Girls capture regional title; 13 Bulldogs headed to state

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include info on the at-large state qualifiers.

MOSCOW — The Sandpoint swim team saw 10 athletes punch their tickets to state on Saturday at the 4A Region 1 championships, and three more earn their way in through at-large bids Monday.

The girls edged out Lakeland by nine points to claim the regional title, while the boys finished third as a team.

Emily Ballard, McKinley Jensen, Ayiana Prevost, Maren Davidson, Ryleigh Bamer, Ava de Leeuw, Caleb Norling, Hayden Leavitt, Jack Grzincic, Max Zuberbuhler, Harrison Gedde, Luc LeBlanc and Lon LeBlanc are all headed to state.

On the girls side at regionals, Ballard, Jensen, Davidson, Bamer and de Leeuw all earned automatic berths to state as individuals and one relay qualified. For the boys, Norling, Leavitt, Grzincic and Zuberbuhler all secured individual state bids.

The top two finishers in each individual event and the top relays at regionals earned automatic berths to state. At-large berths to state were announced on Monday and awarded to the next four fastest individual times recorded across the state and the next two fastest relays. The Bulldogs collected five at-large bids in relays and Prevost was given two individual berths.

“We had some good swims,” head coach Greg Jackson said about regionals. “It was nerve-racking with what we did with relays and how we stacked our relays for peak performance at the state level.”

Unsurprisingly, Bamer grabbed a pair of regional titles in the 50-yard freestyle and 100 butterfly. The freshman has dominated both events all season long and she swam personal bests in each on Saturday. In the 100 fly, Bamer is currently ranked No. 1 in the state.

“I told her she accomplishes a lot for being littler than everybody else,” Jackson joked about Bamer.

The Bulldogs swept the top three places in the girls 500 free and 200 free. Ballard grabbed first in both, de Leeuw, a freshman, placed second in both and Prevost was third in each event. Ballard's time of 5:51.57 in the 500 free was a new regional meet record. Prevost just missed out on automatic bids, but the junior captain was awarded at-large berths in both.

Davidson, a junior, captured the regional title in the 100 free.

“Incredible swim for Maren in the 100 free,” Jackson said.

Jensen took second in the 200 individual medley to earn a spot to state. The junior was also third in the 100 backstroke.

Ballard, de Leeuw, Prevost and Bamer led the girls to a dominant first-place finish in the 400 free relay. The Bulldogs touched the wall over 40 seconds ahead of second-place Lakeland and in the process set a new regional meet record. The relay is seeded No. 1 heading into state.

“In our last relay, we lapped them,” Jackson said. “That relay I believe is a state championship relay.”

The girls were second in the 200 medley and 200 free relays, and were awarded at-large berths to state in both.

This is Jackson’s fourth year as head coach and each season the girls have brought home the regional title. He said that’s a special accomplishment and one the girls have earned with their dedication.

“They put in the work and they deserved it," he said. "They continue to build each other up, especially the junior girls; their energy and how they take care of each other and their teammates is amazing to watch, and I’m really proud of their commitment to that.”

The eight Sandpoint boys finished 23 points behind second-place Lakeland and 50 behind regional champion Moscow.

“Lakeland has just got a little more depth than we do on the boys side and they were able to outdo us,” Jackson said, “ … but I am pleased with all of the boys.”

Grzincic, a senior, won the regional title in the 200 IM and secured second in the 100 fly. Zuberbuhler, a freshman, soared to a regional title in the 500 free.

Leavitt, a senior, captured first in the 100 free and second in the 50 free, while Norling, a junior captain, grabbed a pair of berths to state by placing second in the 100 free and 200 free.

Sandpoint started tapering last week in preparation for the state meet, so Leavitt, Norling and Grzincic didn’t swim their fastest times at regionals, but Jackson said that’s a good sign for state.

“From my perspective, they’re right on track halfway through a taper,” he said. “They’re right on their best times and give them another week to rest and they should see some benefit.”

Leavitt and Norling are seeded No. 1 and No. 2 in the 100 free respectively heading into the state meet.

The boys finished second in all three relays at regionals, missing out on any automatic bids. However, the Bulldogs received at-large bids to state in the 200 medley, 200 free and 400 free relays, allowing the LeBlanc brothers and Gedde to join the team on the bus down to state.

The Bulldogs will compete in the 4A state championships on Friday and Saturday at the Boise YMCA.

In 2019, the Sandpoint girls captured their state title under the IHSAA, and Jackson said they are in the running for another this week.

“We are definitely not giving up on another shot at a state title,” Jackson said. “We’re going to have some work to do, but we’ve got our eyes on it.”

4A Region 1 championships

Sandpoint state qualifiers in bold

BOYS

TEAM SCORES — 1, Moscow 161. 2, Lakeland 134. 3, Sandpoint 111. 4, Wallace 29.

(Top two individuals, winning relay to state; at-large bids available)

200-yard medley relay — 1, Moscow (Ian Schlater, Ethan Baird, Reid Johnson, Lucas Zimmer), 1:46.13. 2, Sandpoint (Caleb Norling, Luc LeBlanc, Jack Grzincic, Hayden Leavitt), 1:54.61.

200 freestyle — 1, Reid Johnson, Moscow, 1:48.44. 2, Caleb Norling, Sandpoint, 1:52.01. 3, Logan Harris, Lakeland, 2:02.47.

200 individual medley — 1, Jack Grzincic, Sandpoint, 2:14.70. 2, Ian Schlater, Moscow, 2:15.03. 3, Malachi McMillian, Moscow, 2:24.40.

