STATE HIGH SCHOOL SWIM MEETS: Sandpoint sweeps in 5A

BOISE — Sandpoint broke three school records, took home a combined four gold medals in the relays, and both the Bulldog boys and girls swim teams captured 5A state titles Saturday at the West Ada YMCA.

"We're very excited about that," Sandpoint coach Greg Jackson said of having four winning relays. "Usually we have at least one or two relays that have good standings. The boys and girls both grabbed two golds ... that's a good indicator that you have a really solid team. On both sides, our third relays cracked the top six as well — that's a big reason why we were able to pull away."

It was the first team title for the Sandpoint boys since the Idaho High School Activities Association began sanctioning the meet in 2018. For the Sandpoint girls, it was the third title, the Bulldogs also winning in 2019 and '23.

In the 6A meet, Lake City sophomore Eli Shaw won the 100-yard butterfly for the second straight year, and Coeur d'Alene sophomore Andrew Davis captured the 200 freestyle for his first state title.

Lake City’s girls, bidding for a fourth straight team title, finished runner-up to Bishop Kelly of Boise.

5A

The Sandpoint girls were led in their repeat title by senior Ava de Leeuw, who finished second in the 200 freestyle (2:01.71), second in the 500 freestyle with a school record (5:23.81), and anchored the Bulldogs' winning 200 and 400 freestyle relays. In the 200 freestyle relay, de Leeuw held on for a .37-second victory over runner-up Idaho Falls, which Sandpoint ended up beating by 44 points.

"She's been amazing; she's been so reliable," Jackson said of de Leeuw. "She brings it every time and it always shows, especially in the relays. She's not a sprinter, but she's always been our strongest person to anchor those relays — she embodies strength and brought that to the end of every swim. It was clutch."

Individually, a handful of Sandpoint girls swimmers picked up top-five finishes. Sophomore Reina Montecchi finished third in the 50 freestyle (25.81), fourth in the 100 freestyle (56.84), and anchored the third-place 200 medley relay. Junior Mia Driggs was also a part of multiple relays and swam to second in the 50 freestyle (25.62) and fifth in the 100 freestyle (57.02). Senior Ryleigh Bamer led off the winning relays and placed third in the 100 butterfly (1:02.03) and fourth in the 50 freestyle (26.00).

For the boys, they won the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays, breaking school records in both events. Senior Max Zuberbuhler, and juniors McCoy Jensen, Kai Leavitt and Kale Wright broke the 200 medley record from 2006 with a time of 1:43.98 while Leavitt, Jensen, Wright and freshman Lou Foust broke the 200 free record with a time of 1:31.19, just .11 seconds from the 5A state record.

"They smashed their 200 freestyle record from yesterday, taking it down almost an entire second ... that's huge," Jackson said. "We've been building for a number of years on the boys side. To get that success from them is really important. It's awesome to be able to come home and say we are a championship program."

Individually, Leavitt picked up a fourth in 200 free (1:55.99), Jensen was fourth in the 100 free (50.53) and Foust fourth in the 500 free (5:11.62). Wright was third in both the 50 free (22.47) and 100 free (49.25) to lift the Bulldogs, who scored 178 points compared to second-place Idaho Falls' 149, to victory. 

"Kale has been an all-around leader for this boys team," Jackson said. "He knows how to come in and have fun, but also get serious and down to business. To have that balance, purpose, ability to manifest success — that's what he did. Getting underneath that 50-second barrier in the 100 free is a big deal. He's methodical in everything he does. I don't think he's taken a day off of swimming since the middle of August."

Jackson said when both his teams were crowned champions at the end of the day, he couldn't have been more proud.

"It's not always about getting first and second, it's about being a part of a team," Jackson said. "That's what's nice about what we've done. Every single person that was here contributed in one way or another. These kids envisioned this being a team thing, and the energy they put towards that was incredible ... many, many different sacrifices were made throughout the year for the good of the team. That's why we succeeded."

Jackson added that over the last couple of weeks, his teams remained focused and made the right decisions to stay healthy, which paid off in a big way.

"They didn't just come to practice and work hard, they did everything right," coach Jackson said. "That's how we were able to make this happen."

