Idaho state swim meet: Boise extends its reign. ‘Confusing’ rule costs Timberline a title
If there was ever a year for the Boise boys swim dynasty to end, this was it.
The Brave graduated five individual state champs and the bulk of their three state championship-winning relay teams. But Boise reloaded once again and clinched its ninth straight team championship at the 5A boys state meet Saturday at the West YMCA.
Boise rode another sweep of the three relay races to rack up 234 points, finishing 36 ahead of Lake City in second place to hang yet another championship banner.
“We lost a lot from last year, but I thought we had a shot,” Boise coach Jeff Erwin said. “Some of our key guys came through.
“... We won all the relays, which is a huge, huge help. Because there were times today I think we were down, and Lake City was ahead of us for a while. We were flip-flopping early on.”
Boise didn’t overwhelm the field this fall, sending just eight boys to the finals and finishing with only one individual state champ — sophomore Tyler Young, the 100-yard backstroke champ at 53.54 seconds.
Boise often has the title locked up even before Saturday’s finals start, leading Erwin to joke he didn’t sleep as well last night. But Boise’s depth paid off in the all-important relay events, where the Brave swept the 200 medley (1:39.35), 200 freestyle (1:30.28) and 400 freestyle (3:20.30).
Young added two first-place finishes in the relays. And Connor Pentzer, Jack Bureau, Chrstoper Beckley, Jasper Shue and Evan Jordan each earned a pair of gold medals as members of two of Boise’s three title-winning relays.
Shue and Pentzer both won a pair of silver medals in individual events, too. Shue took second in the 100 freestyle (47.60) and 200 freestyle (1:44.64), and Pentzer was second in the 100 butterfly (54.16) and 100 breaststroke (59.39).
LATE DQ COSTS TIMBERLINE A TITLE
Francesca Hunt appeared to clinch Timberline the 5A girls team championship Saturday night, rallying from behind as the final leg in the 400 freestyle relay to finish first in the final event of the evening. But moments later, Timberline learned two of its relay teams were disqualified, handing Lake City the state title.
State rules allow athletes to compete in four events during the two-day meet. Timberline ran afoul of that rule when it changed its relay lineups from Friday to Saturday. That meant two swimmers competed in five events, disqualifying the Wolves’ championship-winning 200 medley and 200 freestyle relay teams.
The disqualifications cost Timberline 64 points, dropping it from a comfortable first-place finish to second with 237 points — 26 points behind Lake City.
“The girls only swam four events,” Timberline coach Hailey McGahan said. “But because we switched the relays, it created a fifth event between yesterday and today.
“So we went over the limit, even though they still only swam four per day. So it’s really confusing. They don’t even score yesterday and they score today, so that’s where it all gets kind of messy.”
McGahan said Timberline tweaked its lineup to allow its swimmers more time off between events during a crowded preliminary schedule Friday. She wanted her athletes to focus on making the finals in their individual events, so the Wolves swapped one girl each in the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays.
“I had checked,” she said. “I guess there’s a big misunderstanding. We thought it was OK, and it turned out not to be. But we still got second, and I’m proud of them. They worked hard.”
The controversy darkened a day that saw Timberline initially sweep the relays and claim four individual titles. Hunt, a sophomore, finished with three titles, taking first in the 100 breaststroke (1:03.87), 100 freestyle (51.96) and swimming the final leg of the winning 400 freestyle relay (3:37.45).
Junior Kathy Nie was also a two-event state champ, finishing first in the 100 butterfly (56.74) and the 200 individual medley (2:07.49).
BISHOP KELLY BOYS STATE CHAMPS AGAIN
The Knights steamrolled their way to their fourth boys team title in the past five years, racking up 226 points to finish 54 points ahead of Lakeland at the 4A meet.
Bishop Kelly swept the three relay races, and it finished first in four of the eight individual races.
