Palmer girls 400 freestyle relay team wins state championship

JUNEAU — Earlier this season, Naomi Graham threw out a number to her teammates. Graham, a junior and one-fourth of Palmer’s standout 400 freestyle relay team, set a mark for her squad to hit.

Three minutes and 38 seconds.

“We all laughed so hard,” Graham said. “We were all like, come on that’s a huge joke.”

The Moose relay team spent the early chunk of the season hovering around the 4-minute mark, with a time of 3:59 at the Colony Tri, and 4:00.97 at the Seward Invitational. The same group (Graham, Sarah Hanson, Noelle Graham and Katie Stark) owned the school record, posting a 3:46.59 last season.

That’s only about eight seconds, right? But in a sport in which seconds can feel like hours, Graham’s bold prediction may have been taken lightly.

As it turned out, she was right on the money.

Palmer’s 400 freestyle relay team won an Alaska state title Saturday afternoon, posting a time of 3:38.81 during the finals of the ASAA/First National Bank State Swimming and Diving Championships at Dimond Aquatic Center in Juneau.

“We’re really overwhelmed, really thankful for our coach (Christine Morgan), for all of her support and support of our parents,” Graham said by cellphone from Juneau.

The Palmer swimmers became the first Valley athletes to earn state swimming gold since former Wasilla standout Jeff Frey won two titles in 2009. They’re the first Palmer swimmers to win a state title since Dirk Craft (boys’ 50 freestyle) and Richelle Knapp (girls’ diving) won championships. And it’s the first state win for a Valley relay team since Palmer captured the 1987 state title in the girls’ 400 freestyle relay.

“I didn’t ever think we’d have the fastest relay in the entire state of Alaska,” Noelle Graham said.

The Palmer girls team has spent much of the last two seasons rewriting the school’s record book, and that continued Saturday.

“Our school records are really important to us. We came into the meet wanting to break our record,” said Stark, who now holds a pair of individual school record and a share of three relay records. “We wanted to do the best we could. We had confidence, but we blew ourselves away with what we did.”

The group had been steadily taking seconds off their time during recent weeks, and it’s the second time in as many weeks that the Moose broke their 400 relay record. Last week during the Region III Championships in Kenai, Palmer posted a mark of 3:40.41, cutting about six seconds of the school record set in 2012.

“At regions, we broke the record by six seconds. Today, by two more seconds, which is far beyond what I thought,” Noelle Graham said. “We just wanted a 3:45.”

Kodiak, which saw its two-year run as girls’ state swim and dive champions come to an end Saturday afternoon, had also won the girls’ 400 freestyle relay in each of the last two years. The Moose swimmers admitted that in the past, they may have feared the Bears. But that has changed.

“This year, we weren’t really intimidated by them. This year, we knew we were as good as them. They were good competition,” Stark said.

They also said Palmer may not have felt the pressure of a team like Kodiak, which was trying to swim toward a third straight team title.

“We were thinking about breaking the record, having complete confidence in ourselves,” Stark said. “We wanted to make the race something incredible.”

Noelle Graham said the main goal was simply doing the best they could.

“We did our best. We dropped time and we broke our record. Winning was just kind of a plus,” Noelle Graham said.

The Palmer girls also won the sportsmanship award.

“That was really important to us too,” Noelle Graham said.

Palmer was able to cap the meet with its win in the 400 freestyle relay, but also had success earlier in the day. Naomi Graham, Noelle Graham, Stark and Millie Snelders combined to finish third in the 200 freestyle relay.

Stark finished third in the 50 freestyle and fourth in the 100 freestyle. Naomi Graham was fifth in the 100 freestyle and sixth in the 50 freestyle. Noelle Graham was sixth in the 100 butterfly.

The combined body of work left Palmer with 51 points and a fifth-place finish in the team standings.

“We didn’t really think about it,” Noelle Graham said about Palmer’s place in the team standings. “We have a small scoring girls team. We have five girls that scored. Five girls got fifth place. That’s amazing.”

Five other Valley athletes also placed in the championships. Colony junior Sierra Kinworthy was fifth in the girls’ 500 freestyle. Colony junior Zach Bloom placed fifth in the boys’ 200 freestyle. Joseph Anderson (sixth) and Alex Kessler (seventh) each placed for Colony in the boys’ 100 breaststroke. Daniel Jackson led the Palmer boys with a seventh-place finish in the 50 freestyle.

ASAA/First National Bank State Swimming and Diving Championships

Friday-Saturday, Juneau

Girls team scores:

1. Juneau 88; 2. Dimond 85; 3. Kodiak 64; 4. Eagle River 57; 5. Palmer 51; 6. Chugiak 45; 7. South 25; 8. (tie) Ketchikan and West Anchorage 21; 10. Seward 18; 10. (tie) Soldotna and North Pole 18; 13. West Valley 13; 14. Bartlett 9; 15. (tie) Thunder Mountain and Sitka 7; 17. Colony 4; 18. Homer 3; 19. Valdez 1.

