Sandpoint Sharks swim to personal records at Adam England Memorial meet
Some members of the Sandpoint Sharks swim team pose for a photo at the Adam England Memorial Fall Splash held Nov. 15-17 at the Kroc Center. Pictured, back row, from left are Elleigh Petersen, Constance Ferris, Charlie Creager, Zoey Travnicek, Isaac Good and Charlie Johnson. Bottom row, from left are Payne Coleman, Katheryn Bracht, Lillian Montgomery, Emerson Johnson, Bennett Somerville, Declan Somerville, Gabriel Hawkins and Jake Hancock.
(Courtesy Photo)
COEUR d'ALENE — This past weekend at the Adam England Memorial Fall Splash held at the Kroc Center, a handful of Sandpoint Sharks swam in their first meet and out of the 31 that competed, the majority swam to new personal bests.
The meet, which lasted three days, was a deemed a success by Sharks coaches. New assistant coaches, Sophie Britzmann, who formerly swam at the University of Idaho from 2014 to 2017 and is a native of Hawaii, and Alin Moss, who also is an assistant coach for the Sandpoint High cross country team, took on their first swim meet together, gathering a lot of valuable coaching skills along the way.
“The kids were dropping time left and right," assistant coach Britzmann said. "I was so elated to see so many happy faces when I told them that they won their heat or dropped several seconds in their event. It brings me so much joy to see the kids having fun, gaining confidence and ultimately learning how to race."
Individually, the following Sandpoint Sharks were in the top half of their respective age groups in a variety of different events:
8 and under — Kate Bracht, 7th in 50 free (49.81), 3rd in 25 back (23.87), 9th in 25 free (21.65), 7th in 50 back (58.26).
9-10 years old — Payne Coleman, 13th in 100 free (1:23.14), 10th in 50 back (43.12), 12th in 50 free (36.88); Charlie Johnson, 19th in 100 free (1:28.31), 11th in 50 back (43.19), 12th in 100 back (1:37.28), 8th in 500 free (6:47.77).
11-12 years old — Josh Jackson, 4th in 200 breast (3:14.33), 2nd in 100 free (1:03.27), 8th in 50 fly (35.74), 8th in 100 breast (1:33.41), 2nd in 50 back (33.96), 5th in 100 IM (1:16.58), 2nd in 50 free (29.26), 5th in 50 breast (42.54), 2nd in 100 back (1:12.06), 2nd in 500 free (6:13.59); Allyson Ballard, 9th in 200 backstroke (2:46.01), 3rd in 100 free (1:13.75), 5th in 100 breast (1:26.32), 2nd in 50 back (32.94), 2nd in 100 IM (1:14.47); 15th in 50 back (38.56), 16th in 100 IM (1:24.85); Charley-Rain Olpin, 22nd in 100 free (1:13.75), 13th in 50 fly (36.30), 19th in 50 free (32.34), 13th in 200 free (2:37.76).
13-14 years old — Myelle Jensen, 2nd in 200 free (2:09.76), 2nd in 100 fly (1:08.26), 2nd in 50 free (27.80), 1st in 200 back (2:26.45), 1st in 1000 free (12:22.38); Alivia Storms, 7th in 200 free (2:23.68), 12th in 50 free (30.56), 6th in 200 back (2:45.39), 5th in 200 breast (3:02.67), 10th in 100 back (1:16.63), 7th in 100 free (1:06.87), 4th in 200 IM (2:41.85), 7th in 100 breast (1:26.37), 4th in 500 free (6:21.72); Claire Ballard, 11th in 200 free (2:28.80), 14th in 50 free (30.69); Andrew Ford, 10th in 50 free (27.63), 4th in 200 breast (2:34.60), 13th in 100 back (1:11.62), 12th in 100 free (1:01.26), 5th in 100 breast (1:11.59).
15 and over — Lou Foust, 11th in 200 free (1:59.70).
“This meet was perfect for the kids, in my eyes," assistant coach Britzmann said. "It was long, with many of our swimmers having multiple races in one session, but it was an excellent experience for learning the ropes and for growth and endurance. I believe it was a great meet for the older kids as well, the ones on our purple and black squad, to see where they are at and where they can make adjustments to their swims."