Kenai swimmers, divers sweep dual meet from Homer

The Kenai Central swimming and diving team swept Homer in a dual meet Friday at Kenai Central High School.

The meet was originally supposed to be a quad, but Soldotna went to Kodiak and Seward is not having a team this season.

The Kenai girls won 171-50, while the Kenai boys won 149-26. The Kards won 21 of 22 events at the meet.

“I think I’ve got a good group of kids, and they’re doing well,” Kenai Central head coach Will Hubler said. “I’m excited to see how the season plays out.”

Hubler is in his 35th season at the Kenai pool, though he hasn’t been swimming head coach every year.

Hubler said, as of now, Colony is the favorite to repeat as Region III champs on the girls and boys side, but the Kardinals should be able to make plenty of noise.

Hubler said he has 27 out for team, with only a few seniors and plenty of talent coming from the Peninsula Piranhas program.

One of those seniors is Abigail Price, who won the 50-yard freestyle and 100 backstroke Friday. At the Wasilla Invitational the week before, Price swam the 100 breaststroke in 1:13.30 to break the 1994 school record of Katherine Kornelis at 1:14.54.

Price now holds five individual school records and also is on the board as part of a school record relay.

She went for the 100 backstroke school record Friday, but came up short.

Price leads the girls team along with Isla Crouse. Price went to state last season in the 100 butterfly and 200 freestyle, and in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays. Crouse, who won the 200 freestyle and 100 breaststroke Friday, went in the 200 individual medley and both the relays.

Emma Castimore also returns after going to state in the 200 and 500 freestyle.

Hubler also liked the 500 freestyle victory of Molli Sansotta in 6:18.07.

“It was a quick meet, so they didn’t get a lot of rest,” Hubler said. “It was kind of an endurance race, but they all did good.”

Hubler also is happy to have a couple girls divers. He said he hasn’t had a diver since 2017 Kenai Central graduate Mikaela Pitsch.

On the boys side, Hubler said the Kards could be close to the Knights. Colony defeated Kenai 97-64 at the season-opening Wasilla Invitational, but Kenai was disqualified in a relay.

Peyton Katzenberger, who went to state last season in the 200 free, and Fletcher Darr, who went to state in the 100 breaststroke, were not at that meet. Everett Poulin also wasn’t there.

Lyman McBride, who won the 200 freestyle and 100 backstroke Friday, also returns after going to state last year in the 100 backstroke.

Hubler also liked the 500 freestyle of Samual Merritt. Merritt won in 5:41.00.

“It should be a good regions,” he said. “We’ll see how the season goes and how we improve.”

Homer head coach Kane Graham has 10 swimmers in his second year at the helm. Graham said he had more time to prepare for this season.

“We’re lucky to start with a really dedicated team this year,” he said. “At this point, most of the team has 100% attendance from day one.”

Graham also said the future looks bright, with five freshmen on the team.

“They all have a good attitude this year, and really, that’s on them,” Graham said of the team. “They all know they’re here because everybody wants to be here.”

Lorelai Kinney won the 100 freestyle Friday to give the Mariners their lone victory at the meet. Graham said the freshman started swimming less than a year ago.

The coach said other names to watch out for are Jeremiah Overdorf and Avery Briscoe.

Graham also is exited about diver Freya Bartlett, the first diver Homer has had in about five years.

The Mariners will host the Homer Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 6.

Friday

Kenai girls 171, Homer 50

200-yard medley relay — 1. Kenai (Castimore, I. Crouse, Price, K. Crouse), 2 minutes, 00.77 seconds; 2. Kenai, 2:19.70.

200 freestyle — 1. Isla Crouse, Ken, 2:14.34; 2. Olivia Tews, Ken, 2:39.57; 3. Riley Cramer, Ken, 2:44.45.

200 IM — 1. Kailey Crouse, Ken, 2:41.91; 2. Abigail Bishop, Ken, 3:32.26.

50 freestyle — 1. Abigail Price, Ken, 25.77; 2. Molli Sansotta, Ken, 27.66; 3. Emma Castimore, Ken, 28.26; 4. Avery Briscoe, Hom, 29.35; 5. Sabre Wilmeth, Hom, 31.61; 6. Elayna Wilson, Hom, 40.01.

100 butterfly — 1. Lucy Anderson, Ken, 1:16.60; 2. Abigail Bishop, Ken, 1:41.27.

100 freestyle — 1. Lorelei Kinney, Hom, 1:09.37; 2. Riley Cramer, Ken, 1:09.40; 3. Olivia Tews, Ken, 1:09.93; 4. Katherine Anderson, Ken, 1:11.89; 5. Ila Sylce, Hom, 1:24.65; 6. Elayna Wilson, Hom, 1:35.86.

500 freestyle — 1. Molli Sansotta, Ken, 6:18.07; 2. Avery Briscoe, Hom, 6:24.52; 3. McKenna Berga, Ken, 7:17.54; 4. Sabre Wilmeth, Hom, 7:52.35.

200 freestyle relay — 1. Kenai (Price, I. Crouse, K. Crouse, Castimore), 1:49.66; 2. Homer, 2:09.22; 3. Kenai, 2:13.63.

100 backstroke — 1. Abigail Price, Ken, 1:03.51; 2. Emma Castimore, Ken, 1:09.94; 3. Kailey Crouse, Ken, 1:12.55; 4. Lorelei Kinney, Hom, 1:15.53.

100 breaststroke — 1. Isla Crouse, Ken, 1:19.27; 2. Katherine Anderson, Ken, 1:33.04; 3. McKenna Berga, Ken, 1:36.81; 4. Ila Sylce, Hom, 1:59.65.

400 freestyle relay — 1. Kenai (Anderson, Cramer, Tews, Sansotta), 4:23.55; 2. Homer, 5:03.72.

Kenai boys 149, Homer 26

200 medley relay — 1. Kenai (McBride, Darr, Martin, Merritt), 1:49.78.

200 freestyle — 1. Lyman McBride, Ken, 2:00.56; 2. Jeremiah Overdorf, Hom, 2:00.88; 3. Vincent Moore, Ken, 2:07.96.

200 IM — 1. Everett Poulin, Ken, 2:29.76; 2. Elias Sundheim, Hom, 2:40.61; 3. Zairhen Traxler, Ken, 2:44.21.

50 freestyle — 1. Bennett Martin, Ken, 25.28; 2. Vincent Moore, Ken, 26.43; 3. Robert Frost, Hom, 36.70.

100 butterfly — 1. Jacob Merritt, Ken, 1:02.38; 2. Jeremiah Overdorf, Hom, 1:09.67; 3. Fletcher Darr, Ken, 1:13.09.

100 freestyle — 1. Logan Cartwright, Ken, 1:19.78; 2. Uriah Smith, Ken, 1:24.69; 3. Robert Frost, Hom, 1:30.84.

500 freestyle — 1. Samual Merritt, Ken, 5:41.00; 2. Zairhen Traxler, Ken, 6:28.00.

200 freestyle relay — 1. Kenai (Merritt, McBride, Moore, Martin), 1:40.17; 2. Kenai, 2:00.55.

100 backstroke — 1. Lyman McBride, Ken, 59.32; 2. Jacob Merritt, Ken, 1:06.62; 3. Bennett Martin, Ken, 1:07.79; 4. Elias Sundheim, Hom, 1:13.02.

100 breaststroke — 1. Fletcher Darr, Ken, 1:09.73; 2. Everett Poulin, Ken, 1:17.81.

400 freestyle relay — 1. Kenai (Moore, Darr, S. Merritt, Traxler), 3:58.94.