6A

With a push from a regional rival, Shaw found himself back on the top of the podium on Saturday night, winning the 100-yard butterfly in 52.15 seconds. 

“I think he really just stepped up to the challenge,” Lake City coach Shelly Sobek said. “He swam well all weekend and set himself up for success and got himself ready to go by the way he competed in the medley relay.” 

Shaw was challenged by Post Falls senior George Lavy, who finished sixth. 

“George has really been pushing me all year,” Shaw said. “I think we just wanted each other to do our best. It’s a competitive dynamic with him and I, but we really want each other to succeed.” 

“Eli does a great job of taking things one race at a time,” Sobek said. “He was definitely more mentally prepared and being in the moment today.” 

Davis won the 200 free in 1:45.16. 

“I really put a lot of work into it this year,” Davis said. “Racing with Ace Garcia (a freshman from Mountain View of Meridian, who was second) really pushed me to get better. I’m proud to say that I’m a state champion. All of that work was worth it in the end.” 

Coeur d’Alene coach Laura Curtis added that Davis improved four seconds from his time in the prelims on Friday to his time in Saturday's final. 

Davis also was second in the 500 free in 4:50.24

“He’d been holding steady at the 5-minute mark, but just couldn’t break it,” Curtis said. “But then he just had an awesome day today. Even in the relays. He just crushed it today.” 

Davis helped the Viking boys to a runner-up finish in the 400 freestyle relay.

Bishop Kelly, a 5A school which opted to compete at 6A in swimming, won three straight 4A titles from 2020 to 2022 before Sandpoint snapped that streak last year. 

“Our girls did a good job of setting themselves up to have a chance,” said Sobek, in her eighth year as coach. “Bishop Kelly has a really good group of girls that swim well together. They’re an impressive group to watch. We knew they were going to be tough to beat.  

Junior Quinn Taylor (100 freestyle, 100 breaststroke) and sophomore Tillie Sobek (200 freestyle, 500 freestyle) finished runner-up for Lake City. 

“I’m really proud of the girls,” Shelly Sobek said. “It’s hard to go into a meet with a lot of questions and pressure about repeating. Sometimes, it’s better to find competition and sharpen our skills. We’re looking forward to coming back next year and showing up again.” 

Coeur d’Alene’s boys, led by that runner-up finish in the 400 freestyle relay, finished fourth. 

“It was a good weekend for our boys,” Curtis said. “We had a lot of good times and things to build on for next year.” 

Lavy also finished fifth in the 100 butterfly for Post Falls. 

Boise and Mountain View tied with 162 points for the 6A boys team title. Boise had won the past six titles since the IHSAA began sanctioning the meet in 2018. 

6A 

BOYS 

TEAM SCORES — 1 (tie), Boise, Mountain View 162. 3, Eagle 129. 4, Coeur d’Alene 120. 5, Timberline 110. 6, Owyhee 91. 7, Ridgevue 70. 8, Meridian 69. 9, Kuna 62. 10, Madison 59. 11, Bishop Kelly 58. 12, Rocky Mountain 48. 13, Post Falls 33. 14, Lake City 31. 15, Canyon Ridge 22. 16, Highland 20. 17, Rigby 8. 18, Thunder Ridge 7. 19, Capital 4. 

Winner, locals in top 8 

200-yard medley relay — 1, Boise (Sam Shuler, Tyler Young, Jasper Shue, Sam Murray), 1:38.87.  

200 freestyle — 1, Andrew Davis, Coeur d’Alene, 1:45.30. 6, Chance Seeds, Post Falls, 1:54.58. 8, Owen Keith, Coeur d’Alene, 1:54.55.  

200 IM — 1, Josh Hart, Meridian, 1:54.27 (new state record; previous, Elijah Brown, Lake City, 1:55.32, 2023). 8, Jace Voeller, Coeur d’Alene, 2:06.24.  

50 freestyle — 1, Jasper Shue, Boise, 21.02. 5, Isaac Thorpe, Coeur d’Alene, 22.32. 6, Dawson Cushman, Coeur d’Alene, 22.44.  

