STATE HIGH SCHOOL SWIM MEETS: Sandpoint boys, girls repeat ... Lake City girls, Coeur d'Alene boys capture relay titles in 6A

• 5A

Seniors McCoy Jensen, Ikaika Leavitt, Kale Wright and sophomore Lou Foust left the Sandpoint boys program in the best possible way on Saturday with not one, but two state relay titles. 

Sandpoint won its second straight 5A team title, beating Idaho Falls by 82 points at the Idaho Central Aquatics Center in Boise.

The Bulldog boys 200 freestyle relay team set state and school records in 1:29.74 in the prelims on Friday.

Sandpoint's girls also claimed their third straight state title and fourth since the Idaho High School Activities Association began sanctioning the meet in 2018. 

Freshmen Alivia Storms, Claire Ballard and seniors Rachel Aylward and Reina Montecchi won the 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:46.81. Montecchi, Ballard, Storms and senior Mia Driggs were runner-up in the 400 freestyle relay. 

“Three years ago, we made a significant shift in focus on culture,” Sandpoint coach Greg Jackson said. “Specifically, placing attention on team, rather than only individual successes. This focus as a whole has enhanced individual development and success across the board.” 

• 6A

Lake City's Taylor, girls 200 freestyle, Coeur d'Alene boys 400 freestyle capture state titles

BOISE — Lake City senior Quinn Taylor felt good knowing it was all coming to an end.

Then, with a little bit of a boost, she felt really good.

Taylor won the state 6A 100-yard freestyle title, finishing in 53.39 seconds. 

“It was one of my final races, so I was in a good head space,” Taylor said. “Going into the last lap, I was doing a lot of dolphin kicks and knew it was going to be close.”

Fellow Lake City senior Sylvia Strow was fifth in the race in 55.57.

“It’s a race that we’ve both swam for years,” said Strow, who was in the lane next to Taylor during the finals. It was awesome to look up at the scoreboard and see that she’d won. I was just proud of her.”

Strow, along with fellow seniors Erin Griffith, Taylor Young and junior Tillie Sobek, won the 200 freestyle relay in 1:41.81.

“In that relay, it’s about showing up for the team,” said Strow, who was the first leg of the relay. “It’s a surreal moment because you’re happy to be done, but you’ve got a lot of mixed emotions because you’re cheering on your teammates.”

When Young took over, Lake City went from third to second in the race.

‘“We were just focused on what we needed to do all year,” Young said. “We really gave it our all.”

The seniors were part of state title teams in 2022 and 2023, and runner-up finishers in 2024 and this year.

“There’s been a lot of growth in the last four years,” Griffith said. “Coming in, I had a club background and those were really competitive meets. With high school, I could see how fun it was and how much fun it could be and see the teamwork that went into it. It really made me love the sport in a different way.”

Heading into the meet, Tillie Sobek, who was runner-up in the 500 freestyle, liked the team’s chances in the 200 freestyle relay.

“We knew it was the one that it was our best bet in,” Sobek said. “The fact we could go out and do it with the best group of people and send those seniors on their way was great, as well as giving our team some more energy going into the last couple of events."

Bishop Kelly of Boise won the girls team title with 295 points, followed by Lake City in second with 217.5. Coeur d’Alene was third with 131.5.

“We had a strong team this year,” seventh-year Lake City coach Shelly Sobek said. “From top to bottom, we had a lot of tough swims. To see those kids step up, it’s incredible. We had a lot of good swims along the way.”

After winning the 200 freestyle last year, Coeur d’Alene junior Andrew Davis knew the chances were there for a few of his teammates to get a title of their own this year.

So Davis, Dawson Cushman, Jace Voeller and Owen Keith went to work.

“I think all of us just kind of said this was our year,” said Davis, who led off the Vikings’ winning 400 freestyle relay win. “We wanted to win the competition. All of our due diligence we put in during the offseason really got us where we were.”

Davis was fourth in the 200 freestyle.

Cushman, the anchor leg of the team, pulled away from the moment he jumped into the pool.

“It was super close at the end,” Cushman said. “The people next to us (Boise) left the blocks at the same time. I went way ahead and just kept gaining the lead. It sounded like a jet engine in the pool. After the race, I was shaking from excitement and caffeine."

Owen Keith, the third leg, was not part of the relay last year.

“From being a spectator to watching them finish second, it was a great culmination of a lot of hard work,” Keith said.

Voeller gave up club swimming last March.

“I hadn’t been swimming as much, so it was a big opportunity to prove that I belonged,” Voeller said. “I really wanted to help them win. It’s been a fun year.”

