Girls capture first, boys take runner-up at districts; 15 Bulldogs qualify for virtual state meet

SANDPOINT — After waiting over a week for results, we finally know who claimed titles at the 4A Region I-II swim championships held on Saturday, Oct. 24, at the Kroc Center in Coeur d'Alene.

Head coach Greg Jackson was relieved to receive the results.

"It felt really good to finally see it," he said.

The Sandpoint girls' defended their district crown by edging out Moscow by 40 points while the boys took second.

The boys finished just two points behind first-place Moscow.

"It means a lot to us," Jackson said about the significance of the district title for the girls. "We continue to be a strong team since 4A has been split out from 5A. We've been the front-runner in our district and very competitive at the state level."

Jackson was really proud of the effort his team gave at districts.

"Everyone came to swim at the district level," he said. "I think they did a really good job of actually visualizing their competitors next to them."

The results were withheld until Monday so teams in southern Idaho who hadn't competed in districts yet weren't given a competitive edge. It was also done to help create a bit of suspense for the virtual state swim meet that is being held.

An in-person state swim meet is not being held this fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic and times recorded at district championships will determine state winners for the virtual meet.

The state qualifiers for the virtual meet were also released by the Idaho High School Activities Association on Monday. Fifteen Bulldogs qualified for state, nine girls and six boys.

For the girls, Emily Ballard, Kate Bokowy, Maren Davidson, Sarah Hogue, McKinley Jensen, Autumn Morgan, Ayiana Prevost, Sabrina Wilson and Kaya Wright all qualified.

For the boys, Jake Aitken, Jack Grzincic, Hayden Leavitt, Aidan Nielsen, Caleb Norling and Hayden Norling made it to state.

Jackson said it was nice to see that Davidson and Jensen qualified, but he was hoping Collin Dodd and Jacob Slocum would also find their way in for the boys.

At districts, the SHS boys swept the three relays and won three individual events.

Caleb Norling, a sophomore, captured first in the 200 individual medley and second in the 100 free. Leavitt, a junior, placed first in the 500 free and second in the 200 free. Senior captain Hayden Norling secured first in the 100 breaststroke and three in the 200 free.

Hayden edged out Lakeland's Quin McGovern by just over .5 seconds in the 100 breast and Jackson said his performance in the meet is something he won't forget.

"It was the most amazing race of the meet," he said. "That race almost recreated the whole atmosphere of having people in the stands because everyone was so into it. All the kids were cheering from all the teams. It really made me forget that we were dealing with COVID."

Grzincic took second in the 200 IM and fourth in the 100 back, Aitken grabbed fifth in the 50 free and 100 free and Nielsen was third in the 100 fly and sixth in the 50 free.

Jackson was also impressed with performances by Clayton Eberly and Logan Liken-Savage.

The girls captured two of the three relays and earned five individual victories.

Bokowy, a senior captain, and Wright, a senior, each claimed two district titles. Bokowy placed first in the 100 fly and 200 IM and Wright secured first in the 50 free and 100 back.

Prevost had the other individual victory for the girls, taking the top spot in the 500 free and third in the 200 free. Morgan was third in the 200 IM and fourth in the 100 breast, Ballard placed second in the 200 free and 100 free and Jensen secured third in the 500 free and fourth in the 100 back.

Davidson grabbed third in the 100 back and sixth in the 50 free, Hogue captured third in the 100 fly and fourth in the 200 IM, and Wilson earned fourth in the 200 free and fifth in the 100 breast.

Jackson said Bokowy, Ballard and Wright all had incredible races at districts and the support from the younger swimmers really helped the girls.

The IHSAA plans to release the virtual state results by noon on Friday. The girls are looking to defend their state crown while the boys are hoping to improve on their fourth place finish in 2019.

Jackson said he's impatient so he's already started putting times in a spreadsheet to figure out how his team stacks up at the state level in a hypothetical meet.

"It's tough no matter how you look at it," he said. "It's just so tight with everything."

RESULTS

4A Districts 1 & 2

GIRLS

Team Scores — 1, Sandpoint 184. 2, Moscow 144. 3, Lakeland, 94. 4, Timberlake, 5.

