5A STATE SWIM PRELIMS: Two school records fall; Bulldogs rack up 22 finals qualifications
MAX OSWALD | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 6 days, 4 hours AGO
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 8, 2024 6:00 PM
BOISE — In the preliminary round of the 5A state championship, Sandpoint High senior Ava de Leeuw broke the 500-yard freestyle school record, the boys broke their own 200 freestyle relay school record, as the Bulldogs swam to a total of 22 A final qualifications Friday at the West Ada YMCA.
Sandpoint's boys and girls both had 11 qualifying swims on each side.
For the girls, de Leeuw finished second in the 500 free with a record time of 5:27.11, swam to second in the 200 free (2:02.16), and anchored both of Sandpoint's first-place 200 and 400 free relays. Other A final qualifiers were junior Mia Driggs, who finished second in both the 50 free (25.80) and 100 free (56.45), sophomore Reina Montecchi, who anchored the Lady Bulldogs' 200 medley qualifying relay and finished third in the 50 free (25.90) and fourth in the 100 free (56.85), and senior Ryleigh Bamer, who swam to second in the 100 butterfly (1:02.48) and fifth in the 50 free (26.30).
For the boys, juniors Kai Leavitt, McCoy Jensen, and Kale Wright, along with freshman Lou Foust, crushed their previous school record of 1:34.84 in the 200 free, posting a time of 1:32.06 to finish first.
"If they can take it down another full second, that's a state record," Sandpoint High head coach Greg Jackson said. "It's really exciting because all four of these boys are going to be here next year and will be even faster."
Individually, Wright finished second in the 50 free (22.86) and third in the 100 free (49.39), Jensen fourth in the 50 free (23.10) and fourth in the 100 free (50.76), Leavitt fourth in the 200 free (1:56.41) and fifth in the 100 butterfly (57.83), and Foust fourth in the 500 free (5:09.97) and sixth in the 100 back (1:00.95) to round out Sandpoint's A final qualifiers.
Jackson said he thinks his Bulldogs have a good chance at bringing home state titles on both the girls and boys sides.
"Goals were met ... exceeded, and moves were made," Jackson said. "It was probably one of the most successful state swim meets we've had as far as everyone hitting peak performance."
The 5A state finals resume Saturday at 10 a.m. (MST) at the West Ada YMCA.
GIRLS
State Swim Prelims
Local Qualifiers
200-yard medley relay — 3, Sandpoint (Bria Rocke, Summer Loutzenhiser, Mia Driggs, Reina Montecchi), 2:01.39.
200 free — 2, Ava de Leeuw, Sandpoint, 2:02.16.
200 IM — None.
50 free — 2, Mia Driggs, Sandpoint, 25.80; 3, Reina Montecchi, Sandpoint, 25.90; 5, Ryleigh Bamer, Sandpoint, 26.30.
100 butterfly — 2, Ryleigh Bamer, Sandpoint, 1:02.48.
100 freestyle — 2, Mia Driggs, Sandpoint, 56.45; 4, Reina Montecchi, Sandpoint, 56.85.
500 freestyle — 2, Ava de Leeuw, Sandpoint, 5:27.11.
200 free relay — 1, Sandpoint (Ryleigh Bamer, Halle Wyman, Mia Driggs, Ava de Leeuw), 1:46.06.
100 backstroke — None.
100 breast — None.
400 free relay — 1, Sandpoint (Ryleigh Bamer, Bria Rocke, Reina Montecchi, Ava de Leeuw), 3:52.87.
BOYS
State Swim Prelims
Local qualifiers
200-yard medley relay — 1, Sandpoint (Max Zuberbuhler, McCoy Jensen, Kai Leavitt, Kale Wright), 1:45.37.
200 free — 4, Kai Leavitt, Sandpoint, 1:56.41.
200 IM — None.
50 free — 2, Kale Wright, Sandpoint, 22.86; 4, McCoy Jensen, Sandpoint, 23.10.
100 butterfly — 5, Kai Leavitt, Sandpoint, 57.83.
100 freestyle — 3, Kale Wright , Sandpoint, 49.39; 4, McCoy Jensen, Sandpoint, 50.76.
500 freestyle — 4, Lou Foust, Sandpoint, 5:09.97.
200 free relay — 1, Sandpoint (Kai Leavitt, Lou Foust, McCoy Jensen, Kale Wright), 1:32.06.
100 backstroke — 6, Lou Foust, Sandpoint,1:00.95.
100 breast — None.
400 free relay — 6, Sandpoint (Max Brown, Bodi Demmons, Max Zuberbuhler, Lou Foust), 3:47.84.