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Sports Local Sports La Grande swimmers want more after tasting state success
La Grande swimmers want more after tasting state success
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 TIGER POWER: La Grande’s Chrissie Younggren placed fourth in the 200-yard individual medley at the state championship. - Submitted photos The La Grande swim team on the other hand has dealt with a self-imposed handicap — not swimming year round. One would think that would cause setbacks to success. But those people would be wrong. After capturing the district swimming titles for both the boys and girls, the Tigers boys went on to finish sixth and the girls reeled in a 14th place finish at the OSAA 4A/3A/2A/1A State Championships. Senior Brandon Taylor said the swim team has gone through a major transition. “We have made huge strides forward,” Taylor said. “It makes it even better that we can compete with teams that swim year-round.” The taste of success may be too sweet. Now many of the swim members are looking to improve by taking their training to a new level. Junior Soren Madsen, who already swims year-round, thinks there are going to be a few more people swimming with the swim club this summer. “I think some of the team thought about what they could do if they swam year-round,” Madsen said. “To beat Valley Catholic for the district title is pretty amazing. I know some people are already planning to train more during the summer.” La Grande claimed four first-place finishes at the district meet — Madsen, Chrissie Younggren, Paige Waldrop and Molly Martin. In total 11 Tigers swimmers made the trip to Gresham for the championship. Daniel Harris, Clayton Holler, Richard Mills, Caitlin Lipscomp, Erich Mielke, Zach Gray Taylor rounded out the contingent sent to the state meet. Madsen claimed the highest finish for his team, a third-place medal in the 500-yard freestyle. Madsen also placed fifth in the 200-yard freestyle. “It felt really good to go home with medals,” Madsen said. “But it felt better to see some of the other guys come home with medals. It shows how hard we’re working, and that the coaching we’re getting it working too.” Younggren grabbed a fourth-place finish in the 200-yard individual medley. “I was nervous during the prelims,” Younggren said. “But in the finals that feeling went away. I really didn’t have anything left to prove. The pressure was off of me, and I just swam the best I could.” Zach Gray finished fourth in the boys 200- individual medley, and sixth in the 100-yard backstroke. Erich Mielke took home sixth place in the 200- freestyle and eighth in the 100-yard freestyle. Richard Mills placed sixth in the 200- individual medley and eighth in the 100-yard breaststroke. Taylor placed sixth in the 100- butterfly and seventh in the 500-yard freestyle — both events came with personal best times. “It felt good to go out with the feeling of accomplishment,” Taylor said. “I’m going to try to swim at whatever college I attend. This sends me away with some momentum.” Sophomore Clayton Holler took ninth in the 100-yard breaststroke. Seniors Molly Martin placed 10th for the girls and Daniel Harris placed 12th for the boys in the 100-yard freestyle. All three of the boys relays earned medals for top-six performances.
 BIG SPLASH: Tiger junior Zach Gray dives into the water during his 100-yard backstroke event at the state championship. - Submitted photos The girls finished 10th in the 400-yard freestyle relay (Waldrop, Younggren, Lipscomb, Martin). Younggren hopes the success brings more athletes out to the pool. “It’s not a very popular sport in this area,” Younggren said. “We’ve still managed to have a great year. But we’re losing some really talented seniors. We need more swimmers to come out and fill that void.” Dutto, who took home the district Coach of the Year award, said it was a good meet. “The kids were swimming the best they’ve swam all year,” said Dutto. “We were competing with kids who swim competitively all year round. I think we performed well with that in mind.” Most of the La Grande High School Swim Team began training at the beginning of November. “The kids worked very hard during the season and were physically and mentally prepared for this meet. If (all) these kids swam year round, the sky is the limit for how high they could place at the state meet,” Dutto said.