Girls finals:

200 medley relay — 1. Dimond 1:48.04; 2. Juneau 1:49.79; 3. Eagle River 1:52.86; 4. Chugiak 1:55.08; 5. Seward 1:58.83; 6. South 1:58.93; 7. Soldotna 1:58.95; 8. North Pole 2:00.19.

200 freestyle — 1. I. Hughes, Kod 1:51.57; 2. S. Burke, Chu 1:54.63; 3. J. Wilcox, Dim 1:56.42; 4. G. Kito, Jun 1:59.17; 5. M. Stephens, Ket 1:59.47; 6. K. Maker, ER 2:01.02; 7. S. Kaelke, Jun 2:01.58; 8. C. Heaton, WV 2:01.80.

200 IM — 1. T. Lindquist, Kod 2:05.09; 2. E. Jennings, Chu 2:07.36; 3. A. Rohde, Dim 2:12.65; 4. T. DeGeorge, West 2:12.78; 5. J. Geskey, ER 2:12.99; 6. H. Brockman, TM 2:13.32; 7. M. Ruffin, Jun 2:14.83; 8. A. Schoff, South 2:16.96.

50 freestyle — 1. M. Hood, NP 24.16; 2. A. Weeks, Sol 24.19; 3. K. Stark, Pal 24.66; 4. E. Min, ER 24.92; 5. M. Reid, Sit 24.95; 6. Na. Graham, Pal 25.01; 7. A. Hampton, Dim 25.25; 8. D. Isaak, Jun 25.53.

1 meter dive — 1. A. Soto, Bar 353.55; 2. J. Stone, ER 343.05; 3. S. Panting, Sou 342.15; 4. K. Wagner, West 327.90; 5. M. Burbank, Sou 316.90; 6. L. Lockard, Sou 315.30; 7. J. Lewis, Hom 311.10; 8. K. Dolma, Hom 292.95.

100 butterfly — 1. J. Wilcox, Dim 56.99; 2. M. Hood, NP 57.82; 3. C. Kelly, Jun 58.24; 4. E. Min, ER 58.70; 5. H. Brockman, TM 1:00.13; 6. No. Graham, Pal 1:00.21; 7. A. Hampton, Dim 1:02.58; 8. G. Kito, Jun 1:02.86.

100 freestyle — 1. I. Hughes, Kod 51.32; 2. E. Jennings, Chu 52.43; 3. A. Weeks, Sol 53.53; 4. K. Stark, 53.56; 5. Na. Graham, Pal 54.34; 6. E. Sherrill, Ket 54.95; 7. J. Bruce, ER 55.66; 8. C. Murphy, Val 55.68.

500 freestyle — 1. T. Lindquist, Kod 4:57.29; 2. T. DeGeorge, West 5:08.29; 3. C. Heaton, WV 5:20.22; 4. K. Maker, ER 5:20.42; 5. S. Kinworthy, Col 5:23.63; 6. K. O’Brien, Ket 5:24.98; 7. S. Kaelke, Jun 5:30.26; 8. A. Blackstone, Chu 5:35.31.

200 freestyle relay — 1. Juneau 1:39.02; 2. Kodiak 1:39.20; 3. Palmer 1:39.32; 4. Dimond 1:42.81; 5. Seward 1:43.16; 6. Ketchikan 1:43.41; 7. West 1:46.73; 8. West Valley 1:48.25.

100 backstroke — 1. C. Kelly, Jun 57.86; 2. S. Burke, Chu 57.89; 3. A. Rohde, Dim 58.56; 4. A. Schoff, Sou 58.87; 5. J. Geskey, ER 1:00.30; 6. M. Reid, Sit 1:00.97; 7. O. Beckham, Sew 1:02.10; 8. M. Stephens, Ket 1:02.91.

100 breaststroke — 1. D. Isaak, Jun 1:05.27; 2. K. Wray, Dim 1:07.92; 3. M. Ruffin, Jun 1:08.57; 4. A. Taylor-Roth, Jun 1:09.99; 5. M. Oakley, Dim 1:10.67; 6. M. Hawkins, Dim 1:13.02; 7. Z. Thorsen, WV 1:13.65; 8. R. Henry, Sol 1:15.16.

400 freestyle relay — 1. Palmer 3:38.81; 2. Kodiak 3:39.50; 3. Dimond 3:41.19; 4. Eagle River 3:42.79; 5. Juneau 3:43.62; 6. Chugiak 3:45.26; 7. Ketchikan 3:47.01; 8. West Valley 3:58.88.

