5A DISTRICT 1-2 SWIMMING: Sandpoint sweeps titles, breaks records
MAX OSWALD | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 week, 5 days AGO
The Sandpoint High boys and girls swim teams show off their district hardware after they both won 5A Inland Empire League District Championship on Saturday at the University of Idaho Swim Center. Front row, from left are Ryleigh Bamer, McCoy Jensen, Kale Wright and Fiona Smith. Second row, Lila Gedde, Annabelle Bunge, Bria Rocke, Oli Leavitt, Bodi Demmons, Dexter Williams, Max Zuberbuhler, Lou Foust and Phin Bricher. Third row, Lillian Jackson, Summer Loutzenhiser, Ava de Leeuw, Reina Montecchi, Mia Driggs, Nolan Owens and Kai Leavitt. Back row, Rachel Aylward, Calvin Williams and Max Brown.
(Courtesy Photo)
I grew up in the small town of Orwigsburg, Pa., where I resided all of my life before moving to Sandpoint. I attended Blue Mountain High School, where I participated in cross country and track and field, a sport that I ended up falling in love with. I went on to attend and run for DeSales University (with other brief stints at Susquehanna University and Elizabethtown College) and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sport communication with a minor in sport management. I remember just how great it made me feel when I was mentioned in my hometown newspaper. I want to be able to give that feeling to every athlete in Bonner County, no matter how big or small their accomplishments are. As an athlete myself, I know how many hours of work are put in on a daily basis, and that hard work deserves to be recognized. It is my goal to cover as much of the Bulldogs, Spartans and Wampus Cats as I can. I want to work with every athlete, parent, coach, administrator and the community to ensure the best stories are published. | November 2, 2024 8:00 PM
- Extended recap from Sunday's paper
MOSCOW — For the first time since the Idaho High School Activities Association sanctioned swimming in 2018, the Sandpoint High boys' swim team captured the 5A Inland Empire League district title while the girls swam to their seventh straight title at the University of Idaho Swim Center on Saturday.
"It feels good; I'm not sure of the last time the boys ever won a district title," Sandpoint High head coach Greg Jackson said. "It was really competitive before with 6A (5A) involved, and since it's split they definitely haven't won. It was nice to get that boys title, they have worked really really hard for it, and have been doing so for two years in order to get here."
On the boys side, the Bulldogs broke their own 200-yard freestyle relay district record of 1:35.37 as juniors Kai Leavitt, McCoy Jensen, and Kale Wright, along with freshman Lou Foust, swam to a winning time of 1:34.84.
Sandpoint picked up four individual victories en route to defeating second-place Lakeland by 47 points. Leavitt won the 200 free (2:03.87), Foust the 500 free (5:17.42), and Wright the 50 free (23.37) and 100 free (50.99). The Bulldogs also won the 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay on the afternoon.
On the girls side, it was business as usual for the Lady Bulldogs, which took down second-place Moscow by 32 points. Junior Mia Driggs led the charge, winning the 50 freestyle in 25.41 seconds, setting a new district record in the process. The old record was 25.67 seconds set by Sandpoint's Mikayla Schoening in 2018.
"Mia came into today just having fun, and you can tell when she's having fun because she swims fast," coach Jackson said. "She embraced her events today and exceled. Ryleigh Bamer is another good example of that. It will be exciting to see what her and Ava (de leeuw) do going forward."
Two other Sandpoint swimmers picked up individual victories: senior Ryleigh Bamer won the 100 fly (1:02.23) and sophomore Reina Montecchi the 100 free (56.66). The Lady Bulldogs also picked wins in the 200 medley relay as Bamer, Driggs, Montecchi, and senior Ava de Leeuw broke their own district record in the 400 freestyle relay (3:49.62).
"What the girls did in the 400 free relay was just amazing — it was unexpected," coach Jackson said. "The girls worked hard today and earned that title."
Sandpoint will compete next at the 5A state meet set to be held Nov. 8-9 at the West Ada YMCA in Boise.
BOYS
(Top two individuals, two relays to state with wild-card berths available)
TEAM SCORES — 1, Sandpoint 176. 2, Lakeland 129. 3, Lewiston 80. 4, Moscow 73. 5, Wallace 1.
200-yard medley relay — 1, Sandpoint (Bodi Demmons, McCoy Jensen, Ikaika Leavitt, Kale Wright), 1:49.01. 2, Lewiston, 1:50.75. 3, Lakeland, 1:58.59.
200 freestyle — 1, Ikaika Leavitt, Sandpoint, 2:03.87. 2, Christian Peck, Lakeland, 2:14. 3, Owen Call, Lakeland, 2:17.30.