Owyhee of Meridian won the boys title with 158 points, followed by Boise with 156. Coeur d’Alene was fourth.

Post Falls junior Daisy Whitney was runner-up in the 100 butterfly in 59.63.

6A 

BOYS 

TEAM SCORES — 1, Owyhee 158. 2, Boise 156. 3, Timberline 129. 4, Coeur d’Alene 126. 5, Highland 94. 6, Bishop Kelly 93. 7, Mountain View 92. 8, Rigby 85. 9, Eagle 84. 10, Madison 61. 11, Post Falls 55. 12, Canyon Ridge 38. 13, Ridgevue 21. 14, Thunder Ridge 20. 15, Lake City 19. 16, Meridian 12. 17 (tie), Kuna, Rocky Mountain 11. 19, Centennial 1. 

Winner, locals in top 8 

200-yard medley relay — 1, Owyhee (Braydon Fong, Jedidiah Davis, Tobi Davis, Kai Wilson), 1:38.15. 6, Post Falls (John Misner, Ashton Miller, Taylor Holding, Chance Seeds), 1:46.20.  

200 freestyle — 1, Ace Garcia, Mountain View, 1:43.37. 4, Andrew Davis, Coeur d’Alene, 1:47.22. 6, Owen Keith, Coeur d’Alene, 1:52.50.  

200 IM — 1, Taylor Poulsen, Madison, 1:55.22. 7, Jace Voeller, Coeur d’Alene, 2:07.07. 8, John Misner, Post Falls, 2:10.57. 

50 freestyle — 1, Braydon Fong, Owyhee, 20.79 (state record; previous, Fong, 20.87, 2025). 3, Dawson Cushman, Coeur d’Alene, 21.87. 7, Eli Shaw, Lake City, 22.82.  

100 butterfly — 1, Nathan Hunter, Rigby, 51.98. 3, Eli Shaw, Lake City, 52.82.  

100 freestyle — 1, Braydon Fong, Owyhee, 46.06 (state record; previous, Jasper Shue, Boise, 46.09, 2024).  

500 freestyle — 1, Ace Garcia, Mountain View, 4:41.66 (state record; previous, Garcia, 4:41.73, 2025). 2, Andrew Davis, Coeur d’Alene, 4:53.12. 4, Chance Seeds, Post Falls, 4:58.  

200 freestyle relay — 1, Owyhee (Tobi Davis, Jedidiah Davis, Kai Wilson, Braydon Fong), 1:27.11 (state record; previous, Davis, Davis, Wilson, Fong, Owyhee, 1:27.28, 2025). 3, Coeur d’Alene (Andrew Davis, Jace Voeller, Owen Keith, Dawson Cushman), 1:30.40.  

100 backstroke — 1, Sam Shuler, Boise, 51.60.  

100 breaststroke — 1, Chaz Attebury, Canyon Ridge, 59.47. 4, Dawson Cushman, Coeur d’Alene, 1:00.94.  

400 freestyle relay — 1, Coeur d’Alene (Andrew Davis, Jace Voeller, Owen Keith, Dawson Cushman), 3:16.83. 

GIRLS 

TEAM SCORES — 1, Bishop Kelly 295. 2, Lake City 217.5. 3, Coeur d’Alene 131.5. 4, Mountain View 125. 5, Timberline 108. 6, Eagle 92. 7, Boise 90. 8, Thunder Ridge 48. 9, Highland 35. 10, Madison 29. 11, Ridgevue 28. 12, Post Falls 23. 13, Owyhee 19. 14, Centennial 11. 15, Rocky Mountain 9. 16, Capital 4. 

Winner, locals in top 8 

200-yard medley relay — 1, Bishop Kelly (Brayleigh Hoisington, Sedona Stratton, Katelyn Giffen, Anna Beelaert), 1:46.21 (state record; previous, Bishop Kelly, 1:46.50, 2024). 2, Lake City (Taylor Young, Quinn Taylor, Maggie Sobek, Erin Griffith), 1:51.74. 7, Coeur d’Alene (Piper Velin, Addison Wallace, Gianna Gonzalez, Claire Thorpe), 2:02.63. 

200 freestyle — 1, Brayleigh Hoisington, Bishop Kelly, 1:51.69 (state record; previous, Maya Knudston, Centennial, 1:52.35). 4, Tillie Sobek, Lake City, 1:56.38. 5, Daisy Whitney, Post Falls, 1:58.10.  

200 IM — 1, Sedona Stratton, Bishop Kelly, 2:03.28 (state record; previous, Stratton, 2:03.85, 2024). 6, Karsten Towery, Coeur d’Alene, 2:23.85.  

