Swimmers win at Cascade Invitational

A strong and diverse Outlaws boys' team won the invitational hosted by Cascade High School at the Stayton Community Pool on January 17. The girls came in second behind Stayton but earned enough points to combine with the boys for an Outlaws victory in the overall scoring.

The relay with Michelle Young, Tia Berg, Katie Stewart and Samantha Williamson set the pace with a first-place in the 200-meter medley relay (2:23.48), finishing within 0.71 seconds of last year's win which included standout Courteney Satko.

"The girls are well on the way to some good results at upcoming district championships on February 11," Coach Isolde Hedemark said.

The boys took note and rolled through the evening with numerous top finishes in relays and individual events.

Tyler Berg, Seth Flanders, Jake Miller and Tyler Baldessari won the 400-meter freestyle relay ahead of a strong North Marion team. The Outlaws' time of 4:18.54 is comparable to last year's fifth-place at districts.

The "A" medley relay, with Tyler Baldessari, Ian Baldessari, Jake Miller and Tyler Berg (2:14.34) was second behind North Marion.

"The boys will have to take off 1-plus seconds in each of the medley legs in order to place in the top six at districts," Hedemark said.

Contributing valuable team points were Brennan Miller, Seth Flanders, Conor Greaney and JT Harris in the "B" medley.

Tyler Baldessari won the 100-meter freestyle race in a respectable time of 1:02.46, followed by Jake Miller (1:04.39). Baldessari's converted yard time of 56.27 seconds would have put him in sixth place at last year's districts.

Tyler Berg added a second-place to the Outlaws' points in the 400-meter freestyle race and was also a critical member of the 200-meter freestyle relay (Jake Miller, Seth Flanders, Tyler Baldessari) which finished first ahead of North Marion. The boys' time of 1:56.26 will also have to come down by over a second in each leg if this group wants to be in championship finals at districts.

Freshman Brennan Miller added another second-place to the Outlaws' point collection with his result in the 100-meter backstroke. Miller was less than a second away from clinching first place.

Ian Baldessari, also freshman on the team, added a well-deserved third-place in the 100-meter breaststroke.

The girls' team finished 32 points behind Stayton High School but well ahead of Cascade, Jefferson, and North Marion.

In addition to their first place in the 200-meter medley relay, Katie Stewart added a first in the 200-meter individual medley (2:05.91) and Michelle Young won the 50-meter freestyle with ease. And, in the 200-meter freestyle relay, the foursome of Katie Stewart (31.7), Sam Williamson (31.7), Codie Lagao (31.9) and Michelle Young (30.4) finished 0.58 seconds ahead of Stayton's top team for another first place. However, the Outlaws' total time of 2:05.91 is still five seconds slower than last year's winning time at districts.

Another second-place went to the Outlaws in the 400-meter freestyle relay with Stewart, Williamson, Berg and Young (4:50.85).

The swimmers were to travel to the Central Invitational in Dallas on Wednesday, January 1, 9, and the Sprint Invitational in Albany on January 22.