Senior Shae Stratton led the onslaught with four gold medals. A three-time champ each of the past two years, Stratton finished atop the podium in the 100-yard backstroke (49.90) and 200 individual medley (1:54.63). He also swam legs of the winning 200 medley relay (1:37.76) and 400 freestyle (3:13.74) relays.
Senior Jack Rubocki added another four gold-medal performance for the Knights. He finished first in the 50 freestyle (22.07) while anchoring legs of the 200 medley, 200 freestyle (1:37.76) and 400 freestyle relays.
Junior Cameron Schauer also climbed the podium three times, winning the 100 butterfly (53.26) while serving as part of the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays.
Bishop Kelly’s girls team earned the second-place trophy for the second straight season, finishing 12 points behind Sandpoint with 173 points.
Junior Lucy Penny took home the 50 freestyle crown at 24.95 seconds, and sophomore Katelyn Giffen climbed the podium in the 100 backstroke (1:00.72). Both also swam legs of the Knights’ winning 400 freestyle relay (3:50.61).
MORE LOCAL STATE CHAMPIONS
Meridian junior Josh Hart set an all-class state meet record by winning the 5A boys 100 breaststroke in 56.59 seconds, breaking the previous mark by 0.35 seconds. That record includes the years before the IHSAA began sponsoring the state meet.
Middleton senior Jacob Schubert swept the 100 freestyle (46.98) and 200 freestyle (1:43.29) titles in the 5A boys meet.
Mountain View sophomore Jaden Akpan won the 5A boys 500 freestyle by more than 4 seconds at 4:53.23.
Eagle senior Brooke Collins wrapped up her career with her first state championship, winning the 5A girls 50 freestyle in 25.05 seconds.
Rocky Mountain junior Keegan Near captured the 5A girls title in the 100 backstroke (58.22) after taking second in the event last year.
Skyview junior Sadie Schaffer brought home a pair of first-place medals from the 4A girls meet. She finished first in the 100 freestyle at 53.45 seconds, and she won the 200 individual medley at 2:12.14.
5A State Meet
Friday-Saturday
At West YMCA, Boise
GIRLS TEAM SCORES
1, Lake City 263. 2, Timberline 237. 3, Coeur d’Alene 140. 4, Boise 125. 5, Mountain View 106. 6, Eagle 98. 7, Rocky Mountain 94. 8, Lewiston 50. 9, Rigby 46. 10, Madison 40.
11, Highland 28. 12, Owyhee 10. 13, Thunder Ridge 8. 14, Borah 2. 15, Centennial 1.
GIRLS INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
200 medley relay: 1, Lake City (Riley Taylor, Quinn Taylor, Demi Blaylock, Pema Anain), 1:49.12. 2, Eagle (Madison Kelly, Brooke Collins, Sicily Bryson, Kayah Matangelo), 1:55.91. 3, Coeur d’Alene (Alena Gonzalez, Maren Hoover, Simone Gonzalez, Ainsley Kuhne), 1:56.27.
200 freestyle: 1, Malynn Sobek, Lake City, 1:56.35. 2, Gabriela Midgett, Timberline, 1:58.80. 3, Grace Lanfear, Boise, 2:00.71.
200 IM: 1, Kathy Nie, Timberline, 2:07.49. 2, Riley Taylor, Lake City, 2:12.99. 3, Kimberly Li, Timberline, 2:14.73.
50 freestyle: 1, Brooke Collins, Eagle, 25.05. 2, Ruby McCullough, Mountain View, 25.16. 3, Parker Bach, Boise, 25.19.
100 butterfly: 1, Kathy Nie, Timberline, 56.74. 2, Parker Bach, Boise, 1:00.03. 3, Ainsley Hunter, Rigby, 1:00.55.
100 freestyle: 1, Francesca Hunt, Timberline, 51.96. 2, Keegan Near, Rocky Mountain, 53.06. 3, Quinn Taylor, Lake City, 54.76.
500 freestyle: 1, Malynn Sobek, Lake City, 5:17.23. 2, Gabriela Midgett, Timberline, 5:24.86. 3, Mara Dimitriu, Timberline, 5:36.47.