50 freestyle — 1, Myah Singkhaophet, Ridgevue, 23.44 (state record; previous, Singkhaophet, 23.85, 2025). 3, Allie Maykuth, Coeur d’Alene, 24.99. 5, Sylvia Strow, Lake City, 25.39. 6, Dylan Romprey, Lake City, 25.77. 8, Erin Griffith, Lake City, 26.14. 

100 butterfly — 1, Katelyn Giffen, Bishop Kelly, 57.99. 2, Daisy Whitney, Post Falls, 59.63. 3, Allie Maykuth, Coeur d’Alene, 1:00.02. 4, Raegan Greiner, Coeur d’Alene, 1:01.65. 6, Emmersyn Haley, Lake City, 1:01.82.  

100 freestyle — 1, Quinn Taylor, Lake City, 53.39. 5, Sylvia Strow, Lake City, 55.57.  

500 freestyle — 1, Anna Beelaert, Bishop Kelly, 5:11.96. 2, Tillie Sobek, Lake City, 5:12.13. 3, Dylan Romprey, Lake City, 5:29.22. 4, Raegan Greiner, Coeur d’Alene, 5:29.49. 7, Karsten Towery, Coeur d’Alene, 5:35.49.  

200 freestyle relay — 1, Lake City (Sylvia Strow, Taylor Young, Erin Griffith, Tillie Sobek), 1:41.81. 5, Coeur d’Alene (Karsten Towery, Claire Thorpe, Raegan Greiner, Allie Maykuth), 1:43.71.  

100 backstroke — 1, Brayleigh Hoisington, Bishop Kelly, 57.63. 3, Taylor Young, Lake City, 59.72. 8, Emmersyn Haley, Lake City, 1:02.19.  

100 breaststroke — 1, Sedona Stratton, Bishop Kelly, 1:02.43 (state record; previous, Stratton, 1:03.60, 2024). 2, Quinn Taylor, Lake City, 1:04.16. 6, Addison Wallace, Coeur d’Alene, 1:12.70.  

400 freestyle relay — 1, Bishop Kelly (Katelyn Giffen, Brayleigh Hoisington, Anja Mueller, Sedona Stratton), 3:30.66 (state record; previous, Giffen, Hoisington, Mueller, Stratton, 3:36.54, 2025). 2, Lake City (Sylvia Strow, Tillie Sobek, Erin Griffith, Quinn Taylor), 3:41.21. 5, Coeur d’Alene (Karsten Towery, Claire Thorpe, Raegan Greiner, Allie Maykuth), 3:48.63.  

5A 

BOYS 

TEAM SCORES — 1, Sandpoint 247. 2, Idaho Falls 165. 3, Pocatello 150. 4, Skyline 122. 5, Columbia 115. 6, Century 107. 7, Lakeland 56. 8, Hillcrest 53. 9, Middleton 52. 10, Moscow 50. 11, Lewiston 39. 12, Twin Falls 38.5. 13, Kimberly 36. 14, Mountain Home 18. 15, Burley 10. 16, Declo 4.5. 17, Minico 3. 

Winner, locals in top 8 

200-yard medley relay — 1, Idaho Falls (Hiro Quan, Deacon Labrum, Nick Ravsten, Rangi Grimes), 1:45.28. 2, Sandpoint (Bodi Demmons, Andrew Ford, Maximus Brown, Bo Zeller), 1:46.59.  

200 freestyle — 1, Zeke Burgi, Columbia, 1:45.16.  

200 IM — 1, Deacon Major, Century, 1:57.60. 3, Andrew Ford, Sandpoint, 2:07.10. 4, McCoy Jensen, Sandpoint, 2:07.13.  

50 freestyle — 1, Rangi Grimes, Idaho Falls, 21:44 (#-new state record). 2, Ikaika Leavitt, Sandpoint, 21.84. 3, Kale Wright, Sandpoint, 21.93. 

100 butterfly — 1, Noah Crossler, Moscow, 52.22. 3, Ikaika Leavitt, Sandpoint, 54.08. 8, Maximus Brown, Sandpoint, 59.27. 

100 freestyle — 1, Rangi Grimes, Idaho Falls, 47.14 (#-state record). 2, Kale Wright, Sandpoint, 48.42.  

500 freestyle — 1, Zander Eslinger, Pocatello, 4:56.03. 2, Lou Foust, Sandpoint, 5:07.06. 5, Brock Raebel, Lakeland, 5:24.33. 

