Stewart smashes school records

Sisters swimmers recorded numerous personal bests at the Special 4A Districts, which were held in Albany on Friday and Saturday, February 13-14. At the end of the two-day event, Sweet Home was crowned district champs and Sisters finished fourth.

Swimmers who place first in their event get an automatic berth to state. The only Outlaw swimmer to do this was Mary Stewart, who won both the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard freestyle. Mary took first place in the 50 freestyle for the third consecutive year, and broke her own school record. Stewart also shattered the school record in the 100 freestyle.

In Friday's prelims everyone on the Outlaws squad made excellent swims.

The girls medley A relay (Hawley Harrer, Anna Bartlett, Maddi Boettner, Brooke Knirk) placed eighth. The team took four seconds off their entry time for a finish of 2:14.75.

Brook Knirk swam an extraordinary race and dropped five seconds for a finish of 2:26.12 in the 200-yard freestyle.

"Brooke showed interest in this event late in the season, so we haven't had time to specifically train for the 200," said Coach Brittany Morioka. "I am excited to see what she can do with it over the next couple of years."

Camilla Knoop, Moriah Jones, Tara Greaney and Hawley Harrer all swam personal-best times in the 50-yard freestyle. Harrer (6th), Emily Christen (5th), and Mary Stewart (1st) all went on to swim in the finals on Saturday.

On the boys side, Patrick Krevi, Cody Martin, Chris Burdick, Will Werts and Alex Cyrus all swam personal bests. Most notable was Werts who dropped a second and a half off for a time of 27.88.

"Will is just a sophomore," said Morioka. "I see him being a real asset to the team over the next couple of years as he becomes bigger and stronger."

Hannah Stuwe was the Outlaws' lone competitor in the 100-yard butterfly and finished 11th. Stuwe earned a spot in the consolation finals on Saturday. Hannah dropped four seconds for a time of 1:28.86.

On the boys side, Noah Huber swam a personal best for a time of 1:32.64. Jonathan Luz (6th) and Shawn Horton (4th) went on to finals on Saturday.

In the 100-yard freestyle, Tara Greaney, Madelyn Zadow, Brooke Knirk and Hannah Stuwe all swam personal bests.

"Madelyn and Brooke have both been working their way out of a plateau all season and finally dropped two seconds each, getting themselves into consolation finals on Saturday," said Morioka. "Mary Stewart came out of prelims second, going into finals on Saturday."

Patrick Kevi, Cody Martin, and Alex Cyrus all swam their best times in the 100-yard freestyle. Cyrus' two-second personal record of 1:01.95 earned him a 12th-place spot in consolation finals on Saturday.

In the finals on Saturday, Mary Stewart was the 50-yard freestyle District Champion for the third year in a row. Stewart swam .1 off her own personal best and the current Sisters High School school record with a time of 25.15.

"This was one of the best races of the day," said Morioka. "For us, it was so exciting to have three out of six swimmers competing in the same final."

Emily Christen placed third in the 50-yard freestyle (26.15), and Hawley Harrer took sixth (27.19).

Hannah Stuwe finished 11th overall in the 100-yard butterfly and dropped another second from the previous day for a time of 1:27.03. On the boys' side, Shawn Horton and Jonathan Luz both had awesome races. Shawn walked away with a fourth-place overall finish and another time drop for a personal-best time of 1:01.92. Jonathan took off another second from the previous day for a fifth-place overall finish with a time of 1:03.82.

"They (Horton and Luz) both give 100 percent in each and every one of their races," said Morioka. "Their determination and willpower far out-weigh their competitors'."

Mary Stewart had the race of the day in the 100-yard freestyle. Stewart shattered the school record of 56.36 and her previous best time of 56.48 with a time of 54.19.

"Tears were shed by all as she swam to first place," said Morioka. "It was a very emotional event for us, as she has been training to beat that record for the last three years. Additionally, we honestly never believed that she could walk away with a first-place finish. We came into districts with the goal of second place and getting wild-carded into state.

