Magnuson out to defend state swim titles
BOISE — North Idaho schools qualified 47 swimmers to the state swim meet at the West Valley YMCA in Boise.
The preliminaries are tonight, the finals Saturday morning. The top 16 swimmers after the preliminary rounds will advance to the finals.
Lake City: The Timberwolves qualified 23 swimmers, with six placers from last year back again.
Senior Kjirsten Magnuson returns to defend state titles in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle medley.
“She’s the state record holder in both,” Lake City coach Bob Wood said. “And she’s swimming faster than those times from last year.”
Senior Pat Loftus also returns after top-three finishes in the 50 and 100 freestyle at state last year.
“He’s got a good chance of a couple first- or second-place finishes,” Wood said.
Sophomore Joe Loftus is seeded first in the backstroke and second in the 100 butterfly.
“He swam really well in the 100 backstroke as a freshman,” Wood said. “He’s a lot faster this year as a sophomore.”
Lake City’s boys finished second last year to Moscow. Lake City’s girls were fifth.
Coeur d’Alene: The Vikings qualified 14 to the state meet, with Gus Koch, Travis Griffard and Rachel Peterson returning from last year.
“I’ve got three contenders for state titles,” Coeur d’Alene coach Tisha Taylor said. “Travis is seeded third in the 100 breast, but he could pull off first. He is very competitive and a great racer.”
Koch is seeded second in the 100 backstroke and Peterson is a contender for a top-three finish in the 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly.
“Gus has been swimming great in practice,” Taylor said. “He’s got the potential to drop a lot of time. Rachel has the opportunity to place in the top three in both events. We tapered her a little differently this year, so hopefully it will work. She has the potential to win the 200 freestyle.”
Post Falls: Junior Anatasia de Tar is seeded second in the 50 freestyle and 500 freestyle to lead six Trojan qualifiers. de Tar finished third in the 500 freestyle last year.
Lakeland: Freshman Peyton Bowen is seeded seventh in the 100 butterfly and sixth in the 100 breaststroke.
Wallace: Kody Big Spring, Eric Braaten, Daniel Chilgren and Brendan Scott qualified for the Miners in both relays in its inaugural season.