200 freestyle relay: 1, Lake City (Sylvia Strow, Trista Slife, Malynn Sobek, Quinn Taylor), 1:41.26. 2, Eagle (Sicily Bryson, Kayah Matangelo, Madison Kelly, Brooke Collins), 1:42.08. 3, Boise (Grace Lanfear, Parker Bach, Heidi Winkler, Bella Gerard), 1:43.42.
100 backstroke: 1, Keegan Near, Rocky Mountain, 58.22. 2, Riley Taylor, Lake City, 58.74. 3, Kimberly Li, Timberline, 1:01.11.
100 breaststroke: 1, Francesca Hunt, Timberline, 1:03.87. 2, Quinn Taylor, Lake City, 1:04.41. 3, Demi Blaylock, Lake City, 1:08.23.
400 freestyle relay: 1, Timberline (Gabriela Midgett, Zoe Bytwerk, Cailin Bolt, Francesca Hunt), 3:37.45. 2, Lake City (Sylvia Strow, Malynn Sobek, Pema Anain, Riley Taylor), 3:39.98. 3, Boise (Grace Lanfear, Parker Bach, Heidi Winkler, Reese Quarterman), 3:45.80.
BOYS TEAM SCORES
1, Boise 234. 2, Lake City 198. 3, Coeur d’Alene 101. 4, Timberline 97. 5, Mountain View 95. 6, Madison 93. 7, Middleton 90. 8, Eagle 67. 9, Rigby 62. 10, Owyhee 51.
t-11, Meridian 37. t-11, Rocky Mountain 37. 13, Centennial 21. 14, Post Falls 17. 15, Kuna 15. 16, Highland 12. 17, Thunder Ridge 1.
BOYS INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
! - all-class state record
200 medley relay: 1, Boise (Tyler Young, Connor Pentzer, Jack Bureau, Christopher Beckley), 1:39.35. 2, Lake City (Benjamin Linford, Elijah Brown, Eli Shaw, Steven Griffith), 1:42.13. 3, Madison (Tanner Poulsen, Brock Johnson, Hyrum Anderson, Taylor Poulsen), 1:45.56.
200 freestyle: 1, Jacob Schubert, Middleton, 1:43.29. 2, Jasper Shue, Boise, 1:44.64. 3, Braydon Fong, Owyhee, 1:50.37.
200 IM: 1, Elijah Brown, Lake City, 1:55.32. 2, Josh Hart, Meridian, 1:58.51. 3, Brock Johnson, Madison, 2:00.04.
50 freestyle: 1, Isaac Thorpe, Coeur d’Alene, 22.30. 2, Henry Bokma, Eagle, 22.45. 3, Christopher Beckley, Boise, 22.51.
100 butterfly: 1, Eli Shaw, Lake City, 52.81. 2, Connor Pentzer, Boise, 54.16. 3, Nathan Hunter, Rigby, 55.01.
100 freestyle: 1, Jacob Schubert, Middleton, 46.98. 2, Jasper Shue, Boise, 47.60. 3, Isaac Thorpe, Coeur d’Alene, 49.30.
500 freestyle: 1, Jaden Akpan, Mountain View, 4:53.23. 2, Owen Bennett, Lake City, 4:57.80. 3, Andrew Davis, Coeur d’Alene, 5:06.99.
200 freestyle relay: 1, Boise (Jasper Shue, Connor Pentzer, Jack Bureau, Evan Jordan), 1:30.28. 2, Middleton (Isaac Bay, TJ Keeling, Caillan McIntosh, Jacob Schubert), 1:32.17. 3, Lake City (Owen Bennett, Steven Griffith, Zachary Linford, Elijah Brown), 1:34.00.
100 backstroke: 1, Tyler Young, Boise, 53.54. 2, Alec Ott, Timberline, 53.75. 3, Benjamin Linford, Lake City, 56.07.
100 breaststroke: 1, Josh Hart, Meridian, 56.59!. 2, Connor Pentzer, Boise, 59.39. 3, Brock Johnson, Madison, 1:00.30.