"When I first looked at my stopwatch, I thought the time was a mistake," added Morioka. "In the 100-yard freestyle, for an experienced swimmer it is very unrealistic to drop that much time, but then her time flashed up on the scoreboard and I was immediately speechless. It was an incredible moment."

In the same event, Madelyn Zadow took seventh with a two-second drop from Friday for a time of 1:01.74, and Brooke Knirk took ninth with a two-second improvement from Friday for a time of 1:02.12.

Alex Cyrus swam a best time for a 12th-place finish and time of 1:01.65 in the 100-yard freestyle.

Anna Bartlett earned an eighth-place overall finish in the 500-yard freestyle.

"The day before, Anna swam a perfectly paced race, and hit every split at 40 seconds," said Morioka. "She dropped exactly a second per 50, and hit every single split at 39 and finished 10 seconds faster than the day before with a time of 6:22.82."

In the same event, Horton dropped time from Friday to finish fourth overall for the boys with a time of 5:42.36.

Stewart, Knirk, Zadow and Christen shattered the school record in the 200-yard freestyle relay and finished second with a time of 1:44.80.

"Generally, school records are beat by a quarter of a second, if that, but in this case two more seconds were taken off," stated Morioka. "Madelyn and Emily won this for their team by taking an entire second each off of their best 50 freestyle split."

The boys 200-yard freestyle relay (Luz, Werts, Cyrus and Horton) finished eighth overall with a time of 1:45.21. Horton swam a strong leg, the fastest he ever has, in 24.77.

In the 100-yard backstroke, Christen placed fourth (1:08.02), Zadow was fifth with a best time of 1:09.72, and Harrer finished ninth at 1:16.16.

Bartlett dropped one second off from the previous day for a 10th-place finish in the 100-yard breaststoke with a time of 1:26.89. Luz took an additional two seconds off his best time and prelim time for a fourth-place overall finish (1:13.11).

"I was so happy to see Jonathan do so well in his last district meet," said Morioka. "He works so hard and is completely dedicated to this team."

The girls B 400-yard freestyle relay (Stuwe, Greaney, Boettner, Bartlett) swam to an eight-second personal record with a time of 4:38.58. Boettner, despite battling bronchitis, took five seconds off her time to help the team.

The girls A 400-yard freestyle relay (Stewart, Harrer, Zadow and Christen) was an emotional event.

"We came into this event not really having a solid idea of how well we would do," said Morioka. "The best they had swam as a relay up until this point was 4:01.69, and the school record was a 3:59.80."

Stewart started with her leg and finished in 55 seconds. Harrer followed and swam 1:00 flat, a two-second drop from her 100 freestyle earlier in the day. Zadow swam a best time of 1:01 and Christen swam a 57-second split, which was the fastest 100 freestyle she has ever swam, and three seconds faster than any split she has ever had. The girls finished in 3:55.30, took second place and broke the school record.

"The entire last 75 yards was neck-and-neck with two other girls," stated Morioka. "The cheers around were deafening."

Swimmers waited anxiously for OSAA to announce those who had earned a wild-card spot to the state championships. Sunday afternoon, results were posted.

Joining Stewart, who is seeded first in the 50-yard freestyle, will be Emily Christen, who is seeded 10th.

Stewart had an automatic berth to state in the 100-yard freestyle and is seeded second.

In the 200-yard freestyle relay, Stewart, Knirk, Zadow and Christen are seeded second.

Christen is seeded 10th in the 100-yard backstroke and Zadow is seeded 12th.

Stewart, Harrer, Zadow and Christen are seeded fifth in the 400-yard freestyle relay.

Morioka said, "I have faith in our girls. The amount of determination and willpower they have is unstoppable. I truly believe that we can walk away with a first-place finish in the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, and 200-freestyle relay. While those other teams may have more physical skill than our girls, we have more willpower and at the end of the day, especially in swimming, willpower is what wins those races."

At the end of the two-day event, Sweet Home finished in first place and Sisters finished fourth.