With practices including workouts of shorter duration, and meals with extra pasta, members of the Eagle River High School and Chugiak High School swim teams are ready for the Cook Inlet Conference Championships beginning today at Bartlett. The season-finale runs through Saturday, with the top six in each event advancing to the ASAA State Meet held Nov. 2 and Nov. 3, also at Bartlett.
“We have been tapering — cutting back on the yardage. You can tell because the kids are getting a little squirrelly,” said Eagle River coach Anne Williams. “They are ready to compete.”
The Wolves' best hope for an individual title is with sophomore diver Robert Dieffenderfer in the one-meter springboard event.
“It should be real close. There's a couple good divers there,” said Williams, adding that the higher level of competition should result in a great performance by Dieffenderfer. Currently the Eagle River ace has the conference's second best score this season, of 212.95 points, trailing only Brandon Baker of East, with 247.00.
In the swimming events, the Wolves best bets in the pool are Maggie Hepler and Jessica Shoemake for the girls, and Dylan Hobbs, Greg Hall and Bret Krenzelok for the boys.
Williams said the Shoemake would be in the 200-yard freestyle, while Hepler would be entered in the 100 free and 100 breaststroke.
Coaches had to register their entries by Monday, said Williams.
“It will all come down to how everyone performs under pressure,” said the veteran coach.
One thing that is for sure is that Williams wants everyone to end up with a season-best performance.
“It's more about focusing on the team. Everyone counts. It all adds up — it's all part of the overall team performance,” she added.
Chugiak coach Paige von Hofen said the Mustangs should make a good showing particularly on the girls side. Led by freshman Jordyn Caldwell, the team has a good chance to advance a couple of individual athletes along with a pair of relay teams.
The Mustang coach said Caldwell would be swimming the 200 individual medley and the 500 free, while Ava Williams would be in the 50 and 100 freestyle events, and Brogan Beyette in the 200 and 500 free races.
Together that trio along with freshman Rachel Fore had the opportunity to make an impact in both the 200 and 400 freestyle relays, said von Hofen.
The Chugiak coach noted the members of the boys team most likely would not be able to advance to state. “They will be there to have fun,” said von Hofen Sunday.
The diving competition begins today at 4:30 p.m., with swimming preliminary events commencing Friday at 3 p.m. Competition resumes Saturday, also at 3 p.m. All events will be held at the Bartlett High swim pool.
Reach the reporter at news@alaskastar.com.
