The 2019 Alaska High School State Swimming & Diving Championships was held on Nov. 8-9 at Bartlett High School in Anchorage, Alaska.
The meet was highlighted by Seward High School sophomore Lydia Jacoby, who dropped a blazing 1:00.61 in the 100 breast en route to breaking her own state record.
The Dimond High School girls won the State crown for the third-straight year and Robert Service won the team title for the second-consecutive season on the boys’ side.
Click HERE for full results.
Girls’ Meet
Top 5 Team Scores:
1. Dimond – 100
2. Eagle River – 74
3. West Valley – 65
4. Sitka – 60
5. Homer – 44
Eagle River’s Elizabeth Mercer (26.65), Hannah Shaw (32.95), Kiara Borchardt (25.66), and McKenzie Fazio (23.59) opened the meet by winning the 4×50 medley with a time of 1:48.85. Mercer also won the 100 back by a full second in 56.77 while Borchardt was the first of only three swimmers in the race to crack the minute-marker in the 100 fly, doing so with a winning time of 57.47.
Homer’s Madison Story used a strong first half to win the 200 IM in 2:07.07, holding off runner-up Dreamer Kowatch of Dimond. Kowatch then found herself on top of the podium in the 100 free, sprinting to first in 52.63 ahead of Lathrop’s Katy McCarter (52.88). McCarter powered her way to a win in the splash-and-dash, earning the 50 free gold in a quick 24.53 to edge out runner-up Grace Harang (24.57) of Sitka.
Soon after anchoring her winning medley relay, Fazio was back in the water to post a five-second victory in the 200 free with a final time of 1:53.36. Last year’s winner, Breckynn Willis of Dimond, also got under the two-minute barrier with a time of 1:58.28. Fazio also won the 500 free, winning the event by six seconds in a final time of 5:11.73. Sitka teammates Harang (5:17.51) and Emma Gassman (5:17.71) took second and third, respectively.
Jacoby dominated the 100 breast, getting her hands to the wall in 1:00.61 for a three-second victory. That time crushed her own state record of 1:03.11 she set at this meet last year. Wasilla’s Carrie Mayer dove to first on the 1-meter board with a final score of 437.05, 40 points ahead of the field.
Dimond’s Willis (25.34), Mikayla Terry (24.58), Brooke Dittlinger (24.97), and Kowatch (23.97) won the 4×50 free relay in a combined time of 1:38.86. Willis (54.94), Terry (54.72), Hannah Boyce (55.55), and Kowatch (52.19) gave Dimon another win as they claimed the 4×100 free relay with a time of 3:37.40.
Boys’ Meet
Top 5 Team Scores:
1. Robert Service – 102
2. Dimond – 99
3. West Valley – 49
4. Eagle River – 40
5. Juneau Douglas – 36
Dimond’s Jacob Mitchell (24.81), Andrew Billings (27.52), Noah Hoefer (23.76), and Fischer Kass (21.55) began the boys’ meet by winning the 4×50 medley relay in a time of 1:37.64.
It was a close battle in the 200 free as Robert Service’s Tavner Wisdom got to the wall first in 1:44.65, just slightly ahead of runner-up Jesse Tatakis of Dimond who stopped the clock in 1:44.76. Wisdom also won the 100 breast in 57.14. West Valley’s Ezra Billings sprinted to first in the 100 free in 47.85 while Tatakis again took a close second in 47.91.
Robert Service’s Nicholas Price was the first of only three swimmers in the field to crack the two-minute barrier in the 200 IM, doing so with a winning time of 1:55.93. Price later won the 100 back as well, posting a time of 52.29 ahead of Colony’s Jonathan Cowin (52.42).
Robert Service’s Brian Jarupakorn sprinted to the top of the podium in the 50 free, getting his hand to the wall in 20.53 – just inches off the state record of 20.48. He then went on to win the 100 fly, posting a four-second victory with a time of 49.90 as the only swimmer in the field under the 50-second mark.
Wasilla’s Andrew Layman dove to the gold medal on the 1-meter board after posting a final score of 464.65, only three points higher than runner-up Eli Krozel (461.45) of Colony. Caleb Peimann of Juneau Douglas cruised to first in the 500 free, shaving off nearly five seconds from his prelims time to win the event in 4:46.88.
Robert Service’s Jarupakorn (20.88), Price (21.74), Ethan Kwon (22.05), and Wisdom (21.32) teamed up to win the 4×50 free relay in 1:25.99, only four-tenths off the state mark. Jarupakorn (46.44), Price (48.37), Kwon (49.48), and Wisdom (46.86) again combined to conclude the meet as 4×100 free relay champions with a time of 3:11.15.