Palmer 200 freestyle team sets new school mark at home

PALMER — As the Palmer girls swimming and diving team headed into the three-day Valley Invitational at the Palmer Pool, the Moose carried a list of goals. Near the top of the list was the chance to break the school record in the 200-yard freestyle relay.

Even though Kodiak won the event, the Moose got their record.

Seniors Katie Stark and Noelle Graham, junior Naomi Graham and sophomore Millie Snelders combined to post a time of 1 minute and 42.30 seconds to set the new school mark.

“This is our time. This is our home meet. This is our home advantage. This is where we did it last year. This is where we want to do it again,” Naomi Graham said prior to the start of the meet. “We’re really going to push it.”

The Moose relay team also cut nearly two seconds off the prior mark of 1:44.46, set at the same meet last year.

“We’re pretty much at our state time and we still have three weeks until state, and we have not tapered,” Graham said Thursday. “By that time we’re hoping to be two seconds faster.”

Kodiak edged Palmer by a mere 1/100th of a second, and used a mark of 1:42.29 to win the event during the final round Saturday. It marked the second straight year that Kodiak has edged a Palmer relay team by such a slim margin. Last year at the Valley Invite, Kodiak’s 400 freestyle relay squad edged Palmer by 1/100th of a second.

Last year, Stark, Naomi Graham, Noelle Graham and Sarah Hanson teamed to set the school mark in the 200 freestyle. This year the addition of Snelders, a sophomore who moved with her family to Palmer from Valdez, has allowed the Moose to boast more depth in the relay events.

“She’s been awesome,” Stark said of Snelders. “She has really good freestyle times. She’s been a really good addition.”

Palmer did get the best of the Bears in the 400 freestyle relay, winning with a time of 3:47.31. Kodiak was the runner-up at 3:47.71. The time is Palmer’s best of the season. Naomi Graham said the relay events mean a great deal to the Moose.

“The relays generate a lot of points,” Graham said. “Having good relays is really important for us as a whole team. That’s kind of how we represent Palmer. We have a lot of good individual events, but we represent mostly in our relays. That’s how we’re seen.”

Palmer entered the meet ranked in the top 5 in the state in both events. Palmer’s time in the 400 freestyle relay Saturday could move the Moose as far up as third when the next set of rankings are released. While being ranked is nice, Stark said the Moose are focusing more on what they’re doing at this point in the season.

“We look at the state rankings, but overall times are most important,” Stark said.

Stark, Hanson, Noelle Graham and Naomi Graham combined to win the 400 freestyle relay Saturday.

Led by the veterans on the relay, and fourth-year head coach Christine Morgan, the Moose girls swimming program has enjoyed a resurrection in recent years. Palmer, which won its last Region III girls team title in 1989, finished third in regions last year, and has the potential to battle for a top-2 finish this season.

“We’re a much stronger team than we were last year,” Graham said.

The Moose have also enjoyed much-improved turnout. The Palmer program had 45 swimmers join the team this season, compared to the 32 on the squad during Morgan’s first year as head coach in 2010.

Led by its relay teams, Palmer finished second in the team standings with 61 points. Kodiak won the meet with 77 and Soldotna was third at 54.5.

Colony finished fifth on the girls side with 30 points.

Noelle Graham also won an individual event for the Moose, finishing first in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:02.79. She also improved on her prior best time of the season, 1:04.36.

Hanson and Snelders also had top-3 finishes for Palmer. Hanson was third in the 200 freestyle and Snelders was third in the 200 individual medley.

Sierra Kinworthy led the Colony girls with a pair of top-3 finishes. Kinworthy was second in the 500 freestyle and third in the 100 breaststroke.

A pair of Knights won individual events to lead Colony to a runner-up finish in the boys’ standings. Colony finished with 51 total points, second to Kodiak’s 121.

Alex Kessler broke the 50-second mark in the 100 freestyle for the first time this season, and won the event with a time of 49.73. Zach Bloom finished first in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:09.73. Bloom was also second in the 200 freestyle.