400 freestyle relay: 1, Boise (Christopher Beckley, Evan Jordan, Tyler Young, Jasper Shue), 3:20.30. 2, Madison (Taylor Poulsen, Tanner Poulsen, Hyrum Anderson, Brock Johnson), 3:25.71. 3, Timberline (Stefan Dimitriu, Carter Hanchett, Jesse Barnes, Alec Ott), 3:27.74.
4A State Meet
Friday-Saturday
At West YMCA, Boise
GIRLS TEAM SCORES
1, Sandpoint 185. 2, Bishop Kelly 173. 3, Idaho Falls 120. 4, Minico 117. 5, Wood River 106. 6, Skyview 84. 7, Lakeland 76. 8, Twin Falls 62. 9, Pocatello 59. 10, Gooding 46.
11, Cole Valley Christian 41. 12, Skyline 36. 13, Moscow 33. t-14, Mountain Home 19. t-14, Burley 19. t-16, Hillcrest 15. t-16, Cascade 15. 18, Kimberly 13. 19, Declo 12. 20, Jerome 9.
21, Caldwell 7. 22, Century 6.5. 23, Parma 5.5. t-24, Canyon Ridge 3. t-24, Columbia 3. 26, Oakley 1.
GIRLS INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
200 medley relay: 1, Sandpoint (Sara Hogue, Mia Driggs, Ryleigh Bamer, Reina Montecchi), 1:55.61. 2, Bishop Kelly (Katelyn Giffen, Amelia Crawford, Lucy Penna, Ashlyn Christie), 1:56.31. 3, Idaho Falls (Lauren Grimes, Ann Hunsicker, Abigail Balsmeier, Katelyn Nichols), 1:57.70.
200 freestyle: 1, Makena Mamola, Lakeland, 1:56.17. 2, Julia Hill, Cole Valley, 2:00.90. 3, Julia Miller, Twin Falls, 2:01.99.
200 IM: 1, Sadie Schaffer, Skyview, 2:12.14. 2, Katelyn Giffen, Bishop Kelly, 2:16.81. 3, Isabella Tognoni, Wood River, 2:17.88.
50 freestyle: 1, Lucy Penna, Bishop Kelly, 24.95. 2, Asha Thomson, Minico, 25.75. 3, Ryleigh Bamer, Sandpoint, 26.03.
100 butterfly: 1, Abigail Balsmeier, Idaho Falls, 1:02.38. 2, Donevin Lakey, Gooding, 1:03.58. 3, Ryleigh Bamer, Sandpoint, 1:04.00.
100 freestyle: 1, Sadie Schaffer, Skyview, 53.45. 2, Julia Miller, Twin Falls, 55.19. 3, Lauren Grimes, Idaho Falls, 57.97.
500 freestyle: 1, Makena Mamola, Lakeland, 5:07.60. 2, Lucy Penna, Bishop Kelly, 5:09.56. 3, Julia Hill, Cole Valley, 5:25.61.
200 freestyle relay: 1, Minico (Kate Hansen, Calista Stevenson, Darah Thomson, Asha Thomson), 1:46.33. 2, Skyview (Taylor Loveland, Madi Bernard, Gabriela Wangler, Sadie Schaffer), 1:47.27. 3, Sandpoint (Bria Rocke, Sara Hogue, Mia Driggs, Ava de Leeuw), 1:47.39.
100 backstroke: 1, Katelyn Giffen, Bishop Kelly, 1:00.72. 2, Lauren Grimes, Idaho Falls, 1:01.92. 3, Sara Hogue, Sandpoint, 1:05.79.
100 breaststroke: 1, Isabella Tognoni, Wood River, 1:05.41. 2, Avery Taylor, Kimberly, 1:12.29. 3, Amelia Crawford, Bishop Kelly, 1:12.46.
