SINK OR SWIM

PALMER — A season of conditioning, swimming and competition comes down to a race against the clock this weekend for Valley athletes at the Region III championships at Palmer Pool.

Although Kodiak has been dominant throughout the season and is a heavy favorite to take both the boys and girls titles at this weekends region meet, Colony, Palmer and Wasilla have plenty of reasons to be hopeful.

For Palmer, the Moose boast a strong sophomore class that has made significant strides as the season has progressed, said head coach Shana Omer. Qualifying for the state meet at regions would be a shot in the arm for a program that’s expected to be up and coming for the next couple of years.

“We’re looking really good, really solid,” she said. “We have some good individual performances and some relays that are going to make a splash at regions.”

Winning an event at one of the four statewide region meets will qualify a swimmer for state. After that, the 12 best times are taken to fill out the field in each event, she said. That means swimmers may not even medal in an event, but can still qualify if they post a fast enough time.

Some of the Palmer relay teams have a shot at qualifying, she said, especially the boys’ 400 and 200 freestyle relays made up of senior Spencer Bloom, Zach Bloom, senior Evan McHenry and Josh Hanson.

“They’re just swimming really well right now and their speeds have increased and times have dropped over the season,” Omer said.

Also looking to make a splash for Palmer is sophomore Katie Stark, who will most likely swim the 50 and 400 freestyle. She’s one of the up-and-comers for the young Moose squad.

“She just really fast,” Omer said. “She’s a sophomore and I believe she’s ranked in the top 16, at least in the region, in the 50 freestyle. Last year she was swimming the 500, and she’s just lean and really knows how to keep the rhythm on the freestyle and knows how to make her move when it counts.”

Getting as many to state this year will pay off over the next couple of seasons for the Moose, Omer said.

“We have a good group of sophomores who will be phenomenal in the next couple of years,” she said. “Well, they’re phenomenal now, but as they gain experience and maturity they’ll gain insight on how to really compete against others. We’ve got a whole slew of swimmers who have just started swimming this year who are coming on very strong also.”

Noelle Graham is another of those super sophomores who could make waves at the region meet, the coach said. Graham will likely swim the 100 butterfly, a race she improved her time from 1:05 to 1:03 at the Valley Invite recently.

“I believe in the next couple years she’ll get even faster and be under a minute,” Omer said. “At regions, I’d like to see maybe a 1:02 or 1:01. I think with some of the girls she’s swimming against, she’ll push it.”

For the boys, diver Joe Provo, a junior, is looking to make a return trip to the state meet, Omer said. Provo made it to the semifinals at state last year, which was his first year of competition. Another season of experience should help him, she said.

“I hope he’ll use that experience from last year and bring it even better this year,” she said. “At the Valley Invite, it was a tough meet because he hit his shoulder on the board, but we’re hoping that this week will be his week. It’ll help him because he won’t be nearly as nervous. He’ll know what to expect and what he chooses to do as he dives.”

Wasilla Warriors

Wasilla has a small squad, but is hopeful to post as many personal best times as possible and get some qualifiers, said head coach Matt Hanley.

“Regions is the sole state qualifier, so a lot of things that have been glazed over at other meets will be out there now,” she said. “It’s all about getting to the finals and getting those limited number of slots to fill the state meet. I don’t think we’re in a position to shoot for a major (team) title, but we’re going to do well and improve.”

Someone Hanley believes is primed to make a mark at the region meet is senior Brittany Shattuck. She’s battled a shoulder injury, but has plenty of experience, including being a state qualifier in 2009.

“We’d love to see her go to state again,” Hanley said. “That’s been a goal of hers for awhile. One of the things I’d like to see the most is the athletes get what they deserve for the work that they put in. I love to see swimmers and athletes get what they work for, and this girl has worked really hard. She’s definitely put in the work.”

The most a coach can ask for at the region meet is a personal best, he said.

“I want to see her get a lifetime best time,” he said. “I want her to walk away knowing she swam faster than she ever had. I think she’s got what it takes to do it.”

For coaches, the region meet is also a challenge, he said. While athletes can compete in multiple events during the regular season, at regions they’re limited to two individual events, plus relays.

“It’s a mental game as well,” Hanley said. “It’s a delicate balance and you hope things are on track. I think we’re going to come out and race.”

Other Warriors to keep an eye on include junior Mike Foy, who swims the 200 free and 100 fly, and Conner Minder.

“He’s been putting in stronger and stronger performances at regions the past couple years,” the coach said about Foy. About Minder, he added, “He’s been creeping up there in his sprint freestyle speed and his breaststroke.”

Up-and-comers who will gain valuable experience are Jesse Saiki, a sophomore, and junior Savannah Burke, he said. “They’re improving and are some strong leaders coming up for the future.”

Colony Knights

This weekend’s Region III meet will be the last for longtime Colony coach Dawn Brettrager, who will retire after the season. Going into the meet, Brettrager said she’s not thinking much about it being her last, she’s just focused on qualifying as many kids for state as she can and recording personal bests.

“It’s kind of been a building year,” she said. “I’ve had mostly freshmen and sophomores on my team. I only have three senior girls who are veterans, so it’s pretty lean as far as veterans go.”

One of those seniors is Kayla Anderson, who is expected to compete in the 200 IM and 500 freestyle.

“She’s had a shoulder injury and has been kind of babysitting it, but she loves the 500, so I agreed to let her swim it,” the coach said.

Eval Colberg could also be a contender in the 100 breaststroke and 100 fly, along with swimming a couple relays, Brettrager said.

“I’m expecting her to final and be in the top six,” she said. “It’s uncertain, because sometimes there are a couple of kids who are in the top 16 in all the events (during the season), but at regions they can only do a certain number of events. I would love to see her qualify for state and I’m expecting her to drop some time at regions. I’d love to see her in the top three at regions, because she would medal.”

Saige Stefanski is could also make a run to qualify for state, the coach said.

“I’d really like to see her get her best time and to final would be a goal,” she said. Overall, “each year it kind of varies which events are really strong. It depends on where everything plays out and where coaches put them to get them in the right place at state. It’s a big change from the rest of the season, because the rest of the season my focus is getting people to swim as many events as they can so we can see those strengths and narrow those down.”

For the Colony boys, sophomore Alex Kessler could win a region title in the backstroke, Brettrager said.

“I’m expecting him to be in the top three, and hopefully take the backstroke,” she said. “That could be done, he’s dropped a lot of time and has worked on it and the field’s looking pretty good for him. He has really come around this year and is very versatile. He can pretty much do any stroke in any event.”

Overall, sophomore Tistan Udomporn could medal in the butterfly and “I have some freshmen boys who might surprise me,” Brettrager said. “We’ve done well at some of the smaller meets, we just don’t have the jets for the points overall, and Kodiak is super strong this season.”

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