Kessler (third in the 100 breaststroke) and Joseph Anderson (second in the 100 breaststroke and 200 IM) also posted top-3 finishes individually for the Knights.

Daniel Jackson led sixth-place Palmer with a second-place finish in the 50 freestyle. Blaine Branham was third in the diving event for the Moose.

Valley Invitational

Thursday-Saturday, Palmer Pool

Girls team standings:

1. Kodiak 77; 2. Palmer 61; 3. Soldotna 54.5; 4. Seward 34; 5. Colony 30; 6. Valdez 26; 7. Kenai 20; 8. Homer 18; 9. North Pole 15.5; 10. Lathrop 2; 11. West Valley 1.

Girls individual results:

200 medley relay — 1. Soldotna 1:59.28; 2. Seward 2:01.26; 3. Colony 2:03.20; 4. Kodiak 2:05.43; 5. Kenai 2:06.05; 6. Palmer 2:06.34.

200 freestyle — 1. T. Lindquist, Kod 1:55.38; 2. I. Barnwell, Sew 2:07.04; 3. S. Hanson, Pal 2:08.91; 4. B. Horne, Kod 2:10.98; 5. E. Millstein, Kod 2:14.07; 6. L. Kuhns, Hom 2:18.70.

200 IM — 1. K. Groleske, Sol 2:26.05; 2. R. McNelly, Val 2:26.05; 3. M. Snelders, Pal 2:28.02; 4. R. Kreigh, Kod 2:30.71; 5. R. Mercer, Lat 2:31.28; 6. J. McNelly, Val 2:34.49.

50 freestyle — 1. I. Hughes, Kod 24.21; 2. M. Hood, NP 24.54; 3. A. Weeks, Sol 24.63; 4. K. Stark, Pal 25.03; 5. N. Graham, Pal 25.48; 6. C. Murphy, Val 26.58.

1-meter dive — 1. J. Lewis, Hom 300.85; 2. K. Dolma, Hom 259.55; 3. K. Foster, Col 244.30; 4. M. Pitsch, Ken 23.40; 5. J. Garretson, Pal 233.10; 6. E. Shipman, WV 226.0.

100 butterfly — 1. N. Graham, Pal 1:02.79; 2. M. English, Sol 1:05.68; 3. S. Kinworthy, Col 1:06.12; 4. C. Castro, Ken 1:07.12; 5. K. Groleske, Sol 1:08.24; 6. R. Kreigh, Kod 1:09.78.

100 freestyle — 1. I. Hughes, Kod 52.84; 2. A. Weeks, Sol 54.28; 2. M. Hood, NP 54.28; 4. K. Stark, Pal 55.22; 5. N. Graham, Pal 56.52; 6. C. Murphy, Val 57.90.

500 freestyle — 1. T. Lindquist, Kod 5:09.58; 2. S. Kinworthy, Col 5:37.79; 3. R. Henry, Sol 5:46.84; 4. B. Horne, Kod 5:47.52; 5. S. Hanson, Pal 5:56.60; 6. E. Millstein, Kod 5:58.78.

200 freestyle relay — 1. Kodiak 1:42.29; 2. Palmer 1:42.30; 3. Valdez 1:50.79; 4. North Pole 1:53.10; 5. Kenai 1:55.48; 6. Palmer B 1:55.55.

100 backstroke — 1. I. Barnwell, Sew 1:03.68; 2. O. Beckham, Sew 1:04.05; 3. M. English, Sol 1:04.59; 4. Z. Hanson, Ken 1:09.40; 5. R. Norris, Val 1:11.51; 6. K. Duran, Ken 1:12.90.

100 breaststroke — 1. R. McNelly, Val 1:14.72; 2. C. Smith, Hom 1:16.57; 3. A. Sullivan, Col 1:16.65; 4. R. Henry, Sol 1:17.32; 5. H. Walker, Kod 1:19.20; 6. S. Hamner, Sew 1:20.29.

