THE FRONT ROW with JASON ELLIOTT: A good rival and great day in the water

It was about as early as you can get, but all it took was an invitation and some work throughout the season to set the course for the Lake City High girls swim team when it came to the state swimming championships.

In most other sports, schools are able to travel to other parts of the state, often before school begins, to get a good idea of how the eastern or southern schools match up.

With swimming, which starts its season after school is in session, sometimes that’s not quite an option.

EARLIER THIS season, Lake City hosted Bishop Kelly of Boise, as well as Post Falls and Sandpoint, in for a meet at the Kroc Center in Coeur d’Alene on Sept. 13.

“The biggest thing is we always feel like we’re going into state blind,” seventh-year Lake City coach Shelly Sobek said. “So we invited Bishop Kelly to swim with us in September. It was unique to get to spend time with them and it really created a friendly rivalry.”

In the 6A girls meet last week, Bishop Kelly, a 5A school which petitioned up to compete in 6A in swimming, won with 295 points, followed by Lake City with 217.5 points.

“I really loved that they made us step up and swim faster, and we did the same for them,” Sobek said. “When we won in the 200 (-yard freestyle relay), we understood the makeup of our team. We knew their strongest kids were in the 400 (freestyle relay), and being able to understand that we had a good chance in the 200 to win.”

Lake City won back-to-back state girls titles in 2022 and 2023, then finished as runner-up in 2024 and 2025.

The state meet has been held yearly in Boise since the Idaho High School Activities Association began sanctioning the sport in 2018.

“It’s always a little more challenging coming to Boise for the state meet,” Lake City junior Tillie Sobek said. “The new environment, and swimming a lot of different races over two days. Because it moves so fast, you’ve got to be sure to get down and do what you know how to do in your events. And it’s fun to get to showcase that.”

IN ADDITION to her champions, Shelly Sobek also had praise for wild-card entries including senior Dylan Romprey, who finished third in 500-yard freestyle.

“To me, it shows that we’re a team,” Sobek said. “From top to bottom, those kids are there to swim. Those at-large bids, those kids had to wait to see if they were even going and Dylan was seeded fifth, and finished third in the finals. To see those kids step up, it’s incredible. That’s the kind of team we have is that they just step up and have good swims along the way.”

The meet, previously scheduled for the West Valley YMCA in Boise, was moved to the Idaho Central Aquatics Center last month after a leak was discovered at the YMCA facility.

“The Boise Y pool is not operational right now,” Sobek said. “The staff at the Idaho Central Aquatics Center really helped pull off an incredible meet. It made a huge impact to have them step up and host the meet.”

The Idaho Central facility opened in 2023 and features two state-of-the art Myrtha pools, one that is 54.6 yards (50 meters) long, and the other 27.3 yards (25 meters) long.

A Myrtha pool is constructed using a patented modular system of pre-engineered, laminated stainless steel panels and a buttress system. The pool also has seating for 1,000 spectators, where seating was previously limited at the West Valley YMCA to 800. 

At state, competitors used the longer 54.6-yard pool, with a bulkhead (bridge) in the middle to cut the pool to 25 yards. High school swim meets are typically held in yards.

“It really made for faster times across the board and a quick meet,” Sobek said. “We were really grateful for them stepping up all around to put on a great meet for the kids.”

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for The Press. He can be reached by telephone at 208-664-8176, Ext. 1206 or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on ‘X’, formerly Twitter @JECdAPress.