Swimmers wrap up season at Southeast championships

And with that, the Jamie Roberts era of the Wrangell swim team comes to a close.

A head coach who has always valued improvement over results, Roberts was pleased with the high school team’s final performance with her watching over from the pool deck. Of the 28 individual events that Wrangell swimmers competed in, they earned 13 personal-best times. Both relay teams posted their fastest swims of the year as well.

The Southeast championships were held in Petersburg on Nov. 1-2. Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé won the girls championship and Ketchikan claimed the boys title. Wrangell finished sixth in the girls standings, just 11 points back from Craig.

The layout of the competition is relatively straightforward. Each swimmer is eligible to swim in two individual events. The top 12 swimmers in each event advance to the finals.

“This young team had a great showing at regions,” Roberts said.

Roberts was especially impressed with Johanna Sanford, who earned personal bests in all her events — both in the preliminary round and in the finals. In the 50-yard freestyle, Sanford finished with a 29.08 in prelims before cutting that time to 28.93 in the finals.

“Johanna had a great meet,” Roberts said. “Going under 30 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle was a goal that she has been working toward this season. It was nice to see her achieve that before I go.”

In the 100-yard breaststroke, Sanford’s finals time of 1:06.32 propelled her to sixth in the region.

Maddy Davies also ended her season on a high note. In the month leading up to the Southeast championships, Davies was able to shave 17 seconds off her 200-yard freestyle time, culminating in a personal-best time of 3:03.58 in the final round.

Similarly, Peter Houser dropped 18 seconds from his previous 100-yard breaststroke time. He was able to get under the two-minute mark, posting a personal-best time of 1:58.70 in the finals.

Captain and lone senior Anika Herman wrapped up her swimming career with a time of 7:25.56 in the final round of the 500-yard freestyle. In the 100-yard freestyle, Herman swam a 1:25.61.

Herman was also a part of the team’s two relay teams. In the girls 200-yard medley, the team (Ellee Voltz, Davies, Herman and Sanford) posted 2:33.57 in the final round — a season best for the Wrangell swimmers. The same four swimmers competed in the 200-yard freestyle relay. With Herman leading the line, the team again finished with the quickest time of the year: 2:15.89.

Amura Brevick posted a personal-best time in the preliminary round of the 100-yard freestyle. Her 1:25.46 was good enough to qualify for the final round. Andrei Bardin-Siekawitch’s time of 27.51 in the 50-yard freestyle preliminary round qualified him for the finals as well.

In addition to competing in the relays, Ellee Voltz also swam the 100- and 200-yard freestyle at the Southeast championships. She qualified for the finals in both events, notching a personal-best 200-yard freestyle time of 2:57.20 in the preliminary round.

Kalee Herman’s 35.56 in the 50-yard freestyle was a personal best for her. Herman’s two events of choice were the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard freestyle. In the ladder, she improved her time by four seconds between the preliminary and final round of competitions.

Though Roberts leaves town this month for the family move to Oregon, the high school swim program isn’t going anywhere. Matt Nore will take over the reins of the team, who are returning all but one swimmer in 2025.

 

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