200 freestyle relay — 1, Sandpoint (McCoy Jensen, Lou Foust, Ikaika Leavitt, Kale Wright), 1:30.35. 3, Lakeland (Silas Ragan, Brock Raebel, Sam Harrell, Garrett Snyder), 1:38.24.  

100 backstroke — 1, Deacon Major, Century, 52.77. 2, Lou Foust, Sandpoint, 57.92. 3, Bodi Demmons, Sandpoint, 58.68.  

100 breaststroke — 1, Andrew Ford, Sandpoint, 1:01.18. 3, McCoy Jensen, Sandpoint, 1:05.79. 5, Maximus Brown, Sandpoint, 1:08.46.  

400 freestyle relay — 1, Sandpoint (McCoy Jensen, Lou Foust, Ikaika Leavitt, Kale Wright), 3:20.64. 7, Lakeland (Silas Ragan, Brock Raebel, Sam Harrell, Garrett Snyder), 3:39.59. 

GIRLS 

TEAM SCORES — 1, Sandpoint 172.5. 2, Idaho Falls 153.5. 3, Skyline 141. 4, Lewiston 111. 5, Moscow 110. 6, Century 83. 7, Minico 79. 8, Wood River 67. 9, Cole Valley Christian 66. 10, Jerome 44. 11, Pocatello 37. 12, Burley 36. 13, Middleton 35. 14, Parma 32. 15, Hillcrest 23. 16, Vallivue 21. 17, Oakley 20. 18, Columbia 17. 19, Nampa 10. 20, Nampa Christian 6. 21, Gooding 2. 

Winner, locals in top 8 

200-yard medley relay — 1, Idaho Falls (Mahealani Grimes, Ann Hunsicker, Abigail Baslmeier, Stella Briggs), 1:54.48. 2, Sandpoint (Halle Wyman, Summer Loutzenhiser, Mia Driggs, Rachel Aylward), 1:58.65. 

200 freestyle — 1, Josie Fernald, Cole Valley Christian, 2:00.64.  

200 IM — 1, Abigail Balsmeier, Idaho Falls, 2:18.21. 7, Alivia Storms, Sandpoint, 2:25.23.  

50 freestyle — 1, Rylan Holcomb, Parma, 25.15. 2, Mia Driggs, Sandpoint, 25.70. 4, Reina Montecchi, Sandpoint, 26.38. 8, Rachel Aylward, Sandpoint, 27.07.  

100 butterfly — 1, Mahealani Grimes, Idaho Falls, 59.70. 4, Mia Driggs, Sandpoint, 1:05.18.  

100 freestyle — 1, Rylan Holcomb, Parma, 55.31. 3, Reina Montecchi, Sandpoint, 57.39.  

500 freestyle — 1, Ryann Schraufnagel, Lewiston, 5:28.50. 8, Bria Rocke, Sandpoint, 6:01. 

200 freestyle relay — 1, Sandpoint (Alivia Storms, Claire Ballard, Rachel Aylward, Reina Montecchi), 1:46.81.  

100 backstroke — 1, Mahealani Grimes, Idaho Falls, 59.28. 7, Bria Rocke, Sandpoint, 1:07.67. 

100 breaststroke — 1, Isabella Tognoni, Wood River, 1:06.91. 7, Alivia Storms, Sandpoint, 1:13.79.  

400 freestyle relay — 1, Idaho Falls (Stella Briggs, Maggie Johnson, Mahealani Grimes, Abigail Balsmeier), 3:52.55. 2, Sandpoint (Reina Montecchi, Claire Ballard, Alivia Storms, Mia Driggs), 3:54.03.  

    Courtesy photo Lake City senior Quinn Taylor holds her medal after winning the state 6A title in the 100-yard freestyle on Saturday at the Idaho Central Aquatics Center in Boise.
  

    Courtesy photo The Coeur d'Alene boys 400 freestyle relay team won the state 6A title at the Idaho Central Aquatics Center in Boise. in the front from left are Andrew Davis and Owen Keith. In the back are Dawson Cushman and Jace Voeller.
  

    Courtesy photo The Lake City girls 200-yard freestyle relay team won the state 6A swimming title on Saturday at the Idaho Central Aquatics Center in Boise. In the front row is Tillie Sobek. In the back from left are Sylvia Strow, Taylor Young and Erin Griffith.
  

    Idaho High School Activities Association The Sandpoint High boys swim team won its second straight state 5A championship at the Idaho Central Aquatics Center in Boise. From left are Maximus Brown, Bo Zeller, Andrew Ford, Bodi Demmons, Oliver Leavitt, McCoy Jensen, Lou Foust, Kale Wright, Ikaika Leavitt, Louis Raele, Nolan Owens and Phin Bricher.