Unfinished business: Sandpoint swim looks to thrive at in-person state meet

BOISE — Year in and year out, Sandpoint has proven to be one of the best swim teams in the state.

But last fall, the Bulldogs didn’t get a chance to show the rest of Idaho their true might. A virtual state meet was held due to COVID-19 and the team had to settle for results based on district times.

The Bulldogs were eyeing a potential sweep of state titles on the boys and girls sides, but instead a piece of paper told them they finished second to Bishop Kelly in both.

Sure, SHS received a pair of second-place state trophies, but they weren’t satisfied with that — they wanted a chance to prove who was the best in the pool, not on paper.

A year later, the Bulldogs will finally get an opportunity to do just that when they compete in the 4A state championships at the Boise YMCA on Friday and Saturday.

For junior captain Ayiana Prevost, seeing the return of an in-person state meet means everything to her. She held onto hope from the start of the season that the meet would come back, and after some uncertainty due to the pandemic, it is.

“The competition makes so much of a difference,” she said, “and it’s such a great experience to go down to state and be with the team, and I’m so glad we get to do that this year.”

The Bulldogs began tapering for the state meet about two weeks ago. Tapering is done to ensure Sandpoint puts forth its best performances at the most important event of the season.

Head coach Greg Jackson said each day during a taper he takes a little off his team’s exertion in the pool until they are fully rested.

“You go from an hour and 15-minute practice with high-intensity heart rates pushing 200 a majority of the season, into this 15-minute warm-up at the end of the season,” he said.

Two weeks ago, the Bulldogs traveled outside of North Idaho for the first time in nearly two years to compete in the Madison High Invitational in Idaho Falls. The girls won the team title at the event and the boys took runner-up, but the times they posted were disappointing.

Jackson was encouraged by the poor performances because it showed how broken down his athletes were from their training in practice. It was a sign that the taper could produce some extremely successful results, he said.

“I’m really confident in this trip going down,” he said. “You can see the energy in the kids in the morning and just the difference from a couple weeks ago, and most of them have made this trip before and are comfortable with it, so we’re ready.”

Girls look to reclaim state title, make a statement

The Sandpoint girls have some unfinished business to take care of at state. They didn’t get a true opportunity to defend their state crown last year, and the Bulldogs plan on doing that this trip.

“Our perspective is we’re defending our state title,” Jackson said. “Last year. Bishop Kelly did not swim side-by-side with us, they did not beat us in the same pool and we are going to make a statement. Bishop Kelly is going to have to win that title back from us.”

In 2019, SHS won its first state title since the Idaho High School Activities Association began sanctioning the sport in 2018. Junior Emily Ballard was a freshman on that team. She remembers how it felt to raise that state title with a full team effort and she would love to replicate that experience this weekend.

Ballard can’t wait to swim alongside some of the best in the state.

“It kind of just has a different feel,” she said. “It really pushes you more.”

The girls will have six swimmers in the pool at state — Ballard, Prevost, McKinley Jensen, Maren Davidson, Ava de Leeuw and Ryleigh Bamer.

Despite the small crew SHS is bringing to state, Jackson said just three points separate the Bulldogs and Bishop Kelly on paper. Those six girls are a powerhouse and give Sandpoint plenty of opportunities to bring home top finishes in individual events and all three relays — the 200 medley, 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle.

Entering state, Sandpoint is seeded No. 1 in the 400 free relay, seven seconds ahead of second-place Bishop Kelly. Bamer, de Leeuw, Ballard and Prevost make up the relay that has dominated competition all season long. It seems like no one can touch the Bulldogs in that relay, so a state title in the event is certainly in sight.

“Everyone on that relay is just a really strong swimmer,” Ballard said.

Ballard is the regional champion in the 200 free and 500 free and will be in contention for medals in both at state. She is seeded second in the 200 and fifth in the 500.

A state title in the 200 is well within Ballard’s reach and she’s optimistic that the competition could help her get there.

“I have a chance, it definitely won’t be easy,” she said.

Last year, Ballard swam the 100 free and 200 free at regionals, but this season she dumped the 100 free for the 500 free and its worked out pretty well.

“I never expected to swim the 500 at state ever, but my coach was just like let's try it,” she said. “I’m just going to do my best and see how it goes.”

Jackson said Ballard's impact on this year’s team can’t be overstated. She’s the heartbeat of the team, he said.

“She’s contributed a lot of energy, insight and motivation,” he said. “She may not be a captain, but she’s walking the walk and she’s encouraging her teammates to walk the walk.”

Prevost and de Leeuw will compete in the 200 free and 500 free as well. Davidson (100 free) and Jensen (200 individual medley) will also be seeking some individual glory.

Ballard, Prevost, Davidson and Jensen are a part of a junior class that has already left a lasting impression on the program.

“We just all came into this sport already friends and [this team] has just brought us closer,” Davidson said.

Bamer and de Leeuw are both freshmen, but they haven’t looked like it. The high school spotlight hasn’t intimidated them one bit and they’ve played a crucial part in the Bulldogs’ success this season.

