Outlaws swimmers advance to state championships

Felicia Pledger and Courteney Satko were the most successful individual finishers at the recent District 3 Swimming Championships in Albany on February 13-14.

Both girls were also instrumental in the first-place finish of the 200-yard freestyle relay and the second place in the 200-yard medley relay with Tia Berg, Hillary Johnson, and Michelle Young. All five Outlaw girls, with Zoey Wavrin as alternate, advance to State Championships at Mt. Hood Community College on February 19-20.

District 3 included teams from Marist, Philomath, Junction City, Stayton, Cascades, Sweet Home, Central, Cresswell, Blanchet, Jefferson and Sisters.

In event 1, the 200-yard medley relay, perennial powerhouse Marist put the fastest relay team on the blocks, followed by second seed Philomath and third seed Sisters. After a decent prelim race (2:07.4) that put the Outlaws into second place for championship finals, the foursome of Michelle Young (backstroke), Satko (breaststroke), Tia Berg (butterfly) and anchor Fe Pledger (freestyle) not only defended their second place but also swam a personal record of 2:03.98 to secure a wildcard spot and a sixth seed for the upcoming state championships.

The medley relay "B" team with Hillary Johnson, Kathleen Greaney, Zoe Wavrin and Jordyn Valdez finished fourth in consolations finals in a PR of 2:25.3 seconds.

On the boys' side, the medley relay with Seth Flanders (backstroke), Nick Luz (breaststroke), Justin Duvenick (butterfly) and Patrick Young (freestyle) finished in sixth place out of 13 participating relays.

Seventy-two swimmers competed in the 50-yard freestyle. Philomath's Barry McLaren won the event in a phenomenal time of 25.9. First seed, Satko, and senior Outlaws swimmer Fe Pledger raced neck on neck for two lengths of the pool with only .05 seconds separating them at the touch pad. Satko's time of 26.48 and Pledger's time of 26.53 were both good enough to receive a wild card to state and a sixth and seventh seed respectively. Hillary Johnson was second in consolation finals with a time of 28.98 seconds.

Satko, seeded second out of 55 competitors in the 100-yard freestyle, defended her position with a PR of 58.3 seconds during prelims and held on comfortably in finals, touching the pad in 58.01 seconds, 1.92 seconds behind Marist's Alexis Mollahan. Satko is seeded in fifth place in the state psych sheet.

The Outlaw girls won the 200-yard freestyle relay a mere 0.99 seconds in front of district favorite Cascade. Satko, Johnson, Young and Pledger swam outstanding legs with personal bests throughout. Their final time of 1:48.08 is the fourth seed behind Henley, Cottage Grove and North Bend.

Out of 31 swimmers in the 100-yard backstroke, three Outlaws qualified for a second swim in finals. Pledger finished second behind Marist's Lauren Nelson, Michelle Young was fourth in championship finals and Hillary Johnson moved from a fourth seed in consolations up to third. Pledger and Young advanced to state championships.

Tia Berg was the top finisher in the 100-yard breaststroke after prelims on Friday. Seeded second in consolation finals, Berg swam an outstanding race, finishing in first place and dropping three seconds to a personal best of 1:22.0.

The combined effort of all girls earned them a third-place team trophy and individual and relay advances to the state championships.