Prep swimming: Valley teams ready to make splash

WASILLA — Mat-Su swimming and diving teams will begin testing the waters against the best of Region III today at Soldotna High School.

The region meet begins at 9 a.m. today with preliminary heats, followed by finals on Saturday.

Most teams left the Valley Thursday afternoon and planned to get in a few practice laps at the pool before Friday’s meet.

Kodiak’s boys and girls teams have dominated the swimming scene this year, and coaches seemed to agree that the Bears are the favorites. But according to Wasilla head coach Caryn Reid, the Warrior boys plan to try and make more than a splash this weekend.

“It will definitely be a competition between us and Kodiak,” Reid said via cell phone from the team bus Thursday.

Wasilla’s boys team has been strong in the relay events this year, and owns the fourth-best time in the state in the 200-yard medley relay.

Led by a solid corps of strong performers that includes senior Tommy Hightower, juniors Charles Frey and Max Merriam and sophomore Christian Long, the Warriors also expect to have top showings in the other relay events.

“They’re really focused on qualifying the relays for state,” Reid said.

Hightower is also one of the region’s best in the individual medley and distance freestyle races, while Frey is a top butterfly competitor, Long and Merriam are both versatile all-around swimmers who have posted particularly fast times in the freestyle races.

Dylan Spargo could also make some noise, and is coming off a victory in the 100 breaststroke at the Senior Send-off meet last week.

Also expected to compete for a top finish will be junior diver David Kennedy, who has been the top Mat-Su performer in the 1-meter event throughout the year.

But while the Wasilla swimmers should find themselves near the top in several individual events, Reid said the focus heading into the meet has been entirely on trying to knock Kodiak from the top spot.

“They’re thinking more about the team winning instead of individuals,” she said.

On the girls’ side, Wasilla sophomore diver Rachel Kennedy — a top all-around athlete who also excels in soccer and gymnastics — has won nearly every time she’s stepped to the end of the diving board.

And Caity Stigen is also coming off a big finish at the Send-off meet, having won both the 50 freestyle and 100 butterfly events.

Colony has had the top girls team in the Valley this season on the strength of an outstanding season by sophomore Katelyn Payne. Payne was a double winner at the final meet of the year, and also has a second-place finish in the 100 yard backstroke at the prestigious Palmer Invitational on her resume.

She’s a returning state qualifier who came within two one-hundredths of a second of the region record in the 200 yard freestyle race at last year’s region meet. Other Colony girls who have been among the top swimmers this season include sophomores Caity Crombie and Janessa Willard, as well as senior Katie

Nelson.

Colony’s boys team is led by junior Rhowe Stefanski and sophomore Jeff Frey, both of whom can compete in multiple events and should help the Colony relay teams. Both are among the region’s top freestyle sprinters, and Frey is also a threat in the backstroke.

The Palmer Moose have been in a rebuilding mode all season, but coach Kalea Myers said she thinks the Moose have a chance to reach several team and individual goals this weekend.

“I’m pretty confident in everybody with where they’re at right now,” Myers said from Anchorage Thursday.

Myers said she thinks the Moose could advance as many as five swimmers into Saturday’s individual finals from the boys team, as well as at least two relay teams on the girls side.

Palmer sophomore Stacy Swindells is coming off wins in the 200 yard individual medley and 100 yard freestyle at the Send-off meet for the Moose girls, while seniors Kyle Johnson and David Psenak have the potential to score points in both the freestyle and backstroke events.

While Myers said she doesn’t expect the Moose to be among the top teams in the region, she said the goal will be to post individual bests and continue showing improvement among her swimmers.

“That’s pretty much our main goal for everybody,” she said.

The Region III swimming and diving meet gets underway at 9 a.m. at the Soldotna High School Pool, with finals set for 9 a.m. Saturday.

Contact Matt Tunseth at 352-2265 or matt.tunseth@

frontiersman.com