Palmer girls strong at Valley Invite, set 3 school marks

PALMER — There may be no “I” in “team,” but that didn’t stop the Palmer High girls swim squad from putting an exclamation point after it.

That’s just what the Moose team of Naomi Graham, Sarah Hanson, Noelle Graham and Katie Stark did Saturday, shattering three school records in the finals of the 2012 Valley Invitational swimming meet at Palmer Pool. The team helped lead the Moose to finish third overall with 49 team points behind a powerhouse Kodiak group, which posted 114 points sparked by multiple finals wins, and Soldona with 53.

By the end of the meet, though, Palmer head coach Christine Morgan was all smiles.

“It was amazing,” she said about watching the Moose girls set school records in the 200-yard freestyle relay (1 minute, 44.46 seconds) and 400 free relay (3:47.94). In addition to her work on the relays, Stark also set a school record with her 54.64 second-place time in the 100 freestyle.

In the 400 free relay, the Moose placed second in a photo finish with Kodiak, which was faster by 1/100^th of a second. That the Moose could pull off a school-record time and nearly upset Kodiak was sparked by a monster third leg from Noelle Graham. She started her leg of the relay about 15 yards behind Kodiak, but managed to pull even for Stark’s anchor leg.

“That showed a lot of determination,” Morgan said of Noelle Graham’s swim. “Also, Sarah (in the second leg) worked so hard, too, and she had just swam that 500 (freestyle) before the relay, so she just gutted it out. They each have a job. Noelle has to pick up that pace at the end so Katie can just bring it home.”

That Stark also was strong in her individual events was a sign the Moose girls were focused and zeroed in on Saturday, Morgan said. In addition to her school record, Stark also finished second in the 50 free in 25.05.

“We were both surprised by (her school record in the 100 free),” Morgan said. “It was a really great swim for her, and having great competition from Kodiak set the bar higher.”

In addition to her work in the relays, Noelle Graham had enough left in her tank to win the 100-yard butterfly in 1:01.98, well ahead of Soldotna’s Kaitlyn Groleske, who placed second in 1:05.02.

Swimming against good competition was something positive Valley coaches echoed about the Valley Invitational, that it draws top competition from schools like Kodiak and Soldotna, Morgan said. Having some of the state’s top swimmers in the same pool helps push others to perform at a higher level, she said.

“They’re all top-class teams and it’s fun to watch them swim together,” she said.

Colony head coach Matt Hanley agreed, saying he was pleased with a Knights boys squad that finished third with 51 team points behind Kodiak (107) and SoHi (57).

“I was very, very pleased,” he said. “I saw some kids in finals and in some races that it’s tougher to get into the finals.”

Some of those swimmers were Zane Mileur, Larkin Udomporn, Zach Bloom and Alex Kessler, who put together a blazing 200-yard freestyle relay effort, winning in a time of 1:35.31, edging second-place Kodiak (1:37.52) by more than two seconds.

“I think we’re doing great right now,” Hanley said. “They look the way I want them to look two weeks out (of the regional meet). They look tired enough that we haven’t over-rested and we still have two weeks to rest and do some fine-tuning. They’re going to be just fine at regions. I’m really excited.”

He’s also excited for Kessler as well, who had a strong meet in addition to anchoring the relay team. Kessler finished second in the 200 free in 1:54.28 and second in the 100 backstroke (58.22).

Also swimming strong for the Colony boys on Saturday was Bloom, who placed third overall in the 500 freestyle in 5:10.78 and fourth in the 200 individual medley (3:13.33).

For Wasilla, the only Warrior to make the finals was Conner Minder, who finished fifth in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:05.08. Teammate Mike Foy swam in a pair of consolation finals, the 200 individual medley and 500 free.

Palmer senior diver Joe Provo said he had some extra inspiration to guide him to a personal best score of 371.30 points and a win in the diving competition. He dedicated his last home meet to his grandfather, Ron Ax, who died last year.

“I wasn’t diving for myself,” he said. “I was diving for my grandpa. He passed away last year of cancer. I think he’d be proud of me. I gave it my all and I wasn’t really trying to impress anybody.”

He may not have been trying, but he impressed his coach.

