Leavitt smashes state record, Bulldogs shine in state prelims

BOISE — It's safe to say the taper worked.

The Sandpoint swim team posted countless standout performances during the first day of the 4A state meet on Friday at the Boise YMCA.

In prelims, six Bulldogs advanced to the finals in individual events and five relays punched their spots in the final heats.

Head coach Greg Jackson said the boys crushed it in prelims.

"The boys swam out of their heads and it was across the board," he said.

Senior Hayden Leavitt made quite the splash in the 100-yard freestyle, shattering the previous state meet record of 49.56 with a time of 48.42. Leavitt dropped over a second and a half in the event. He also had the top time in the 50 free and is seeded No. 1 in both events entering the finals on Saturday putting him in prime position for a pair of state titles.

Junior Caleb Norling was right behind Leavitt in the 100 free with the third fastest time. He also recorded the third best time in the 200 free and is in the running for a pair of individual state titles as well.

"Caleb was feeling really, really good and feeling like he had more that he could have put forth today," Jackson said, "which you could see and it's just kind of exciting ... I knew from the minute I saw him get in the water this morning he was going to go fast."

Senior Jack Grzincic earned a spot in the finals with a time of 2:13.90 in the 200 individual medley. He also had a strong swim in the 100 butterfly and will swim in the consolation finals in the event. Jackson said Grzincic finally dropped below a minute in the 100 fly and has the potential to shed even more time.

"He actually had an amazing 100 fly," Jackson said. "For the last couple of years he's been trying to get a 59, he just skipped right past that and went to 58 ... and I wouldn't be surprised if he goes 57 [Saturday]."

As expected, the boys stacked the 200 and 400 free relays and they are seeded second in both entering the finals. At regionals, Sandpoint took second to Moscow in both relays, but the Bulldogs flipped the script on the Bears in prelims, finishing ahead of them in both.

Freshman Max Zuberbuhler, and sophomores Lon LeBlanc, Luc LeBlanc and Harrison Gedde swam in the 200 medley relay and will compete in the consolation finals Saturday. Jackson was really proud of their performances in the event.

"They all performed really well," he said. "Just comparatively, they swam faster than they ever have."

Heading into state, Jackson was anticipating some extremely fast times from the boys, and they delivered Friday.

"Even though they did what I thought they could do, it was so incredibly exciting," he said.

The girls didn't disappoint either.

"They all performed well, but they just look so incredible," Jackson said, "and the way that they were finishing races I think they've got more to put out there and we're going to see some more drops [Saturday]."

Juniors Emily Ballard and Ayiana Prevost will both swim in the finals of the 200 free and 500 free. Freshman Ava de Leeuw will take part in the consolation finals in both events. Ballard is seeded second in the 200 free.

Freshman Ryleigh Bamer kept on dominating in the pool and will swim in the 50 free and 100 fly finals. She is seeded second in the 100 fly and third in the 50 free.

"She did what she needed to do to make sure she was going to be in those championship finals," Jackson said, "and tomorrow I think she's going to have some speed to put out there."

Junior McKinley Jensen dropped about six seconds in the 200 IM and will compete in the consolation finals in the event.

"She really amped it up," Jackson said.

The girls were strong in all three relays and head into the final day ranked first in the 200 free relay and second in the 400 free relay.

Jackson said a second state title is definitely within sight for the girls.

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

Sandpoint athletes that qualified for finals are in bold

BOYS

200-yard medley relay — 12, Sandpoint, 2:01.98.

200 free — 3, Caleb Norling, 1:49.42.

200 individual medley — 6, Jack Grzincic, 2:13.90.

50 free — 1, Hayden Leavitt, 22.03.

100 fly — 7, Jack Grzincic, 58.48.

100 free — 1, Hayden Leavitt, 48.42. 3, Caleb Norling, 49.71.

200 free relay — 2, Sandpoint, 1:35.23.

400 free relay — 2, Sandpoint, 3:29.86.

GIRLS

200-yard medley relay — 8, Sandpoint, 2:12.48.

200 free — 2, Emily Ballard, 2:07.23. 4, Ayiana Prevost, 2:10.92. 7, Ava de Leeuw, 2:12.99.

200 individual medley — 11, McKinley Jensen, 2:45.56.

50 free — 3, Ryleigh Bamer, 26.39.

100 fly — 2, Ryleigh Bamer, 1:06.03.

500 free — 4, Emily Ballard, 5:49.32. 5, Ayiana Prevost, 5:50.55. 7, Ava de Leeuw, 5:51.42.

200 free relay — 1, Sandpoint, 1:48.75.

400 free relay — 2, Sandpoint, 3:59.42.