200 IM — 1, Kaden Antonich, Lewiston, 2:18.43. 2, Max Brown, Sandpoint, 2:22.62. 3, Calvin Papenfuss, Lakeland, 2:47.44.
50 freestyle — 1, Kale Wright, Sandpoint, 23.37. 2, McCoy Jensen, Sandpoint, 23.63. 3, Deegan Everett, Lewiston, 23.89.
100 butterfly — 1, Noah Crossler, Moscow, 52.50 (meet record; previous, Reid Johnson, Moscow, 53.76, 2021). 2, Filippo Greggio, Lewiston, 59.64. 3, Deegan Everett, Lewiston, 1:00.83.
100 freestyle — 1, Kale Wright, Sandpoint, 50.99. 2, McCoy Jensen, Sandpoint, 52.41. 3, Max Zuberbuhler, Sandpoint, 57.40.
500 freestyle — 1, Lou Foust, Sandpoint, 5:17.42. 2, Sam Harrell, Lakeland, 5:48.36. 3, Bodi Demmons, Sandpoint, 5:50.34.
200 freestyle relay — 1, Sandpoint (Ikaika Leavitt, Lou Foust, McCoy Jensen, Kale Wright), 1:34.84 (meet record; previous, Sandpoint, 1:35.37, 2023). 2. Lewiston, 1:41.78. 3, Lakeland, 1:44.17.
100 backstroke — 1, Noah Crossler, Moscow, 55.57 (meet record; previous, Ethan Abbott, Lakeland, 56.36, 2023). 2, Lou Foust, Sandpoint, 1:01.16. 3, Max Zuberbuhler, Sandpoint, 1:03.57.
100 breaststroke — 1, Filippo Greggio, Lewiston, 1:07.04. 2, Thayer Sabatke, Lakeland, 1:10.52. 3, Max Brown, Sandpoint, 1:12.41.
400 freestyle relay — 1, Sandpoint (Max Brown, Bodi Demmons, Max Zuberbuhler, Lou Foust), 3:51.67. 2, Sandpoint, 4:41.54. 3, Moscow, 5:05.18.
GIRLS
(Top two individuals, two relays to state with wild-card berths available)
TEAM SCORES — 1, Sandpoint 170. 2, Moscow 138. 3, Lewiston 128. 4, Lakeland 37. 5, Wallace 4. 6, Kellogg 3.
200-yard medley relay — 1, Sandpoint (Bria Rocke, Summer Loutzenhiser, Mia Driggs, Reina Montecchi), 1:59.98. 2, Moscow, 2:04.53. 3, Lewiston, 2:17.94.
200 freestyle — 1, Ryann Schraufnagel, Lewiston, 2:02.87. 2, Ava de Leeuw, Sandpoint, 2:04.20. 3, Sophia Carr, Lewiston, 2:09.49.
200 IM — 1, Suzka Martin, Moscow, 2:24.79. 2, Lillian Martin, Lewiston, 2:35.36. 3, McKenna Sept, Moscow, 2:42.41.
50 freestyle — 1, Mia Driggs, Sandpoint, 25.41 (meet record; previous, Mikayla Schoening, Sandpoint, 25.67, 2018). 2, Reina Montecchi, Sandpoint, 25.65. 3, Ryleigh Bamer, Sandpoint, 26.35.
100 butterfly — 1, Ryleigh Bamer, Sandpoint, 1:02.23. 2, Claire Bernards, Moscow, 1:05.70. 3, Ari Roy, Lewiston, 1:09.27.
100 freestyle — 1, Reina Montecchi, Sandpoint, 56.66. 2, Mia Driggs, Sandpoint, 57.51. 3, Corinne Sawyer, Lewiston, 58.79.
500 freestyle — 1, Ryann Schraufnagel, Lewiston, 5:27.25. 2, Ava de Leeuw, Sandpoint, 5:28.69. 3, Sophia Carr, Lewiston, 5:57.49.
200 freestyle relay — 1, Lewiston (Corinne Sawyer, Sophia Carr, Ari Roy, Ryann Schraufnagel), 1:50.32. 2, Sandpoint, 1:50.69. 3, Moscow, 1:52.43.
100 backstroke — 1, Claire Bernards, Moscow, 1:06.64. 2, Bria Rocke, Sandpoint, 1:07.93. 3, Ari Roy, Lewiston, 1:09.25.
100 breaststroke — 1, Suzka Martin, Moscow, 1:11.37 (meet record; previous, Suzanne Martin, Moscow, 1:11.37). 2, Addy Quist, Moscow, 1:15.81. 3, McKenna Sept, Moscow, 1:16.02.
400 freestyle relay — 1, Sandpoint (Ryleigh Bamer, Mia Driggs, Reina Montecchi, Ava de Leeuw), 3:49.62 (meet record; previous, Sandpoint, 3:54.22, 2023). 2, Lewiston, 4:04.05. 3, Sandpoint, 4:40.42.