“Joe has kind of been up and down this season, but today it was amazing for him to go out there and do what he did,” Morgan said.

Along with a personal best score, Provo was boosted to first place when North Pole’s Cody Frazier, who had been leading the competition, faulted on his last dive and scored a 0.

“I saw that and I was, ‘aw, man, now I have a chance,’” Provo said. “All he needed was 1s and he would’ve had me.”

Provo also was impressed watching the Palmer girls’ relay team.

“That is insane what they did,” he said. “I’m so proud to be on the same team as them. They work really hard and it’s paid off.”

While the Moose overall had a strong meet, they haven’t peaked early, Provo said.

“We are far from being done setting records,” he said. “That’s not our true potential. I think we can raise the bar even higher.”

Contact reporter Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.

Valley Invitational

Saturday, Palmer Pool

Girls team scores:

1, Kodiak 114. 2, Soldotna 53. 3, Palmer 49. 4, Kenai Central 41. 5, Seward 29. 6, North Pole 12. 6, Anchorage Christian 12. 8, Homer 9. 9, Valdez 5. 10, Skyview 2. 10, Colony 2.

Girls individual results:

200-yard medley — (Final) 1, Kodiak High School 'A' 1:57.37. 2, Kenai Central High School 'A' 2:01.18. 3, Seward High School 'A' 2:04.01. 4, Soldotna High School 'A' 2:04.99. 5, Valdez High School Swim Team 'A' 2:11.81. 6, Colony Knights 'A' 2:12.87.

200 freestyle — (Final) 1, Lindquist, Jori, Kodiak, 1:58.42. 2, Donnolly, Kaylynn, ACS, 1:59.76. 3, Groleske, Kaitlyn, Soldotna, 2:04.68. 4, Barnwell, Isabel, Seward, 2:07.78. 5, Horne, Brittany, Kodiak, 2:12.61. 6, Hanson, Sarah, Palmer, 2:15.31. (Consolation Final) 7, Heaven, Keelyn, Kenai Central, 2:14.44. 8, Vogt, Hannah, Kodiak, 2:16.06. 9, Allen, Elaina, Cordova, 2:18.90. 10, Murphy, Colleen, Valdez, 2:20.19. 11, Steinbeck, Caitlin, Kenai Central, 2:22.29. 12, Tougas, Rachel, Seward, 2:22.57.

200 IM — (Final) 1, Lindquist, Tahna, Kodiak, 2:12.00. 2, Jones, Sammye, Kodiak, 2:21.32. 3, Graham, Noelle, Palmer, 2:25.01. 4, Smith, Cheyanne, Homer, 2:29.80. 5, Macinko, Illa, Kodiak, 2:30.56. 6, Donnolly, Brianna, ACS, 2:32.37. (Consolation Final) 7, Millstein, Elinore, Kodiak, 2:38.81. 8, Wannamaker, Joy, Kenai Central, 2:43.07. 9, Crosley, Rachel, Colony, 2:45.28. 10, Arndt, Lydia, Homer, 2:46.13. 11, Schloeman, Mariah, Kenai Central, 2:53.17.

50 freestyle — (Final) 1, Hughes, Ila, Kodiak, 24.50. 2, Stark, Katie, Palmer, 25.05. 3, Weeks, Alex, Soldotna, 25.30. 4, Graham, Naomi, Palmer, 25.48. 5, Louthan, Kaitlyn, Kenai Central, 25.79. 6, Villa, Maria, North Pole, 27.19. (Consolation Final) 7, Beckham, Olivia, Seward, 26.83. 8, Allen, Elaina, Cordova, 27.02. 9, Snelders, Millie, Valdez, 27.19. 10, Degnan, Jessica, Seward, 27.46. 11, Zugg, Eliza, Colony, 27.72. 12, Silta, Molly, Soldotna, 27.73.

1-meter dive — (Finals) 1, Hogen, Sophie, Kodiak, 370.50. 2, Lewis, Jasmine, Homer, 312.95. 3, Hess, Abby, North Pole, 304.25. 4, Gibbs, Sabrina, Soldotna, 264.95. 5, Sumpter, Kailyn, North Pole, 241.85. 6, Dolma, Katherine, Homer, 213.25.