50 freestyle — 1, Micah Wolbrecht, Moscow, 22.05. 2, Hayden Leavitt, Sandpoint, 22.74. 3, Lucas Zimmer, Moscow, 25.50.

100 butterfly — 1, Reid Johnson, Moscow, 53.76. 2, Jack Grzincic, Sandpoint, 1:00.45. 3, Ethan Abbott, Lakeland, 1:07.74.

100 freestyle — 1, Hayden Leavitt, Sandpoint, 50.29. 2, Caleb Norling, Sandpoint, 50.33. 3, Ethan Baird, Moscow, 50.89.

500 freestyle — 1, Max Zuberbuhler, Sandpoint, 6:17.50. 2, Elijah Johnson, Moscow, 6:18.11. 3, Elijah Minix, Lakeland, 6:33.77.

200 freestyle relay — 1, Moscow (Micah Wolbrecht, Ian Schlater, Malachi McMillian, Lucas Zimmer), 1:38.14. 2, Sandpoint (Max Zuberbuhler, Lon LeBlanc, Jack Grzincic, Hayden Leavitt), 1:42.08.

100 backstroke — 1, Ian Schlater, Moscow, 58.53. 2, Ethan Baird, Moscow, 59.61. 3, Lincoln Wood, Lakeland, 1:14.82.

100 breaststroke — 1, Micah Wolbrecht, Moscow, 1:04.11. 2, Malachi McMillian, Moscow, 1:15.10. 3, Ethan Harrell, Lakeland, 1:15.37.

400 freestyle relay — 1, Moscow (Reid Johnson, Ethan Baird, Lucas Zimmer, Micah Wolbrecht), 3:31.32. 2, Sandpoint (Harrison Gedde, Lon LeBlanc, Max Zuberbuhler, Caleb Norling), 3:52.77.

OTHER SANDPOINT REGIONAL RESULTS

200 IM — 6, Max Zuberbuhler, 2:37.71. 50 free — 5, Lon LeBlanc, 27.14. 11, Luc LeBlanc, 30.21. 14, Calvin Williams, 55.95. 100 free — 7, Lon LeBlanc, 1:02.13. 10, Calvin Williams, 2:12.85. 100 breaststroke — 5, Harrison Gedde, 1:22.61. 8, Luc LeBlanc, 1:31.38.

GIRLS

TEAM SCORES — 1, Sandpoint 155. 2, Lakeland 146. 3, Moscow 112. 4, Timberlake 7. 5, Wallace 5.

(Top two individuals, winning relays to state; at-large bids available)

200-yard medley relay — 1, Moscow (Brenna Newlan, Megan Crossland, Mia Elliss, Hannah Hoesman), 2:06.45. 2, Sandpoint (McKinley Jensen, Ayiana Prevost, Ryleigh Bamer, Maren Davidson), 2:09.29.

200 freestyle — 1, Emily Ballard, Sandpoint, 2:07.38. 2, Ava de Leeuw, Sandpoint, 2:12.28. 3, Ayiana Prevost, Sandpoint, 2:12.97.

200 individual medley — 1, Megan Crossland, Moscow, 2:30.12. 2, McKinley Jensen, Sandpoint, 2:52.23. 3, Addy Hobbs, Lakeland, 2:56.25.

50 freestyle — 1, Ryleigh Bamer, Sandpoint, 26.61. 2, Sydney Garrity, Lakeland, 27.73. 3, Avery Sabatke, Lakeland, 29.21.

100 butterfly — 1, Ryleigh Bamer, Sandpoint, 1:05.75. 2, Mia Elliss, Moscow, 1:10. 3, Sarah Smith, Lakeland, 1:18.51.

100 freestyle — 1, Maren Davidson, Sandpoint, 1:04.44. 2, Maddie Hunter, Timberlake, 1:04.62. 3, Hannah Hoesman, Moscow, 1:09.06.

500 freestyle — 1, Emily Ballard, Sandpoint, 5:51.57. 2, Ava de Leeuw, Sandpoint, 5:56.51. 3, Ayiana Prevost, Sandpoint, 6:02.26.

200 freestyle relay — 1, Lakeland (Annika Olson, Sydney Garrity, Avery Sabatke, Sarah Smith), 1:52.42. 2, Sandpoint (Maren Davidson, McKinley Jensen, Ava de Leeuw, Emily Ballard), 1:54.01.

100 backstroke — 1, Brenna Newlan, Moscow, 1:12.53. 2, Mia Elliss, Moscow, 1:12.93. 3, McKinley Jensen, Sandpoint, 1:14.37.

100 breaststroke — 1, Annika Olson, Lakeland, 1:13.23. 2, Megan Crossland, Moscow, 1:17.67. 3, Sydney Garrity, Lakeland, 1:19.10.

400 freestyle relay — 1, Sandpoint (Emily Ballard, Ava de Leeuw, Ayiana Prevost, Ryleigh Bamer), 4:01.06. 2, Lakeland, 4:41.96.

OTHER SANDPOINT REGIONAL RESULTS

200 free — 6, Emma Schmitt, 2:36.58. 50 free — 8, Sadie Dignan, 32.49. 9, Cassidy Aitken, 32.92. 100 fly — 4, Terra Converse, 1:22.66. 6, Emma Schmitt, 1:29.04. 100 free — 7, Sophie Dignan, 1:17.98. 8, Georgia Gedde, 1:20.23. 100 back — 4, Maren Davidson, 1:15.88. 10, Sophie Dignan, 1:35.29. 100 breast — 6, Cassidy Aitken, 1:30.91. 7, Sadie Dignan, 1:36.25. 9, Georgia Gedde, 1:41.78.