“I’m so proud of them,” Prevost said about the duo. “I’ve been swimming with them for like seven years and basically grown up with these guys and just seeing them grow and improve; they’re faster than me now and I’m totally OK with that.”

Bamer has a chance to do something special in her first year at state. She won regional titles in the 50 free and 100 butterfly and is seeded fourth in the 50 free and first in the 100 fly. Jackson said Bamer has an opportunity to take it all in both her individual events.

“Ryleigh has a fantastic mindset right now,” he said. “She’s capable of hitting the times that have already been hit by the rest of the state, it’s just a matter of what those other girls are capable of.”

Heading into state, Prevost is focused on doing whatever she can do for her team, but she’s shooting for personal bests in all her events, including the relays.

Even if the girls fall short of their second state title, they will get another crack at it next season with everyone coming back.

“It makes me feel a lot better knowing that even if we can’t do it this year our chances next year are going to be really, really strong,” Prevost said.

Boys seek individual glory, placing position

The small, but mighty boys team doesn’t have the depth to contend for a state title, but individual state titles and a placing position are within their grasp this weekend.

Seven boys will hit the pool at state for the boys. Seniors Jack Grzincic and Hayden Leavitt, junior Caleb Norling and freshman Max Zuberbuhler will all compete as individuals and in relays, while sophomores Luc LeBlanc, Lon LeBlanc and Harrison Gedde will only swim in relays.

Jackson mixed up his relays at regionals to try and get more Bulldogs to state and the gamble paid off as the team earned at-large bids to state in all three relays.

Sandpoint will likely roll out strong lineups in the 200 free and 400 free relays that could give them a chance to bring home top finishes in both.

In 2020, the boys earned their best finish at state under the IHSAA with a second-place result, breaking a three-year streak of placing fourth at state. Jackson believes the boys can finish inside the top four once again and bring home another state trophy because they have something most teams don’t — three relays at state.

“There’s some good potential there to gobble up some points that other teams aren’t going to get,” he said.

Leavitt (50 free, 100 free), Norling (100 free, 200 free) and Grzincic (100 fly, 200 IM) will all compete in a pair of individual events and are destined to make a splash at state. Jackson said he can’t wait to see what his top three swimmers bring to the Boise YMCA pool.

“I expect to see some unbelievable swimming from them,” he said. “All three have not set these ultra lofty goals, they are all within reason and I think they are either going to get or exceed their goals.”

Tapering can be a bit of a frustrating process for athletes who are constantly striving for greatness. Norling said it’s a little nerve racking because they won’t know if the taper worked until they hit the water at state.

Despite that, Norling can feel how rested he is from limiting his physical activity and he’s ready to make some noise.

“It’s a lot of anticipation … because you want to get there and you want to actually swim,” he said. “Just the lead up can be a little nail-biting.”

Leavitt and Norling will get to race side-by-side in the 100 free and are seeded first and second in the event respectively. Both will be seeking a state title in the event and they are embracing the friendly competition.

“It’s probably going to be one of our last times that we’ll have to compete against each other in a really big meet, so it will be awesome to have that energy and see what we can do with it,” Leavitt said.

“We always want to beat each other but if the other one wins, it’s not like the end of the world for the other person,” Norling added.

Norling is also seeded third in the 200 free. He will face some stiff competition in pursuit of a state title in that event, but Norling believes that will only benefit him.

“Competition does so much to you,” he said. “It makes you go noticeably faster.”

Norling dabbled with a handful of individual events throughout the season to figure out his two strongest on the state level and eventually he settled on the 100 and 200 free. He qualified for the 2021 Western Zone Senior Championships in both events this summer and they seem to suit him pretty well.

“That kind of distance for freestyle has always been really good for me,” he said. “Those distances of freestyle are by far what I’m most comfortable competing in.”

Zuberbuhler, who won the regional title in the 500 free, is seeded 12th in the event. Norling and Leavitt have been extremely impressed with the time drops the underclassmen have made this season, particularly Gedde and the LeBlanc brothers.

Norling said all three have put in a tremendous amount of work and watching them battle it out for relay spots has been fun.

“I’ve been super surprised,” Leavitt said. “They’ve really stepped it up this year.”

Leavitt is seeded third in the 50 free heading into state. The return of an in-person state meet is something Leavitt has looked forward to all season. The state experience is something special, he said.

“We were super down last year when we realized that we weren’t actually going to be able to travel down to Boise because it’s not just a race,” he said. “You’re not just going down there to swim your event and leave, it’s a massive team building thing and you get to do a lot of fun stuff.”

For Leavitt and Grzincic, this is their last time in an SHS uniform. Leavitt said this team has had a profound impact on his life and he’ll never forget the friends he made in the pool.

“I’ve known these people for as long as I can remember,” he said. “We’ve had our ups and downs, but this team is pretty much like a second family, they’re awesome. It’s going to be sad to leave them.”

4A state prelims start at 7:30 a.m. PST Friday with the girls, followed by the boys at 10:45 a.m. PST. Finals will be held at the same time on Saturday. You can watch the meet at the Boise YMCA live on the NFHS Network. A subscription costs $10.99 per month.