With several state champions, SHS swimming charges towards team titles

Walk into the Litehouse YMCA’s pool on any given day, and a state powerhouse-in-waiting awaits.

There, in the far four lanes of the shallow, short course, a group of 20 swimmers trains for several hours in the morning, then reconvenes in the afternoon after the final bell rings. They’re not training in a world-class facility, much less the standard, run-of-the mill collegiate pool that teams down south borrow.

Yet looks can be deceiving in the modest facility.

Everyone from 100 freestyle state champion Mikayla Schoening, to promising club swim stars in freshmen in Ayiana Prevost and Caleb Norling can be found in that group of 20 swimmers. While the experience and specialties vary from swimmer to swimmer, all are either gearing towards defending their state titles, or building championship resumes of their own.

And, in head coach Greg Jackson’s eyes, both the girls and boys teams have legitimate shots at winning 4A Idaho state swimming titles after placing third and fourth, respectively, last year.

“I think we really are charging for a state title,” Jackson said. “We lost two valuable seniors from last year, but picked up three really talented freshmen this season. There is a good trade-off from what we brought in and what we gave out.”

Sandpoint’s girls swim team was a mere three points behind state runner-up Bishop Kelly last season. This season, the Bulldogs will return individual state champion Mikayla Schoening and all members of their state-winning 200 freestyle relay team.

“My coach last season telling me that I had a fifth gear for me to find because I would always somewhat fade at the end of my races,” Schoening said. “So trying to find that gave me motivation to go faster.”

If Schoening faded at the end of races, it wasn’t evident by how she fared at the state meet last year. As a junior, Schoening won the 100 freestyle in a 55.45, then placed second in the 50 with a 25.38. Both times would have made the finals in the 5A race.

Later in the meet, Schoening teamed up with Bokowy, Autumn Morgan, and Kaya Wright to win the 200 freestyle relay. The near-five second gap between the Bulldogs and second-place Wood River was larger than the gap between Wood River and the seventh-place Century team.

Over on the boys side, the Bulldogs will lose Jacob Ballard, but return a handful of younger swimmers from the fourth-place team at state. Distance freestyler Hayden Norling, who placed third in the 200 free and second in the 500 free at state as a sophomore, will lead a

Norling not only aspires to finish in the top three in all of the team’s relays, but also improve on his 200 freestyle time from last year.

“It’s going to take a lot of technique stuff,” Norling said. “Because in freestyle, it’s easy to go completely mindless and lose all your technique.”

Norling will be joined by his younger brother Caleb, rising sophomore Jack Grzincic and Aiden Nielsen — the latter of whom has impressed the team captain throughout the course of the club and high school seasons.

“Aidan Nielsen has swam club for a while, but I feel like he’s really become a good team swimmer and a fun person to be around,” Norling said.

Both club and the high school programs’ levels of intensity reflect the length of each season. While club season is long enough for swimmers to progress through several training cycles and even tapering, the high school season is barely two months long. Jackson doesn’t have his teams taper; they simply do not have the time.

Athletes are expected to get to their peaks as quickly as possible, which can take a toll on some swimmers. Issues with shoulders, rotator cuffs and the ever-looming risk of illness spreading “like wildfire” on such a close-knit team loom over the season.

But the team wouldn’t have it any other way.

The high school season is like the 50 free: a frenetic sprint where every detail ­— each stroke, angle and minuscule change in velocity — matters.

“Since it’s a short season, we’re focusing on putting in a really good base,” Jackson said. “We’re putting in a lot of time in the water by swimming consistently. And as we progress into the morning practices, I do want to focus on that speed, explosiveness and preparation for state ­— especially with so little time to prepare.”

“There’s going to be a lot of challenges this year, I mean, but it’s the same as always,” Bokowy said, agreeing with her coach. “I feel like we know how to deal with [them] so far.”

Unlike last year, the Bulldogs will make a trip south before the state meet. Sandpoint will take the long weekend trip to the defending girls 4A team champs Idaho Falls for the Tigers’ home meet on Oct. 19, which will be the Bulldogs’ best chance at seeing southern Idaho competitors before state.

“That district has two of the top three teams in state and I think that we have a chance to compete with them at the state level,” Jackson said. “If we’re going to do that, we need to put ourselves in the pool with them during the regular season.”

On an individual level, for IM swimmers like Bokowy, this first look will make a significant difference by the time state rolls around.

“It’s good to understand how they swim it,” Bokowy said. “You may think that you’re winning, but you don’t know a better breaststroker than you. A lot of times, the better breaststrokers take it last minute, so learning their patterns makes it a lot easier.”

The swim team will start its season at the University of Idaho’s Icebreaker meet, held on Sept. 7 at 10:30 a.m.

Norling: top three finish in all three relays, 200 free.