LONG BRIDGE SWIM: Foust shines on record-setting day .... Mantz notches third win in last four years at Sandpoint event

By MAX OSWALD

Hagadone News Network

SANDPOINT — Sandpoint High rising sophomore Lou Foust led all area finishers Saturday at the 30th annual Long Bridge Swim, which saw 822 finishers — the most finishers in the event's history.

Foust finished the 1.76-mile open water swim in 37 minutes and 18 seconds, a 48-second improvement compared to last year, to capture eighth place.

Bodi Demmons, also a rising sophomore at Sandpoint High, finished amongst the top 10. His time of 38 minutes, 47 seconds put him in 10th place and was an improvement by over two minutes compared to last year.

Matthew Mantz, a Mead High graduate and rising senior at Valparaiso University (NCAA Division I) took home Saturday's title in 34 minutes, 54 seconds. Mantz was the winner of the Long Bridge Swim in both 2022 and 2023 as well.

Brothers Owen Bennett (34:57), a rising junior and freshman Trace Bennett (35:00) at Lake City High, finished second and third, respectively, while Ryan Driscoll of Spokane (35:14) took fourth for the second year in a row.

Dawson Cushman (36:31), a rising junior at Coeur d'Alene High, battled it out with Theo Cooley (36:32) of the Spokane Sea Serpents for the fifth and sixth spots. Adam Arzner of Spokane (36:32) was among that same mix and posted his fourth straight top-10 finish, placing seventh.

Coeur d'Alene High rising sophomore Raegan Grenier was ninth and the first overall female with a time of 37 minutes, 51 seconds. Sandpoint native Josh Burt won the 45-49 male age group and placed 22nd with a mark of 40 minutes, 49 seconds.

Per usual, Sandpoint Sharks Swim Club members put together a handful of top-50 marks. Joshua Jackson (39:57), third in the 13-14 male age group, was 19th. Myelle Jensen (42:29) won the 13-14 female age group and was 29th, besting Demi Blaylock (42:30), a Lake City High graduate and rising sophomore at Western Colorado University (NCAA Division II), in the process. Charley Rain Olpin (43:30) won the 11-12 female age group and was 43rd overall.

Sandpoint Sharks coaches Sophie Britzmann (46:00) and Emily Renzini (48:24), both former swimmers at the University of Idaho (NCAA Division I) weren't too far behind, placing 70th and 97th, respectively. This year's youngest finisher also happened to be from Sandpoint — Kate Bracht, just 8 years old, braved the waters and finished in 1 hour, 35 minutes, and 53 seconds.

Proceeds of the Long Bridge Swim go towards helping between 700 to 1,000 local youths receive free water safety and swim lessons every year. The swim and its sponsors raise roughly $25,000 to $30,000 annually in order to make that happen.

MALE

Overall — 1, Matthew Mantz, 34:54. 10-and-under — 435, Isaac Good, 1:08:50. 11-12 — 62, P. McNees, 45:07; 121, A. Misner, 50:12; 429, O. Vernon, 1:08:29. 13-14 — 3, Trace Bennett, 35:00; 17, Joshua Barton, 39:53; 19, Joshua Jackson, 39:57. 15-19 — 2, Owen Bennett, 34:57; 5, Dawson Cushman, 36:31; 6, Theo Cooley, 36:32. 20-24 — 50, Harry Hearn, 44:00; 66, Hayden Leavitt, 45:29; 87, Brock Albrecht, 47:20. 

25-29 — 37, Kenny Thorburn, 43:03; 72, Grant Thorburn, 46:16; 73, Jacob Manfred, 46:22. 30-34 — 89, Louis Alcorn, 47:36; 102, Ryan Hanson, 48:58; 115, Andrea Pizzini, 49:38. 35-39 — 7, Adam Arzner, 36:32; 42, Maximilian Zavodny, 43:29; 51, Justin Hollenback, 44:03. 40-44 — 4, Ryan Driscoll, 35:14; 20, Michael Cohee, 40:06; 26, Nikkolas Kemp, 41:29. 45-49 — 22, Josh Burt, 40:49; 52, Richard Edge, 44:05; 56, Thomas Pileggi, 44:30. 50-54 — 110, Geoff Emry, 49:27; 144, Dustin Ainsworth, 51:51; 193, Andy Fields, 55:26.

