Bulldogs swim to state success
Sandpoint High School boys and girls swim team pose for a photo at the West Valley YMCA and Boise Aquatic Center for the Idaho High School Swimming 4A State Championships. The girls placed third and boys claimed fifth overall.
(Photo courtesy JULIA AND VINCE PREVOST)
The Sandpoint High School Bulldogs had a successful run at the 2022 Idaho High School Swimming 4A State Championships over the past weekend.
The girls placed third and boys claimed fifth overall at the state tournament.
“This is the fastest team I’ve ever coached,” coach Greg Jackson, who is now in his fifth year as the Bulldogs head coach, said. “Every single kid did amazing.”
The boys relay team placed first in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The team was made up of McCoy Jensen, Kale Wright, Lon LeBlanc, and senior standout Caleb Norling. Norling also finished second in both the 200-yard freestyle (1:46.20) and 100-yard freestyle (48.73) where he just lost out on first place by .2 of a second.
“It will be tough losing Caleb,” Jackson said.
On the girls side, the standout race goes to the second-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay with the team of Ava de Leeuw, Maren Davidson, Mia Driggs, and Emily Ballard.
The team’s time of 1:45.57 would’ve been a new state record if it weren’t for Bishop Kelly claiming the title with a time of 1:45.20. The Bulldogs girls relay team made up of Ryleigh Balmer, Ayiana Prevost, Ava de Leeuw, and Emily Ballard.
The Bulldogs took second place in the girls 400-yard freestyle relay and a third-place finish was claimed by the girls 200-yard medley relay team made up of McKinley Jensen, Mia Driggs, Ryleigh Balmer, and Maren Davidson.
Standout races were turned in by senior Emily Ballard and senior Maren Davidson, who placed third and fourth respectively in the women's 100-yard freestyle.
“Having six girls under 1:00 in the 100 freestyle is a huge deal,” Jackson said.
Jackson said next year looks to be a building year for the Bulldogs with freshman Mia Driggs continuing to build on her already impressive performances and sophomore Ryleigh Balmer breaking through some personal plateaus this season. On the boys side there’s a lot of exciting potential coming up through the junior class.
“The kids swam amazing,” Jackson said.
4A
Winners, locals in top 8
BOYS
TEAM SCORES — 1, Skyview 189. 2, Bishop Kelly 150. 3, Twin Falls 133, 4, Idaho Falls 128. 5, Sandpoint 108.5. 6, Moscow 95. 7, Kimberly 88. 8, Lakeland 86. 9, Wood River 52. 10, Burley 41.5. 11, Bonneville 37. 12, Canyon Ridge 34. 13, Minico 24. 14, Century 22. 15, Jerome 19. 16, Riverstone 17. 17, Nampa Christian 13. 18, Gooding 10. 19 (tie), Columbia, Pocatello 9.
200-yard medley relay — 1, Bishop Kelly, 1:42.17. 8, Lakeland (Elijah Minix, Ethan Abbott, Ethan Harrell, Jeremiah Couper), 1:54.58.
200 freestyle — 1, Gavin Dustin, Skyline, 1:44.63. 2, Caleb Norling, Sandpoint, 1:46.20. 6, Logan Harris, Lakeland, 2:00.07.
200 IM — 1, Shae Stratton, Bishop Kelly, 2:00.31.
50 freestyle — 1, Elijah Souza, Kimberly, 22.02.
100 butterfly — 1, Ethan Grimes, Idaho Falls, 54.61. 6, McCoy Jensen, Sandpoint, 1:00.52. 8, Ethan Harrell, Lakeland, 1:01.02.
100 freestyle — 1, Elijah Souza, Kimberly, 48.45. 2, Caleb Norling, Sandpoint, 48.63. 8, Kale Wright, Sandpoint, 53.86.
500 freestyle — 1, Gavin Dustin, Skyview, 4:49.69. 8, Logan Harris, Lakeland, 5:43.00.
200 freestyle relay — 1, Sandpoint (McCoy Jensen, Kale Wright, Lon LeBlanc, Caleb Norling), 1:35.07. 6, Lakeland, 1:41.84.
100 backstroke — 1, Shae Stratton, Bishop Kelly, 51.27.
100 breaststroke — 1, Carson Reis, Twin Falls, 1:03.65. 4, Ethan Harrell, Lakeland, 1:07.42.
400 freestyle relay — 1, Skyline, 3:21.63. 3, Sandpoint (McCoy Jensen, Kale Wright, Lon LeBlanc, Caleb Norling), 3:29.24. 5, Lakeland (Logan Harris, Micah Minix, Ethan Abbott, Jeremiah Couper), 3:43.35.
GIRLS
TEAM SCORES — 1, Skyview 209. 2, Bishop Kelly 208. 3, Sandpoint 203. 4, Twin Falls 117. 5, Minico 78. 6, Skyline 64. 7, Wood River 55. 8 (tie), Gooding, Wood River 51. 10, Idaho Falls 46. 11, Century 35. 12, Canyon Ridge 30. 13, Pocatello 20. 14 (tie), Kimberly, Cascade 18. 16, Burley 16. 17 (tie), Moscow 13. 18 (tie), Declo, Bonneville 10. 20 (tie), Jerome, Mountain Home 7.
200-yard medley relay — 1, Skyview, 1:49.96. 3, Sandpoint (McKinley Jensen, Mia Driggs, Ryleigh Bamer, Maren Davidson), 2:00.35.
200 freestyle — 1, Gabriella Stanton, Bishop Kelly, 1:57.76. 5, Ava de Leeuw, Sandpoint, 2:06.96. 7, Ayiana Prevost, Sandpoint, 2:07.98.
200 IM — 1, Nicole Dumitrascu, Skyview, 2:08.76. 4, Mia Driggs, Sandpoint, 2:27.04.
50 freestyle — 1, Sadie Schaffer, Skyview, 25.05. 3, Ryleigh Bamer, Sandpoint, 25.61. 4, Emily Ballard, Sandpoint, 25.71. 8, Maren Davidson, Sandpoint, 26.83.
100 butterfly — 1, Brianna Ruark, Skyview, 56.04. 4, Ryleigh Bamer, Sandpoint, 1:04.95.
100 freestyle — 1, Gabriella Stanton, Bishop Kelly, 54.18. 3, Emily Ballard, Sandpoint, 56.24. 4, Maren Davidson, Sandpoint, 58.77.
500 freestyle — 1, Brianna Ruark, Skyview, 5:12.97. 5, Ava de Leeuw, Sandpoint, 5:40.83.
200 freestyle relay — 1, Bishop Kelly, 1:43.78. 2, Sandpoint (Ava de Leeuw, Maren Davidson, Mia Driggs, Emily Ballard), 1:44.29.
100 backstroke — 1, Nicole Dumitrascu, Skyview, 58.20.
100 breaststroke — 1, Isabella Tognoni, Wood River, 1:05.41. 5, Mia Driggs, Sandpoint, 1:13.54.
400 freestyle relay — 1, Skyview, 3:43.30. 2, Sandpoint (Ryleigh Bamer, Ayiana Prevost, Ava de Leeuw, Emily Ballard), 3:51.57.