Trio of Sharks represent Sandpoint at Northwest Region Age Group Championships
Bonner County Daily Bee | UPDATED 1 week, 2 days AGO
From left, Charley-Rain Olpin, Allyson Ballard and Joshua Jackson are all smiles after putting up strong swims at the Northwest Region Age Group Championships held March 19 through 22 at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Wash.
(Courtesy Photo)
FEDERAL WAY, Wash. — Charley-Rain Olpin, Allyson Ballard and Joshua Jackson posted strong performances for the Sandpoint Sharks swim club at the Northwest Region Age Group Championships held March 19 through 22 at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center.
Ballard (13) finished seventh out of 52 swimmers in the finals of the 100 free (55.50) after a fifth-place effort in the preliminary round, where she swam to her new personal best time of 54.97 seconds — a four-second drop compared to her previous best. She also placed 22nd out of 42 in the 100 back (1:05.37) and 30th out of 44 in the 100 breast (1:15.58).
Olpin (12) came away with a silver medal amongst 21 competitors in the 500 free (5:27.66) with an 11-second new personal best and set a new team record in the 1650 free (18:19.44). During the 1650 free, she also set a new team record in the 1000 with a split of 11 minutes, 6.08 seconds. In addition, Olpin added a fifth-place finish out of 29 in the 200 free (2:05.49), a seventh-place finish out of 38 in the 100 free (58.07), a ninth-place finish out of 40 in the 50 fly (29.13), a 13th-place finish out of 35 in the 50 free (27.09), and a 26th-place finish out of 37 in the 100 back (1:09.16).
Joshua Jackson (14) also had a strong showing. He recorded a new personal best and set a new team record in the 1650 free (17:43.47), also setting a new team record in the 1000 (10:48.45) in the process. In addition, Jackson was 13th out of 30 in the 200 free (1:54.11), 17th out of 38 in the 100 free (52.18), and 22nd out of 28 in the 200 back (2:09.25).
"I couldn’t be more proud of these three swimmers and their efforts this weekend," Sandpoint Sharks coach Emily Renzini said. "This is exactly how we want to close out our short course season as we head into long course."
Up next, the Sandpoint Sharks will be hosting the inaugural 2026 Shark Attack Duals from April 17 through 19 and the Kroc Center in Coeur d'Alene. The team will be holding tryouts on Friday, May 22 and Monday, June 1 at the Litehouse YMCA at 4 p.m. For more information, contact coach Renzini at [email protected].