Boys team scores:

1. Dimond 78; 2. Sitka 75; 3. Service 66; 4. Thunder Mountain 61; 5. Petersburg 56; 6. West Valley 50; 7. Kodiak 45; 8. South 36; 9. Eagle River 23; 10. (tie) Homer and Colony 15; 12. Ketchikan 8; 13. Kenai 7; 14. (tie) Chugiak and Lathrop 5; 16. Palmer 4; 17. Soldotna 3.

Boys finals:

200 medley relay — 1. Sitka 1:38.25; 2. Thunder Mountain 1:38.88; 3. Kodiak 1:40.57; 4. West Valley 1:42.63; 5. South 1:42.76; 6. Eagle River 1:44.97; 7. Dimond 1:45.07; 8. Service 1:48.71.

200 freestyle — 1. M. Summers, Dim 1:42.97; 2. J. O’Brien, Dim 1:46.68; 3. V. Kowalski, Pet 1:47.47; 4. W. Pate, Sit 1:49.76; 5. Z. Bloom, 1:49.91; 6. B. James, Kod 1:50.35; 7. N. Alfano, Dim 1:50.36; 8. B. Fox-Icarro, ER 1:52.59.

200 IM — 1. L. Belley, Sit 1:55.28; 2. K. Fox, TM 1:56.54; 3. L. Marquez, WV 1:57.00; 4. B. Fox-Icarro, ER 1:59.79; 5. N. Lincoln, Kod 2:01.29; 6. T. O’Donoghue, WV 2:02.16; 7. E. Marsh, Pet 2:03.78; 8. R. Emili, South 2:05.66.

50 freestyle ¬— 1. N. Adams, Ser 21.80; 2. E. Hogue-Corwin, Ser 21.86; 3. A. Aulbach, Pet 22.07; 4. T. O’Brien, TM 22.17; 5. N. Lai, Sou 22.41; 6. A. Behm, Sou 22.90; 7. D. Jackson, Pal 23.10; 8. D. McElroy, Sol 23.21.

1 meter dive — 1. K. Brinster, Hom 389.85; 2. C. Gross, Ken 371.35; 3. A. Desatoff, Dim 366.55; 4. Z. Campbell, Lat 351.50; 5. B. Rowe, Hom 351.15; 6. S. Fugere, Chu 349.80; 7. A. Rochon, Chu 339.65; 8. C. Knutson, Sou 334.25.

100 butterfly — 1. K. Fox, TM 51.00; 2. L. Marquez, WV 52.80; 3. B. Fox-Icarro, ER 53.30; 4. N. Alfano, Dim 53.76; 5. N. Lincoln, Kod 54.17; 6. R. Miller, Sit 54.39; 7. J. Nagle, Hom 54.42; 8. J. Anderson, Kod 54.64.

100 freestyle — 1. A. Aulbach, Pet 47.08; 2. E. Hogue-Corwin, Ser 47.36; 3. S. Combs, Sit 48.87; 4. N. Lai, Sou 49.22; 5. V. Kowalski, Pet 49.67; 6. D. Schauff, Kod 49.78; 7. D. Jackson, Pal 50.27.

500 freestyle — 1. M. Summers, Dim 4:35.30; 2. W. Pate, Sit 4:50.38; 3. J. Hanni, Dim 4:51.40; 4. B. Fox-Icarro, ER 4:56.25; 5. C. Kuikhoven, Ket 4:56.30; 6. J. Davis, TM 5:00.78; 7. T. Jones, TM 5:01.32; 8. J. Rogers, Ser 5:01.58.

200 freestyle relay — 1. Service 1:27.94; 2. Thunder Mountain 1:29.80; 3. Dimond 1:30.07; 4. Petersburg 1:30.50; 5. South 1:30.95; 6. Colony 1:33.44; 7. West Valley 1:33.48; 8. Soldotna 1:33.67.

100 backstroke — 1. L. Belley, Sit 52.08; 2. E. Marsh, Pet 53.47; 3. N. Adams, Ser 53.85; 4. D. Schauff, Kod 53.91; 5. D. Dragomir, Sou 56.06; 6. T. O’Donoghue, WV 56.58; 7. M. Dupree, Sou 56.89; 8. N. Schauff, Kod 57.80.

100 breaststroke — 1. T. O’Donoghue, WV 59.68; 2. J. O’Brien, Dim 1:00.55; 3. B. James, Kod 1:01.09; 4. T. O’Brien, TM 1:01.22; 5. J. Harang, Sit 1:02.33; 6. J. Anderson, Col 1:03.18; 7. A. Kessler, Col 1:03.37; 8. L. Cvancara, Dim 1:03.71.

400 freestyle relay — 1. Service 3:13.44; 2. Sitka 3:13.53; 3. Petersburg 3:14.99; 4. Dimond 3:15.06; 5. West Valley 3:18.08; 6. Kodiak 3:22.42; 7. Ketchikan 3:25.01; 8. Thunder Mountain 3:27.05.