OSAA/ US BANK/ LES SCHWAB TIRES2008 4A/3A/2A/1A SWIMMING STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS FINALSBoys 200 Yard Medley Relay: 1. Cottage Grove 1:42.33; 2. Sweet Home 1:42.76; 3. Valley Catholic 1:46.71; 4. Tillamook 1:47.44; 5. La Grande (Zach Gray 11, Richard Mills 11, Brandon Taylor 12, Clayton Holler 10), 1:50.17; 6. Marist 1:50.57. Girls 200 Yard IM: 1. Crystal Kibby, Cascade, 2:07.99; 2. Aly Viles, Taft, 2:11.30; 3. Ingrid Woelfel, Marist, 2:12.00; 4. Chrissie Younggren, La Grande, 2:26.71; 5. Carlie Gilligan, Seaside, 2:26.82; 6. Bailey Hildebrand, Cottage Grove, 2:28.26. Boys 200 Yard IM: 1. Andy Ottolia, Blanchet, 1:59.28; 2. Jacob Deines, Marist, 2:03.00; 3. Gavin Burgess, Valley Catholic, 2:07.23; 4. Zach Gray, La Grande, 2:07.25; 5. Michael Simmonds, Sweet Home, 2:12.10; 6. Richard Mills, La Grande, 2:13.30. Boys 100 Yard Butterfly: 1. Ben Hewitt, Corbett, 52.74; 2. Jacob Deines, Marist, 53.64; 3. Daniel Werner, Tillamook, 54.97; 4. David Elligott, Cottage Grove, 55.20; 5. Gavin Burgess, Valley Catholic, 56.42; 6. Brandon Taylor, La Grande, 57.75. Boys 500 Yard Freestyle: 1. Jayce Calhoon, Sweet Home, 4:51.92; 2. James Verger, North Bend, 5:01.13; 3. Soren Madsen, La Grande, 5:07.17; 4. Cameron Barton, Cottage Grove, 5:07.26; 5. Isaac Hewitt, Corbett, 5:11.23; 6. Michael Simmonds, Sweet Home, 5:16.09. Boys 200 Yard Freestyle Relay: 1. Tillamook 1:31.88; 2. Cottage Grove 1:33.64; 3. North Bend 1:34.15; 4. La Grande (Erich Mielke 11, Clayton Holler 10, Zach Gray 11, Soren Madsen 11), 1:36.25; 5. Valley Catholic 1:36.71. Boys 100 Yard Backstroke: 1. Jayce Calhoon, Sweet Home, 54.67; 2. Ben Hewitt, Corbett, 55.05; 3. Matt Johnson, North Bend, 55.11; 4. Brian Greaney, Sisters, 55.42; 5. Ethan Zimmer, Henley, 56.20; 6. Zach Gray, La Grande, 58.91. Boys 400 Yard Freestyle Relay: 1. Cottage Grove 3:20.22; 2. Sweet Home 3:23.85; 3. Tillamook 3:25.29; 4. North Bend 3:27.56; 5. La Grande (Erich Mielke 11, Brandon Taylor 12, Richard Mills 11, Soren Madsen 11), 3:29.78; 6. Valley Catholic 3:33.20. Women team rankings through event 221. Marist, 53; 2. Henley, 48; 3. Cottage Grove, 36.5; 4. Taft, 26; 4. North Bend, 26; 4. Cascade, 26; 7. Phoenix, 24; 8. Blanchet Catholic, 14; 8. Sisters, 14; 10. La Salle, 10; 11. Corbett, 5; 12. Astoria, 4.5; 13. Seaside, 4; 14. La Grande, 3; 14. Sweet Home, 3; 16. Tillamook, 2; 16. Philomath, 2; 16. Ontario, 2; 19. Scappoose, 1.
Men team rankings through event 221. Cottage Grove, 67; 2. Sweet Home, 54; 3. Tillamook, 35; 4. North Bend, 33; 5. Valley Catholic, 31; 6. La Grande, 27; 7. Blanchet Catholic, 14; 7. Corbett, 14; 9. Marist, 12; 10. Newport, 5; 11. Sisters, 3; 11. Philomath, 3; 11. Astoria, 3; 14. Henley, 2; 14. Junction City, 2; 16. Phoenix, 1. |