400 freestyle relay — 1. Palmer 3:47.31; 2. Kodiak 3:47.71; 3. Soldotna 3:59.36; 4. Seward 4:06.46; 5. Colony 4:09.83; 6. Kodiak 4:17.97.

Boys team standings:

1. Kodiak 121; 2. Colony 51; 3. Soldotna 47; 4. Homer 39; 5. North Pole 30; 6. Palmer 22; 7. Kenai 11; 8. Lathrop 7; 9. Hutchison 6.

Boys individual results:

200 medley relay — 1. Kodiak 1:42.25; 2. Colony 1:45.76; 3. Soldotna 1:46.28; 4. Homer 1:54.33; 5. Kodiak 1:55.71.

200 freestyle — 1. B. James, Kod 1:50.52; 2. Z. Bloom, Col 1:51.66; 3. R. Hanson, Kod 1:56.80; 4. J. Vorderbruggen, Hut 1:57.70; 5. M. Nagle, Hom 1:58.72; 6. J. Handeland, NP 1:59.15.

200 IM — 1. N. Lincoln, Kod 2:04.28; 2. J. Anderson, Col 2:10.89; 3. J. Creglow, Sol 2:16.82; 4. J. Nagle, Hom 2:20.64; 5. M. Linscheid, Kod 2:25.44.

50 freestyle — 1. D. McElroy, Sol 22.94; 2. D. Jackson, Pal 23.39; 3. J. Anderson, Kod 23.59; 4. S. Preece, NP 23.88; 5. G. Nelson, Col 24.20; 6. L. Udomporn, Col 24.55.

1-meter dive — 1. Z. Campbell, Lat 354.60; 2. B. Ashwell, Ken 332.50; 3. B. Branham, Pal 312.55.; 4. B. Rowe, Hom 305.40; 5. K. Brinster, Hom 298.60; 6. N. Huntington, Pal 260.65.

100 butterfly — 1. J. Nagle, Hom 55.67; 2. N. Lincoln, Kod 55.99; 3. J. Anderson, Kod 56.66; 4. J. Vorderbruggen, Hut 57.00; 5. D. Hunter, Sol 57.72; 6. K. Nore, NP 58.59.

100 freestyle — 1. A. Kessler, Col 49.73; 2. D. Schauff, Kod 49.76; 3. D. Jackson, Pal 51.83; 4. N. Schauff, Kod 52.38; 5. S. Preece, NP 52.87; 6. C. Corona-Cain, Sol 53.56.

500 freestyle — 1. Z. Bloom, Col 5:09.79; 2. K. Nore, NP 5:12.85; 3. R. Hanson, Kod 5:19.36; 4. M. Nagle, Hom 5:19.48; 5. D. Lambert, Kod 5:25.36; 6. G. Smith, Hom 5:26.27.

200 freestyle — 1. Soldotna 1:33.31; 2. Kodiak 1:35.29; 3. Palmer 1:36.67; 4. Kenai 1:40.91; 5. Colony 1:43.71; 6. Kodiak 1:45.00.

100 backstroke — 1. D. Schauff, Kod 55.69; 2. N. Schauff, Kod 59.21; 3. G. Smith, Hom 1:00.29; 4. J. Handeland, NP 1:01.37; 5. C. Corona-Cain, Sol 1:04.57; 6. Z. Leithead, Kod 1:05.37.

100 breaststroke — 1. J. Blake, Kod 1:02.86; 2. J. Anderson, Col 1:04.28; 3. A. Kessler, Col 1:04.45; 4. D. McElroy, Sol 1:04.52; 5. J. Creglow, Sol 1:09.55; 6. S. Kirchenshlager, Kod 1:10.08.

400 freestyle relay — 1. Kodiak 3:27.82; 2. North Pole 2:34.34; 3. Homer 3:43.01; 4. Kodiak B 3:48.07; 5. North Pole B 3:50.22; 6. Soldotna 4:01.62.