100 butterfly — (Final) 1, Graham, Noelle, Palmer, 1:01.98. 2, Groleske, Kaitlyn, Soldotna, 1:05.02. 3, Castro, Celestina, Kenai Central, 1:06.73. 4, English, Megan, Soldotna, 1:07.41. 5, Morton, Mika, Skyview, 1:11.97. 6, Villa, Maria, North Pole, 1:13.80. (Consolation Final) 7, Arndt, Lydia, Homer, 1:15.91. 8, Shilanski, Veronica, North Pole, 1:17.81. 9, McKittrick, Tessa, Colony, 1:19.87. 10, Cox, Laya, Kodiak, 1:21.36. 11, Magiera, Makenzi, Kenai Central, 1:21.72. 12, Sabala, Angie, Soldotna, 1:22.85.

100 freestyle — (Final) 1, Hughes, Ila, Kodiak, 53.85. 2, Stark, Katie, Palmer, 54.64. 3, Weeks, Alex, Soldotna, 54.84. 4, Donnolly, Kaylynn, ACS, 54.97. 5, Graham, Naomi, Palmer, 56.78. 6, Louthan, Kaitlyn, Kenai Central, 58.05. (Consolation Final) 7, Murphy, Colleen, Valdez, 1:00.82. 8, Crosley, Rachel, Colony, 1:01.91. 9, Silta, Molly, Soldotna, 1:02.80. 10, Degnan, Jessica, Seward, 1:02.92. 11, Boone, Emily, Soldotna, 1:03.03. 12, Wagoner, Brandi, Kenai Central, 1:06.29.

500 freestyle — (Final) 1, Lindquist, Tahna, Kodiak, 5:13.61. 2, Barnwell, Isabel, Seward, 5:37.05. 3, Henry, Rachel, Soldotna, 5:57.51. 4, Heaven, Keelyn, Kenai Central, 5:58.98. 5, Hanson, Sarah, Palmer, 6:00.22. 6, Millstein, Elinore, Kodiak, 6:04.79. (Consolation Final) 7, Tougas, Rachel, Seward, 6:12.82. 8, Vogt, Hannah, Kodiak, 6:15.58. 9, Steinbeck, Caitlin, Kenai Central, 6:26.65. 10, Eby, Ashley, Soldotna, 6:30.35. 11, Ruff, Mackenzie, North Pole, 6:34.21. 12, Hubler, Anessia, Kenai Central, 6:53.61.

200 freestyle relay — (Final) 1, Kodiak High School 'A' 1:43.10. 2, Palmer High School Swim Team 'A' 1:44.46. 3, Soldotna High School 'A' 1:47.43. 4, Kenai Central High School 'A' 1:48.51. 5, Seward High School 'A' 1:48.98.

100 backstroke — 1, Lindquist, Jori, Kodiak, 59.92. 2, Beckham, Olivia, Seward, 1:06.36. 3, English, Megan, Soldotna, 1:08.71. 4, Donnolly, Brianna, ACS, 1:08.75. 5, Macinko, Illa, Kodiak, 1:09.22. 6, Snelders, Millie, Valdez, 1:11.42. (Consolation Final) 7, Hanson, Zoya, Kenai Central, 1:09.61. 8, Smith, Cheyanne, Homer, 1:10.62. 9, Zugg, Eliza, Colony, 1:11.45. 10, Henry, Rachel, Soldotna, 1:11.60. 11, Tigner, Chelsea, North Pole, 1:13.02. 12, Wannamaker, Joy, Kenai Central, 1:13.57.

100 breaststroke — (Final) 1, Jones, Sammye, Kodiak, 1:10.82. 2, Chess, Chelsea, Kenai Central, 1:17.55. 3, Hamner, Sasha, Seward, 1:20.35. 4, Castro, Celestina, Kenai Central, 1:20.78. 5, Walker, Haleigh, Kodiak, 1:20.83. 6, Nyquist, Kirsten, Kenai Central, 1:21.06. (Consolation Final) 7, Doyel, Emily, Valdez, 1:22.31. 8, Schloeman, Mariah, Kenai Central, 1:23.51. 9, Sullivan, Molly, Colony, 1:24.61. 10, Boone, Emily, Soldotna, 1:24.78. 11, Munro, Erica, Palmer, 1:25.56. 12, Sullivan, Anne, Colony, 1:25.62.

