SHS swim shines in meet at Moscow

MOSCOW — The Sandpoint swim team faced some stiff competition on Saturday at the University of Idaho Swim Center and thrived.

The Bulldogs battled Lake City, Moscow and Wallace in a dual meet. The boys and girls both took care of Wallace for the second straight meet, but they fell short to Lake City, who captured a pair of trophies in the virtual 5A state swim meet last fall.

The girls edged out Moscow 165-79 while the boys lost 129-75. As a combined team, the Bulldogs beat the Bears 240-208.

Head coach Greg Jackson mixed up his lineup as he searches for his best options in each event.

“I thought we did well,” he said. “We still are seeing people come down on their times, which is nice. It wasn’t quite across the board like it was last weekend. We did have a few hiccups here and there, but … we also changed it up a little bit. A lot of kids swam something different than the week before.”

On the girls side, Jackson said he was encouraged by how his team stacked up against Moscow. He believes they have a chance to get a few more state qualifiers this season.

The Bears grabbed a pair of third-place state trophies last year, finishing one spot behind the second-place Bulldogs.

Emily Ballard led the way for the girls, securing second in the 500-yard freestyle and fourth in the 200 free. Ayiana Prevost earned third in the 500 free and fifth in the 100 breaststroke. Ballard and Prevost were also on the second place 200 medley and 400 free relay teams, along with freshmen Ava de Leeuw and Ryleigh Bamer.

Jackson said Ballard and Prevost both had strong showings, but he knows they have the potential to do even better.

“Ayiana swam really well,” he said. “She’s been faster at the state meet in the 500, but for her in-season time, she did really well.”

Bamer was third in the 100 free and fourth in the 200 individual medley. De Leeuw placed third in the 100 backstroke and fifth in the 200 free.

Maren Davidson hit the pool for the first time this season and finished fourth in the 100 back. She was also on the third-place 200 free relay team, along with April Davis, Sadie Dignan and McKinley Jensen, who took fourth in the 50 free.

In the 100 butterfly, Terra Converse and Emma Schmitt placed fourth and fifth respectively. Sophie Dignan captured fifth in the 100 back and 50 free.

Caleb Norling continued his strong start to the season for the boys, securing first in the 100 free and second in the 200 free. The junior captain encountered some tough competition, including 2021 Long Bridge Swim champion Logan Robillard, and rose to the occasion.

“His 200 free was pretty good, but actually his 100 free was exceptional, especially for him,” Jackson said. “He really came out and brought some speed.”

Jack Grzincic grabbed second in the 100 fly and fourth in the 100 back.

“Jack Grzincic continues to swim some of his best times ever and he’s not rested,” Jackson said. “We train to go fast at state and sometimes that means we’re not able to go as fast in season, but Jack continues to swim really surprising races.”

Max Zuberbuhler earned third in the 500 free and Harrison Gedde brought home fifth in the 200 free. The boys took third in all three relays. Grzincic, Gedde, Norling, Zuberbuhler, Lon LeBlanc and Luc LeBlanc swam in the relays for the Bulldogs.

The boys were still without senior Hayden Leavitt.

Sandpoint returns to the pool at 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 8, to host Skyline at the Litehouse YMCA. It will also be Senior Night for the Bulldogs.

SANDPOINT RESULTS

GIRLS

DUAL SCORES — Sandpoint 182, Wallace 18; Sandpoint 165, Moscow 79; Lake City 178, Sandpoint 89.

200-yard medley relay — 2, Sandpoint (Ava de Leeuw, Ayiana Prevost, Ryleigh Bamer, Emily Ballard), 2:07.11. 5, Sandpoint (Maren Davidson, Cassidy Aitken, Terra Converse, McKinley Jensen), 2:22.61.

200 freestyle — 4, Emily Ballard, 2:12.55. 5, Ava de Leeuw, 2:18.96.

200 individual medley — 4, Ryleigh Bamer, 2:34.28. 7, McKinley Jensen, 2:53.93.

50 freestyle — 4, McKinley Jensen, 30.52. 5, Sophie Dignan, 32.16. 6, Cassidy Aitken, 33.17.

100 butterfly — 4, Terra Converse, 1:29.01. 5, Emma Schmitt, 1:30.14.

100 freestyle — 3, Ryleigh Bamer, 58.90. 6, Terra Converse, 1:13.02. 7, April Davis, 1:14.23.

500 freestyle — 2, Emily Ballard, 5:53.65. 3, Ayiana Prevost, 5:56.03. 7, Emma Schmitt, 7:35.05.

200 freestyle relay — 3, Sandpoint (April Davis, Sadie Dignan, McKinley Jensen, Maren Davidson), 2:04.90. 4, Sandpoint (Sophie Dignan, Emma Schmitt, Georgia Gedde, Cassidy Aitken), 2:14.67.

100 backstroke — 3, Ava de Leeuw, 1:12.26. 4, Maren Davidson, 1:14.64. 5, Sophie Dignan, 1:37.25.

100 breaststroke — 5, Ayiana Prevost, 1:22.80. 6, Cassidy Aitken, 1:28.62. 8, Sadie Dignan, 1:36.57.

400 freestyle relay — 2, Sandpoint (Emily Ballard, Ava de Leeuw, Ayiana Prevost, Ryleigh Bamer), 4:02.62. 5, Sandpoint (April Davis, Georgia Gedde, Sadie Dignan, Terra Converse), 5:06.01.

BOYS

DUAL SCORES — Moscow 129, Sandpoint 75; Sandpoint 105, Wallace 37; Lake City 118, Sandpoint 75.

200 medley relay — 3, Sandpoint (Jack Grzincic, Harrison Gedde, Caleb Norling, Luc LeBlanc), 2:02.45.

200 freestyle — 2, Caleb Norling, 1:53.49. 5, Harrison Gedde, 2:37.72.

200 individual medley — Luc LeBlanc, DQ.

50 freestyle — 7, Max Zuberbuhler, 26.72. 8, Lon LeBlanc, 27.51. 11, Calvin Williams, 1:01.96.

100 butterfly — 2, Jack Grzincic, 1:00.41.

100 freestyle — 1, Caleb Norling, 50.09. 7, Lon LeBlanc, 1:03.16. 9, Calvin Williams, 2:16.79.

500 freestyle — 3, Max Zuberbuhler, 6:27.21.

200 freestyle relay — 3, Sandpoint (Max Zuberbuhler, Luc LeBlanc, Harrison Gedde, Lon LeBlanc), 1:53.22.

100 backstroke — 4, Jack Grzincic, 1:05.15.

100 breaststroke — 6, Harrison Gedde, 1:27.52.

400 freestyle relay — 3, Sandpoint (Lon LeBlanc, Max Zuberbuhler, Jack Grzincic, Caleb Norling), 3:51.64.