1. L. Musgrave, Pal 57.49; 2. A. Cowin, Was 58.53; 3. M. Beck, Pal 58.74; 4. H. Glover, Kod 58.93; 5. M. Blackmon, Kod 59.99; 6. A. Juliussen, Sol 1:00.50.

500 freestyle — 1. G. Snelders, Pal 5:40.77; 2. Z. Abouelkheir, Sol 5:47.78; 3. S. Geffken, Pal 5:53.27; 4. J. Beck, Pal 6:01.43; 5. R. Pitsch, Ken 6:02.83; 6. K. Birch, Sol 6:06.82.

200 freestyle — 1. Homer 1:45.18; 2. Kodiak 1:45.32; 3. Palmer 1:45.78; 4. Soldotna 1:47.34; 5. Colony 1:47.82; 6. Soldotna 1:53.55.

100 backstroke — 1. C. Dayton, Col 1:03.61; 2. C. Gechtol, Hom 1:05.62; 3. P. Padilla, Sol 1:06.06; 4. L. Musgrave, Pal 1:06.25; 5. A. Sarnowski, Kod 1:06.55; 6. A. Peterson, Pal 1:09.77.

100 breaststroke — 1. M. Story, Hom 1:10.85 2. A. Mattson, Col 1:12.37; 3. L. Spear, Kod 1:13.98; 4. K. Creglow, Sol 1:14.23; 5. A. Peterson, Pal1:15.80; 6. K. Laasch-Gray, Col 1:16.94.

400 freestyle relay — 1. Kodiak 3:51.19; 2. Colony 3:55.56 3. Soldonta 4:06.98; 4. Kenai 4:07.46; 5. Palmer 4:13.68; 6. Homer 4:28.89.

Boys individual results:

200 medley relay — 1. Kodiak 1:41.03; 2. Colony 1:42.83; 3. Kenai 1:45.44; 4. Wasilla 1:45.89; 5. Homer 1:57.06; 6. Unalaska 1:57.95.

200 freestyle — 1. M. Snelders, Pal 1:49.12; 2. G. Egdorf, Kod 1:52.81; 3. D. Olson, Pal 1:55.82; 4. D. Smith, Kod 1:46.57; 5. O. Rolph, Ken 1:57.64; 6. B. Henderson, Was 1:59.40.

200 IM — 1. T. Lindquist, Kod 1:53.65; 2. J. Simmons, Col 1:55.16; 3. J. James, Kod 2:08.59; 4. N. Lee, Kod 2:10.73; 5. E. Evans, Sol 2:13.17; 6. C. Spanos, Sew 2:15.72.

50 freestyle — 1. G. Vestri Giovanni, Col 21.57; 2. H. Reese, Ken 22.28; 3. C. Hancock, Was 22.98; 4. A. Nguyen, Una 23.29; 5. C. Arndt, Hom 23.53; 5. N. James, Kod 23.54.

1 meter dive — 1. T. Bellsiton, Col 491.40; 2. K. Welch, Sol 451.25; 3. R. Ulatan, Kod 437.20; 4. S. Skolnik, Sol 412.25; 5. S. Parnell, Kod 375.55; 6. E. Krozel, Col 373.15.

100 butterfly — 1. H. Reese, Ken 54.76; 2. M. Snelders, Pal 55.52; 3. C. Spanos, Sew 57.01; 4. R. Chastain, Col 58.33; 5. J. Nelson, Hom 58.86; 6. O. Rolph, Ken 59.24.

100 freestyle — 1. G. Vestri Giovanni, Col 48.07; 2. C. Arndt, Hom 50.75; 3. L .James, Kod 51.03; 4. N. James, Kod 51.22; 5. G. Egdorf, Kod 51.82; 6. B. Henderson, Was 53.34.

500 freestyle — 1. T. Lindquist, Kod 4:36.80; 2. S. Heaven, Ken 5:04.41; 3. D. Smith, Kod 5:10.28; 4. D. Olson, Pal 5:23.61; 5. P. Collier, Pal 5:43.21; 6. J. Hengem, Kod 5:52.35.

200 freestyle relay — 1. Colony 1:30.54; 2. Kodiak 1:30.70; 3. Palmer 1:35.83; 4. Homer 1:37.54; 5. Kodiak 1:39.99.

100 backstroke — 1. J. Simmons, Col 51.75; 2. S. Heaven, Ken 55.98; 3. K. Barrette, Was 56.65; 4. A. Nguyen, Una 57.49; 5. P. Peralta, Kod 1:00.30; 6. W. Gross, Sol 1:06.44.

100 breaststroke — 1. A. Hocum, Kod 1:05.24; 2. M. Laughlin, Was 1:05.80; 3. N. Lee, Kod 1:05.98; 4. C. Hancock, Was 1:06.64; 5. T. Bagley, Ken 1:08.12; 6. W. Dumm, Kod 1:10.72.

400 freestyle — 1. Kodiak 3:27.84; 2. Kenai 3:27.85; 3. Palmer 3:34.09; 4. Unalaska 3:51.07; 5. Wasilla 3:52.96.