100 butterfly — 1, Eli Shaw, Lake City, 52.15. 5, George Lavy, Post Falls, 56.30. 8, Jace Voeller, Coeur d’Alene, 56.30. 

100 freestyle — 1, Jasper Shue, Boise, 46.09 (new state record; previous, Milo Shue, Boise, 46.41, 2022). 4, Isaac Thorpe, Coeur d’Alene, 49.40.  

500 freestyle — 1, Ace Garcia, Mountain View, 4:46.71. 2, Andrew Davis, Coeur d’Alene, 4:50.24. 6, Chance Seeds, Post Falls, 5:13.75.  

200 freestyle relay — 1, Owyhee (Tobi Davis, Clark Marshall, Kai Wilson, Braydon Fong), 1:30.68.  

100 backstroke — 1, Tyler Young, Boise, 52.38. 4, Zach Linford, Lake City, 55.03. 5, Dawson Cushman, Coeur d’Alene, 55.91.  

100 breaststroke — 1, Josh Hart, Meridian, 55:01 (new state record; previous, Hart, Meridian, 56.59, 2023). 8, George Lavy, Post Falls, 1:05.24.  

400 freestyle relay — 1, Boise (Sam Shuler, Sam Murray, Tyler Young, Jasper Shue), 3:15.01. 2, Coeur d’Alene (Dawson Cushman, Jace Voeller, Andrew Davis, Isaac Thorpe), 3:18.30.  

GIRLS 

TEAM SCORES — 1, Bishop Kelly 249. 2, Lake City 209. 3, Timberline 170. 4, Boise 162. 5, Coeur d’Alene 118. 6, Mountain View 86. 7, Eagle 79. 8, Madison 65. 9, Highland 37. 10, Rocky Mountain 30. 11, Ridgevue 28. 12, Owyhee 16. 13, Post Falls 14. 14, Centennial 2. 15, Rigby 1. 

Winner, locals in top 8 

200-yard medley relay — 1, Bishop Kelly (Brayleigh Hoisington, Sedona Stratton, Katelyn Griffen, Lucy Penna), 1:46:50 (new state record; previous, Lake City, R. Taylor, Q. Taylor, D. Blaylock, P. Anain, 1:49.12, 2023). 3, Lake City (Taylor Young, Quinn Taylor, Emmersyn Haley, Trista Slife), 1:53.05. 6, Coeur d’Alene (Alena Gonzalez, Addison Wallace, Reagan Greiner, Allie Maykuth), 1:58.14. 

200 freestyle — 1, Brayleigh Hosinginton, Bishop Kelly, 1:54.29. 2, Tillie Sobek, Lake City, 1:56.42. 6, Erin Griffith, Lake City, 2:05.06. 8, Daisy Whitney, Post Falls, 2:04.16.  

200 IM — 1, Sedona Stratton, Bishop Kelly, 2:03.85 (new state record; previous, Ruby Howell, Borah, 2:04.17, 2019). 4, Trista Slife, Lake City, 2:17.80. 5, Karsten Towery, Coeur d’Alene, 2:21.07.  

50 freestyle — 1, Myah Singkaophet, Ridgevue, 24.20 (state record; previous, Lauren McKenna, Mountain View, 24.25, 2018). 8, Sylvia Strow, Lake City, 25.74.  

100 butterfly — 1, Kathy Nie, Timberline, 56.15 (state record; previous, Gabby Garasky, Lake City, 56.24, 2022). 5, Reagan Greiner, Coeur d’Alene, 1:01.67. 8, Emmersyn Haley, Lake City, 1:03.04.  

100 freestyle — 1, Keegan Near, Rocky Mountain, 53.76. 2, Quinn Taylor, Lake City, 54.40. 4, Sylvia Strow, Lake City, 55.92. 6, Daisy Whitney, Post Falls, 57.12. 7, Ainsley Kuhne, Coeur d’Alene, 56.86.  

500 freestyle — 1, Lucy Penna, Bishop Kelly, 5:10.04. 2, Tillie Sobek, Lake City, 5:15.21. 4, Reagan Grenier, Coeur d’Alene, 5:29.83. 7, Karsten Towery, Coeur d’Alene, 5:35.08. 