400 freestyle relay: 1, Bishop Kelly (Lucy Penna, Anja Mueller, Ashlyn Christie, Katelyn Giffen), 3:50.61. 2, Sandpoint (Ryleigh Bamer, Sara Hogue, Reina Montecchi, Ava de Leeuw), 3:52.43. 3, Idaho Falls (Abigail Balsmeier, Katelyn Traynor, Katelyn Nichols, Lauren Grimes), 4:00.97.
BOYS TEAM SCORES
1, Bishop Kelly 226. 2, Lakeland 172. 3, Twin Falls 159. 4, Skyline 153. 5, Sandpoint 118. 6, Idaho Falls 66. 7, Canyon Ridge 59. 8, Kimberly 43. t-9, Burley 35. t-9, Hillcrest 35.
11, Jerome 34. 12, Pocatello 28. 13, Ridgevue 26. 14, Moscow 25. 15, Minico 23. 16, Riverstone 21. 17, Columbia 16. 18, Nampa Christian 11. 18, Wood River 11. 20, Bonneville 4. 21, Gooding 1.
BOYS INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
200 medley relay: 1, Bishop Kelly (Shae Stratton, Jack Rubocki, Cameron Schauer, Ben Rubocki), 1:37.76. 2, Twin Falls (Lucas Pulleiro, Carson Reis, Alexander Schnitzeler, Noah Thompson), 1:43.59. 3, Lakeland (Ethan Abbott, Ethan Harrell, Michael Mamola, Micah Minix), 1:45.94.
200 freestyle: 1, Michael Mamola, Lakeland, 1:47.02. 2, Elias Couch, Skyline, 1:47.79. 3, Carson Reis, Twin Falls, 1:49.15.
200 IM: 1, Shae Stratton, Bishop Kelly, 1:54.63. 2, Caleb Daniel, Skyline, 2:03.45. 3, Noah Crossler, Moscow, 2:05.80.
50 freestyle: 1, Jack Rubocki, Bishop Kelly, 22.07. 2, Alexander Schnitzeler, Twin Falls, 22.24. 3, Jackson Balsmeier, Idaho Falls, 22.91.
100 butterfly: 1, Cameron Schauer, Bishop Kelly, 53.26. 2, Noah Crossler, Moscow, 53.64. 3, Ben Rubocki, Bishop Kelly, 54.17.
100 freestyle: 1, Alexander Schnitzeler, Twin Falls, 49.00. 2, Sam Peterson, Skyline, 49.65. 3, Kale Wright, Sandpoint, 52.19.
500 freestyle: 1, Michael Mamola, Lakeland, 4:47.40. 2, Cameron Schauer, Bishop Kelly, 4:47.73. 3, Jackson Balsmeier, Idaho Falls, 5:00.49.
200 freestyle relay: 1, Bishop Kelly (Jack Rubocki, Jack Kartel, Ben Rubocki, Adam Hanson), 1:31.08. 2, Skyline (Caleb Daniel, Jordon Taufer, Sam Peterson, Elias Couch), 1:32.87. 3, Sandpoint (Lon LeBlanc, Ikaika Leavitt, Kale Wright, McCoy Jensen), 1:35.36.
100 backstroke: 1, Shae Stratton, Bishop Kelly, 49.90. 2, Ethan Abbott, Lakeland, 55.23. 3, Caleb Daniel, Skyline, 56.02.
100 breaststroke: 1, Carson Reis, Twin Falls, 1:01.54. 2, Adam Allred, Hillcrest, 1:03.28. 3, Vaughn Geffros, Riverstone, 1:03.90.
400 freestyle relay: 1, Bishop Kelly (Jack Rubocki, Cameron Schauer, Ben Rubocki, Shae Stratton), 3:13.74. 2, Twin Falls (Carson Reis, Aidan Stallones, Lucas Pulleiro, Alexander Schnitzeler), 3:26.25. 3, Lakeland (Ethan Abbott, Brody Walters, Logan Harris, Michael Mamola), 3:27.28.
This story was originally published November 4, 2023 at 10:18 PM.