400 freestyle relay — (Final) 1, Kodiak High School 'A' 3:47.93. 2, Palmer High School Swim Team 'A' 3:47.94. 3, Soldotna High School 'A' 4:00.90. 4, Kenai Central High School 'A' 4:14.81. 5, North Pole High School 'A' 4:15.45. 6, Kodiak High School 'B' 4:18.84.

Boys team scores:

1, Kodiak 107. 2, Soldotna 57. 3, Colony 51. 4, North Pole 39. 5, Palmer 25. 6, Kenai Central 15. 7, Homer 12. 8, Valdez 10. 9, Cordova 6. 10, Nome Beltz 3. 11, Wasilla 2.

Boys individual results:

200-yard medley — (Final) 1, Soldotna High School 'A' 1:43.76. 2, Kodiak High School 'A' 1:43.86. 3, Colony Knights 'A' 1:48.13. 4, North Pole High School 'A' 1:55.83. 5, Palmer High School Swim Team 'A' 1:58.54. 6, Kenai Central High School 'A' 1:59.83.

200 freestyle — (Final) 1, Smith, Michael, Kodiak, 1:50.20. 2, Kessler, Alex, Colony, 1:54.28. 3, Nore, Kelsey, North Pole, 1:56.07. 4, Mileur, Zane, Colony, 1:56.58. 5, Levan, Axl, Kodiak, 2:00.68. 6, Handeland, Josh, North Pole, 2:00.86. (Consolation Final) 7, Nagle, Mark, Homer, 2:01.57. 8, Udomporn, Tristan, Colony, 2:04.92. 9, Edsell, Zach, North Pole, 2:07.64. 10, Hanson, Josh, Palmer, 2:09.04. 11, Hamlin, Noah, Seward, 2:13.15. 12, Cowan, Cyrus, Homer, 2:16.45.

200 IM — (Final) 1, Lincoln, Nicholas, Kodiak, 2:07.34. 2, James, Blake, Kodiak, 2:09.99. 3, Hunter, Dustin, Soldotna, 2:12.72. 4, Bloom, Zach, Colony, 2:13.33. 5, Anderson, Joseph, Colony, 2:20.07. (Consolation Final) 7, White, Thomas, North Pole, 2:23.47. 8, Smith, Gregory, Homer, 2:25.65. 9, Linscheid, Mica, Kodiak, 2:27.00. 10, Milbradt, Zach, Palmer, 2:29.37. 11, Kohler, Austin, North Pole, 2:33.27. 12, Foy, Mike, Wasilla, 2:34.81.

50 freestyle — (Final) 1, Rickman, Sawyer, Soldotna, 23.08. 2, McElroy, Daniel, Soldotna, 23.27. 3, Hamberger, Josh, Cordova, 24.19. 4, Anderson, Jonas, Kodiak, 24.42. 5, Snelders, John, Valdez, 24.47. 6, Udomporn, Larkin, Colony, 24.66. (Consolation Final) 7, Stettenbenz, Jake, Nome, 24.86. 8, Sworts, Tobin, Palmer, 25.61. 9, Mcgee, Cameron, North Pole, 25.70. 10, Darling, Colby, North Pole, 25.92. 11, Schwenke, Joe, Kenai Central, 26.04. 12, Dye, Jacob, Kenai Central, 26.48.

1-meter dive — 1, Provo, Joe, Palmer, 371.30. 2, Rowe, Brian, Homer, 362.05. 3, Frazier, Cody, North Pole, 359.20. 4, Gross, Cole, Kenai Central, 356.65. 5, Koch, Dakota, North Pole, 331.40. 6, Wik, Riley, Kenai Central, 326.30.