200 freestyle relay — 1, Timberline (Kathy Nie, Kennedy Lunde, Kimberly Li, Gabriela Midgett), 1:40.31. 4, Lake City (Sylvia Strow, Erin Griffith, Trista Slife, Tillie Sobek), 1:42.27. 7, Coeur d’Alene (Camden Cotant, Claire Thorpe, Alena Gonzalez, Ainsley Kuhne), 1:44.45.  100 backstroke — 1, Brayleigh Hoisington, Bishop Kelly, 57.90. 4, Taylor Young, Lake City, 1:01.86. 5, Erin Griffith, Lake City, 1:02.11. 7, Alena Gonzalez, Coeur d’Alene, 1:02.96.  

100 breaststroke — 1, Sedona Stratton, Bishop Kelly, 1:03.85 (new state record; previous, Francesca Hunt, Timberline, 1:03.87, 2023). 2, Quinn Taylor, Lake City, 1:06.16. 6, Trista Slife, Lake City, 1:11.19.  

400 freestyle relay — 1, Bishop Kelly (Lucy Penna, Brayleigh Hoisington, Anna Beelaert, Sedona Stratton), 3:36.61 (new state record; previous, Lake City, E. Fritz, R. Taylor, J. Pierce, G. Garasky), 3:37.17, 2021). 4, Coeur d’Alene (Camden Cotant, Alena Gonzalez, Ainsley Kuhne, Karsten Towery), 3:50.75. 

5A

BOYS

TEAM SCORES — 1 Sandpoint 178. 2, Idaho Falls 149. 3, Skyline 114. 4, Pocatello 112. 5, Twin Falls 109. 6, Minico 91. 7, Columbia 87. 8, Hillcrest 76. 9, Lewiston 56. 10, Burley 44. 11, Middleton 43. 12, Century 41. 13, Kimberly 36. 14, Moscow 32. 15, Bonneville 29. 16, Riverstone International 28. 17, Wood River 16. 18, Gooding 9. 19, Lakeland 7. 20, Skyview 6. 21, Filer 2. 22, Cole Valley Christian 1. 

200-yard medley relay — 1, Sandpoint (Max Zuberbuhler, McCoy Jensen, Kai Leavitt, Kale Wright), 1:43.98.

200 freestyle — 1, Elias Couch, Skyline, 1:45.76; 4, Kai Leavitt, Sandpoint, 1:55.99.

200 IM — 1, Thomas Clark, Minico, 2:04.59; 11, Max Brown, Sandpoint, 2:21.93. 

50 freestyle — 1, Rangi Grimes, Idaho Falls 21.65 (state record; previous, Jackson Rasmussen, Burley, 21.95, 2021); 3, Kale Wright, Sandpoint, 22.47; 6, McCoy Jensen 23.17.

100 butterfly — 1, Noah Crossler, Moscow 51.64 (state record; previous, Jacob Ballard, Sandpoint, 52.16, 2018); 6, Kai Leavitt, Sandpoint, 57.78. 

100 freestyle — 1, Rangi Grimes, Idaho Falls 47.87 (state record; previous, Hayden Leavitt, Sandpoint, 48.43, 2021), 47.87; 3 Kale Wright, Sandpoint, 49.25; 4, McCoy Jensen, Sandpoint, 50.53. 

500 freestyle — 1, Elias Couch, Skyline, 4:56.88; 4, Lou Foust Sandpoint, 5:11.62; 9, Bodi Demmons, Sandpoint, 5:36.38. 

200 freestyle relay — 1, Sandpoint (Kai Leavitt, Lou Foust, McCoy Jensen, Kale Wright), 1:31.19.

100 backstroke — 1, Noah Crossler, Moscow, 54.98; 5, Lou Foust, Sandpoint, 1:00.65; 9, Bodi Demmons, Sandpoint, 1:02.14. 

100 breaststroke — 1, Vaughn Geffros, Riverstone International, 1:02.23; 12, Maximus Brown, Sandpoint, 1:12.84. 

400 freestyle relay — 1, Idaho Falls (Jax Durtschi, Jackson Balsmeier, Hiro Quan, Rangi Grimes), 3:28.56; 6, Sandpoint (Max Brown, Bodi Demmons, Max Zuberbuhler, Lou Foust), 3:48.84.