200 medley relay — 1, Sandpoint (Kaya Wright, Sabrina Wilson, Kate Bokowy, Emily Ballard), 1:59.01. 2, Lakeland, 2:17.44.

200 free — 1, Helen Schumaker, Moscow, 1:59.21. 2, Emily Ballard, Sandpoint, 2:07.04. 3, Ayiana Prevost, Sandpoint, 2:14.10.

200 IM — 1, Kate Bokowy, Sandpoint, 2:19.40. 2, Ally Crossland, Moscow, 2:28.20. 3, Autumn Morgan, Sandpoint, 2:34.71.

50 free — 1, Kaya Wright, Sandpoint, 27.03. 2, Ashley Pope, Moscow, 27.06. 3, Mia Elliss, Moscow 27.60.

100 fly — 1, Kate Bokowy, Sandpoint, 1:02.16. 2, Ashley Painter, Moscow, 1:07.47. 3, Sarah Hogue, Sandpoint, 1:11.89.

100 free — 1, Helen Schumaker, Moscow, 53.94. 2, Emily Ballard, Sandpoint, 58.39. 3, Mia Elliss, Moscow, 59.63.

500 free — 1, Ayiana Prevost, Sandpoint, 5:56.74. 2, Annika Olson, Lakeland, 6:17.33. 3, McKinley Jensen, Sandpoint, 6:26.90.

200 free relay — 1, Sandpoint (Kaya Wright, Sarah Hogue, Emily Ballard, Kate Bokowy), 1:47.56.

100 back — 1, Kaya Wright, Sandpoint, 1:04.64. 2, Ashley Painter, Moscow, 1:06.69. 3, Maren Davidson, Sandpoint, 1:12.32.

100 breast — 1, Ally Crossland, Moscow, 1:13.88. 2, Annika Olson, Lakeland, 1:15.91. 3, Sydney Garrity, Lakeland, 1:18.51.

400 free relay — 1, Moscow, 4:06.70. 2, Sandpoint (Ayiana Prevost, Maren Davidson, McKinley Jensen, Sarah Hogue), 4:18.58.

BOYS

TEAM SCORES — 1, Moscow 156. 2, Sandpoint 154. 3, Lakeland 97. 4, Wallace 8.

200 medley relay — 1, Sandpoint (Jack Grzincic, Hayden Norling, Aidan Nielsen, Jake Aitken), 1:47.59. 2, Moscow, 1:48.38

200 free — 1, Isaac Pimentel, Moscow, 1:47.41. 2, Hayden Leavitt, Sandpoint, 1:51.72. 3, Hayden Norling, Sandpoint, 1:54.25.

200 IM — 1, Caleb Norling, Sandpoint, 2:05.93. 2, Jack Grzincic, Sandpoint, 2:16.84. 3, Sam Ausband, Moscow, 2:19.11.

50 free — 1, Wayne Carwell, Lakeland, 23.06. 2, Micah Wolbrecht, 23.14. 3, Ethan Baird, Moscow, 23.67.

100 fly — 1, Reid Johnson, Moscow, 55.78. 2, Eddie Cofre, Moscow, 57.24. 3, Aidan Nielsen, Sandpoint, 57.80.

100 free — 1, Isaac Pimentel, Moscow, 49.65. 2, Caleb Norling, Sandpoint, 50.74. 3, Micah Wolbrecht, Moscow, 51.59.

500 free — 1, Hayden Leavitt, Sandpoint, 5:08.38. 2, Eddie Cofre, Moscow, 6:14.47. 3, Oliver Everett, Lakeland, 6:58.80.

200 free relay — 1, Sandpoint (Caleb Norling, Jake Aitken, Aidan Nielsen, Hayden Leavitt), 1:35.92. 2, Lakeland, 1:42.05.

100 back — 1, Ethan Baird, Moscow, 59.34. 2, Reid Johnson, Moscow, 59.40. 3, Ian Schlater, Moscow, 1:00.62.

100 breast — 1, Hayden Norling, Sandpoint, 1:05.23. 2, Quin McGovern, Lakeland, 1:05.92. 3, Soren Sabatke, Lakeland, 1:07.57.

400 free relay — 1, Sandpoint (Jack Grzincic, Hayden Norling, Caleb Norling, Hayden Leavitt), 3:27.89. 2, Moscow, 3:29.48.