Valley athletes earn runner-up finishes at state swimming and diving meet

Jasmine Anderson earned a pair of runner-up finishes to lead the fifth-place Colony girls during the ASAA/First National Bank State Swimming and Diving Championships in Juneau.

Anderson was second in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:08.35 which is a new Colony record, and earned second in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:03.00.

Valley diving standouts Charlize McManus and Travis Thornton also earned second-place finishes at state. McManus had 433.35 points for the Colony girls and Thorton finished with a score of 445.20 for Wasilla on the boys dive.

Anderson was one of nine Knights to place in the finals. The Colony boys were also eighth in the team standings.

“The athletes did amazing at state, but it just goes to show the dedication and hard work they have been putting forth all year,” Coach Kaitlin Dault of Colony said, “They’ve worked hard and it shows by having so many athletes qualify for state. It’s surreal to have the last meet of the season, to say goodbye to some outstanding seniors. It was a great last meet and makes me look forward to next season already!”

The Colony girls diving team had all three girls in the final. In addition to McManus, Claire Wallstrum earned third with 399.75 points andSamantha Grisham was sixth with 351.35 points.

Hannah Cooper was fourth in the 200 freestyle for the Colony girls with a time of 1:59.45, and she earned third in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:18.52.

For the Colony boys, Isaiah Hulien earned seventh in the 53.74 in the 100 butterfly, and he third in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:55.15. Kellan DenBleyker of Colony earned eighth in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:51.30, and sixth in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:02.76. Grady D’Hondt was eighth in the 50 freestyle with a time of 22.85, and he ninth in the 100 freestyle with a time of 51.38.

Landeyn Halstead of Colony earned 14th in the 100 butterfly with a time of 57.02, and he earned 10th in the 100 backstroke with a time of 59.05.

Pierce McDonough of Colony earned 10th in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:53.21, and he earned eighth in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:04.05.

In the relays, the Colony girls earned second in 200 IM with a time of 1:56.81 with Hannah Cooper swimming backstroke (29.45), Jasmine Anderson (29.53), Aubrey Bunch (31.36) and Chloe Blackburn (26.47). The Colony girls 400 freestyle relay earned fifth with Chloe Blackburn (59.75), Kendyl Ligman (59.89), Hannah Cooper (55.65) and Jasmine Anderson (56.06).

The Colony boys 200 freestyle relay team was fifth with Grady D’Hondt (23.08), Thomas Smith (23.20), Kellan DenBleyker (23.27) and Isaiah Hulien (22.69). The Colony boys 400 freestyle relay was sixth with Kellan DenBleyker (51.63), Grady D’Hondt (51.45), Pierce McDonough (50.16) and Isaiah Hulien (48.81).

Aidan Houser led Palmer with a third-place finish in the boys 50 freestyle with a time of 22.38, and was in the 100 freestyle with a time of 49.18. Jackson Charton of Palmer earned 10th place in the 50 freestyle with a time of 22.86, and he earned ninth in the 100 butterfly with a time of 55.12. The Palmer boys also earned eighth in the 200 Medley Relay with a time of 1:54.42 with Jackson Neumann swimming backstroke (33.98), Peyton Neumann swimming breaststroke (33.00), Jackson Charton swimming butterfly (24.29) and Aidan Houser swimming freestyle (23.15).

For the Palmer girls, Jade Bamford was 13th in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:51.72, Nina Adams was 12th in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:12.37, and Addie Charton was ninth in both the 50 freestyle with a time of 25.75 and the 100 freestyle with a time of 56.72.

In addition to Thornton, Calvin Musgrave was eighth for Wasilla in the boys dive with 348.65. Samantha Geoghegan earned 12th in the girls diving for the Warriors.

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