GIRLS

TEAM SCORES — 1, Sandpoint 192. 2, Idaho Falls 148. 3, Wood River 144. 4, Cole Valley Christian 124. 5, Skyline 105. 6, Moscow 85. 7, Lewiston 67. 8, Minico 48. 9, Hillcrest 46. 10, Pocatello 45. 11, Century 37. t-12, Cascade, Skyview 36. 14, Parma 28; 15, Jerome 20. 16, Kimberly 17. 17, Vallivue 16. t-18, Twin Falls, Middleton 14. 20, Oakley 13. 21, Mountain Home 11. 22, Columbia 8. 23, Nampa Christian 4. 24, Shelley 3. 25, Burley, 2. 26, Declo 1. 

Winner, locals

200-yard medley relay — 1, Idaho Falls (Mahealani Grimes, Ann Hunsicker, Abigail Balsmeier, Katelyn Nichols), 1:55.76; 3, Sandpoint (Bria Rocke, Summer Loutzenhiser, Mia Driggs, Reina Montecchi), 1:59.80. 

200 freestyle — 1, Julia Hill, Cole Valley Christian, 1:56.80; 2, Ava de Leeuw, Sandpoint, 2:01.71.

200 IM — 1, Sadie Schaffer, Skyview, 2:09.64.

50 freestyle — 1, Rylan Holcomb, Parma, 24.96; 2, Mia Driggs, Sandpoint, 25.63; 3, Reina Montecchi, Sandpoint, 25.81; 4, Ryleigh Bamer, Sandpoint, 26.00.

100 butterfly — 1, Mahealani Grimes, Idaho Falls, 1:00.52; 3, Ryleigh Bamer, Sandpoint, 1:02.03. 

100 freestyle — 1, Sadie Schaffer, Skyview, 52.81 (state record; previous, Schaffer, Skyview, 53.45, 2023); 4, Reina Montecchi, Sandpoint, 56.84; 5, Mia Driggs, Sandpoint, 57.02. 

500 freestyle — 1, Julia Hill, Cole Valley Christian, 5:17.75;  2, Ava de Leeuw, Sandpoint, 5:23.81; 9, Bria Rocke, Sandpoint, 6:09.38. 

200 freestyle relay — 1, Sandpoint (Ryleigh Bamer, Halle Wyman, Mia Driggs, Ava de Leeuw), 1:46.28.

100 backstroke — 1, Mahealani Grimes, Idaho Falls, 59.15; 8, Bria Rocke, Sandpoint,1:09.41. 

100 breaststroke — 1, Isabella Tognoni, Wood River, 1:06.71. 

400 freestyle relay — 1, Sandpoint (Ryleigh Bamer, Bria Rocke, Reina Montecchi, Ava de Leeuw), 3:51.00. 

    Courtesy photo The Sandpoint High boys and girls swim teams captured 5A state titles on Saturday at the West Ada YMCA in Boise. From left are are assistant coach Mikayla Schoening, Rachel Aylward, Reina Montecchi, Ava de Leeuw, Bria Rocke, Halle Wyman, Summer Loutzenhiser, Mia Driggs, McCoy Jensen, Kale Wright, Kai Leavitt, Max Zuberbuhler, Lou Foust, Phin Bricher, Bodi Demmons, Max Brown, Ryleigh Bamer, assistant coach Bri Staglund, and head coach Greg Jackson.
  

    Courtesy photo The Lake City High girls swim team finished runner-up in the state 6A meet on Saturday at the West Ada YMCA in Boise. From left are coach Shelly Sobek, Kenley Starkey, Erin Griffith, Taylor Young, Sylvia Strow, Quinn Taylor, Clara Strow, Trista Slife, Ashlyn Craigie, Payton Goodwin, coach Jade Sobek, Tillie Sobek, Emilie Kariotis, Maddy Wisdon-Matous, Emmersyn Haley and coach Emma Allison.
  

    Courtesy photo Coeur d'Alene High sophomore Andrew Davis won the state 6A boys 200-yard freestyle race at the West Ada YMCA on Saturday.