100 butterfly — (Final) 1, Lincoln, Nicholas, Kodiak, 56.53. 2, Hunter, Dustin, Soldotna, 57.34. 3, Nagle, James, Homer, 57.40. 4, Anderson, Jonas, Kodiak, 59.43. 5, Mileur, Zane, Colony, 1:00.60. (Consolation Final) 7, Udomporn, Tristan, Colony, 1:01.82. 8, Balowski, Jacob, Valdez, 1:05.70. 9, Baker, Klay, Nome, 1:06.43. 10, Rife, Joseph, Soldotna, 1:06.51. 11, Milbradt, Zach, Palmer, 1:06.85. 12, Hamlin, Noah, Seward, 1:08.92.

100 freestyle — (Final) 1, Schauff, Dyton, Kodiak, 51.21. 2, Jackson, Daniel, Palmer, 52.58. 3, Snelders, John, Valdez, 54.09. 4, Corona-Cain, Chase, Soldotna, 54.79. 5, Hamberger, Josh, Cordova, 55.26. (Consolation Final) 7, Stettenbenz, Jake, Nome, 55.08. 8, Mutch, Max, Kodiak, 56.16. 9, Mcgee, Cameron, North Pole, 56.80. 10, Darling, Colby, North Pole, 57.18. 11, Sworts, Tobin, Palmer, 57.23. 12, Dye, Jacob, Kenai Central, 58.69.

500 freestyle — (Final) 1, Smith, Michael, Kodiak, 4:57.16. 2, Nore, Kelsey, North Pole, 5:10.19. 3, Bloom, Zach, Colony, 5:10.78. 4, Handeland, Josh, North Pole, 5:19.80. 5, Levan, Axl, Kodiak, 5:32.32. 6, Nagle, Mark, Homer, 5:32.86. (Consolation Final) 7, Linscheid, Mica, Kodiak, 5:44.73. 8, Smith, Gregory, Homer, 5:48.85. 9, Rife, Joseph, Soldotna, 5:54.19. 10, Foy, Mike, Wasilla, 5:54.74. 11, Ticknor, Dezmond, Kenai Central, 6:22.70. 12, Warga, Chatham, Cordova, 6:32.59.

200 freestyle relay — 1, Colony Knights 'A' 1:35.31. 2, Kodiak High School 'A' 1:37.52. 3, Kenai Central High School 'A' 1:41.97. 4, North Pole High School 'A' 1:44.18. 5, Valdez High School Swim Team 'A' 1:44.57. 6, Kodiak High School 'B' 1:45.34.

100 backstroke — (Final) 1, Schauff, Dyton, Kodiak, 57.27. 2, Kessler, Alex, Colony, 58.22. 3, Corona-Cain, Chase, Soldotna, 1:04.49. 4, Baker, Klay, Nome, 1:04.71. 5, Minder, Conner, Wasilla, 1:05.08. 6, Gross, Cole, Kenai Central, 1:06.66. (Consolation Final) 7, Edsell, Zach, North Pole, 1:08.57. 8, Cowan, Cyrus, Homer, 1:10.08. 9, Mann, Beau, Kodiak, 1:10.89. 10, Sullivan, Zach, Nome, 1:12.43. 11, Evans, Matthew, Kenai Central, 1:12.72. 12, Arnold, Jake, Kodiak, 1:15.56.

100 breaststroke — (Final) 1, James, Blake, Kodiak, 1:04.41. 2, McElroy, Daniel, Soldotna, 1:04.65. 3, Anderson, Joseph, Colony, 1:09.37. 4, Jackson, Daniel, Palmer, 1:09.85. 5, Mutch, Max, Kodiak, 1:12.25. 6, Kirchenshlager, Sam, Kodiak, 1:12.82. (Consolation Final) 7, Balowski, Jacob, Valdez, 1:13.47. 8, Ashwell, Bill, Kenai Central, 1:13.86. 9, Denny, Tristan, Colony, 1:14.75. 10, Haney, Sam, Palmer, 1:15.70. 11, Sullivan, Zach, Nome, 1:16.75. 12, Schwenke, Joe, Kenai Central, 1:17.79.

400 freestyle relay — 1, Kodiak High School 'A' 3:24.95. 2, Soldotna High School 'A' 3:26.04. 3, North Pole High School 'A' 3:46.14. 4, Palmer High School Swim Team 'A' 3:51.87. 5, Kodiak High School 'B' 3:52.70. 6, Homer High School 'A' 3:54.12.