55-59 — 28, Jim Byrne, 42:09; 53, Chris Carlson, 44:15; 90, Scott Krajack, 47:40. 60-64 — 65, Todd Cory, 45:28; 88, David Anderson, 47:35; 92, [Anonymous participant], 47:46. 65-69 — 35, Rob Davis, 42:42; 63, Dan Sheahan, 45:16; 78, Holger Caban, 46:54. 70-74 — 118, Howard Burns, 50:07; 136, Brian Fawcett, 51:11; 194, Bill Thomson, 55:34. 75-79 — 112, Scott Thompson, 49:30; 205, Rog Hardy, 56:13; 265, Jackson, Crutsinger, 59:18. 80-and-over — 387, Don Henry, 1:06:02; 612, Jon Nylund, 1:20:28.

FEMALE

Overall — 9, Raegan Greiner, 37:51. 10-and-under — 219, R. Donahey, 56:56; 241, Charlie Johnson, 58:01; 246, A. Schmidt, 58:10. 11-12 — 43, Charley Rain Olpin, 43:30; 61, A. Downing, 45:05; 95, S. Rothstein, 48:05. 13-14 — 29, Myelle Jensen, 42:29; 58, Quinn Johnson, 44:40; 75, Mia Stroh, 46:49. 15-19 — 13, Lelia Symington, 39:14; 14, Jessica Richards, 39:18; 15, Rachel Nicholls, 39:25. 20-24 — 30, Demi Blaylock, 42:30; 67, Lauren Tilley, 45:51; 85, Beatrix Kelly, 47:08.

25-29 — 48, Anna Vinnedge, 43:39; 57, Natalie Atkins, 44:40; 64, Mary Everett, 45:20. 30-34 — 68, Mia Goodwin, 45:57; 93, Lana Lawrence, 47:57; 94, Elizabeth Anderson, 48:01. 35-39 — 31, Alex McAnally, 42:32; 59, Daryn Maughan, 44:41; 91, Megan Doyle, 47:44. 40-44 — 16, Courtney Chase, 39:39; 69, Erika Conner, 45:58; 84, Danielle McVey, 47:06. 45-49 — 189, April Near, 55:12; 272, Emily Harward, 59:34; 294, Erika Gray, 1:00:43. 50-54 — 107, Jennifer Polello, 49:12; 186, Sally Roberts, 54:41; 231, Kirsten Jaglo, 57:34.

55-59 — 77, Susie Eisenstat, 46:52; 111, Teresa Bailey, 49:27; 124, Renée Kline, 50:22. 60-64 — 34, Myla Houlihan, 42:40; 99, Shannon Clay-Gillette, 48:29; 104, Lisa Galane, 49:10. 65-69 — 49, Beth Knight, 43:58; 82, Cynthia Pemberton, 47:04; 105, Brenda Craft, 49:11. 70-74 — 233, Elin Zander, 57:39; 311, Jodi Penn, 1:01:43; 361, Jill Wright, 1:04:04. 75-79 — 444, Susan Hales, 1:09:20; 820, Emily Smith, 2:52:15. 80-and-over — No finishers.

    MAX OSWALD/Bonner County Daily Bee Lou Foust, 15, a rising sophomore at Sandpoint High, was the top area finisher, placing eighth with a time of 37 minutes, 18 seconds.
  

    MAX OSWALD/Bonner County Daily Bee Matthew Mantz and Owen Bennett, a rising junior at Lake City High, race to the finish line of the 30th annual Long Bridge Swim on Saturday in Sandpoint.
  

    MAX OSWALD/Bonner County Daily Bee Dawson Cushman and Theo Cooley race to the finish line of the 30th annual Long Bridge Swim on Saturday in Sandpoint.