Swimmers face tough 5A competition

The Outlaws swim team attended the Redmond Invitational on Thursday, December 19, and matched up against some stiff 5A competition, including Bend High, Ridgeview and Redmond.

Sisters' girls won both heats in the 200 intermediate relay. Madelyn Zadow took first in Heat 1 with a time of 3:05 and Mary Stewart followed with a win in the second heat to place first overall in the event. Stewart's seed time was way ahead of her competition, and she came out smooth and confident for a 2:41.56 finish.

The boys' A relay took top honors in the 200-meter freestyle for Sisters' final win of the day. The team dropped off a little more than one second from their previous time to finish at 1:52:43.

Ian Baldessari led off the relay with a strong start. Keenan O'Hern and Trevor Barry, senior newcomers to the team, followed Baldessari and kept the race close. Brennan Miller slammed into the wall to beat out Bend High by .05 second for an exhilarating finish.

Coach Brittany Baldesarri was unable to make the event due to knee surgery, and her brother Ian filled her shoes as coach.

"It was good to go up against schools with a bigger classification, and was great practice for us," stated Baldessari.

Ian added, "Over break we really need to work hard, punch it and grind it out at practice so we're ready for league."

The swim team will take a break from competition over the holidays and then will be back in action in Redmond at the Jay Rowan Invite on Saturday, January 4.