Swim team competes against powerhouses

The most recent challenge for the Outlaws swim team came in the form of going up against some of the best swimmers in the 5A and 6A ranks at the Bend High Swimming for Giving Classic held at Juniper Aquatic Center Saturday, December 15.

The girls team placed fourth behind the three 6A Bend schools despite being the only 4A team present at the meet, according to Head Coach Bryn Singleton.

"Both the girls and boys teams swam so well and gave their best efforts," she said.

The girls were without senior Meredith Mandal, who competed in a different meet as a club swimmer, which impacted the girls' relay firepower, but the team still had some strong results, according to Singleton.

Lydia Bartlett won the 50-yard free in a time of 26.21 and placed fifth in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:15.45

The 400-yard freestyle relay team of Bartlett, Laura Clem, Ella Hayden, and Brooke Robillard also took fifth in a time of 4:25.72. Bartlett, Robillard, and Hayden, along with Cambrie Leaver, took sixth place in the 200-yard freestyle relay in a time of 1:59.05. Due to their large team size and talent, Summit and Bend High both had two teams entered in the relay events.

Singleton was also impressed with the boys team as they continue to get stronger.

She said, "The boys continue to improve every week. Their relay teams are starting to come together and their times continue to drop. Sam Mayes again competed well in the 50 free, swimming in the final heat against many strong 6A swimmers. Sam and Gavin Todd edged very close to swimming under 60 seconds in the 100 free, and both definitely have potential to see much faster times over the season."

The team of Connor Crowe, Aaron Johnson, Gavin Todd, and Sam Mayes made the highest placing of the day with a sixth-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay in a time of 4:34.8.

"It's good for us to go up against the best of the best," said Singleton. "We know going in that Summit and Bend will dominate, but we hope our kids will get pulled and pushed to good performances, which is what happened."

On the girls' side Summit High amassed 205 points to edge Bend High (197.5), while Mountain View tallied 43, Sisters 29, Madras 20.5, Ridgeview 10, The Dalles 7, and Redmond 6.

For the boys it was Bend taking the crown with 159.5 points, followed by Mountain View 101, Redmond 92, Summit 81, Ridgeview 32, Madras 23,5, The Dalles 15 and Sisters 10.

Scores in the meet were a bit skewed as the larger teams, such as Summit and Bend, were allowed to enter more than one team in the relay event, giving them more opportunities to score than in most meets.

The swimmers return to competitive action January 5 at a meet in Philomath.