Seward senior Nickolas Ambrosiani and Kodiak junior Amaya Rocheleau both picked up their first SoHi Pentathlon victories on Friday at Soldotna High School.
At the event, each swimmer competes in five events — the 100-yard individual medley, 50 butterfly, 50 backstroke, 50 breaststroke and 50 freestyle. The times of the events are all added up to determine the winner.
Ambrosiani was fourth at the Pentathlon last season, but won each of the five events this season to get the edge over his twin brother, Bengimin Ambrosiani.
Nickolas had a total time of 2:39.96, winning the 100 IM in 57.08, the 50 fly in 24.29, the 50 backstroke in 26.39, the 50 breaststroke in 29.72 and the 50 freestyle in 22.48.
Bengimin finished at 2:42.05, coming closest to his brother in the 50 freestyle, where he lost by one-hundredth of a second.
“We’re always racing each other in practice,” Nickolas said of his brother. “I just came out on top today. We’re neck and neck in every event.”
The unique format of the Pentathlon favors sprinters because every race is so short. Nickolas said he fits the bill there. He said he doesn’t consider himself a great swimmer at all the strokes, but that didn’t stop him from victory.
“It’s a pretty unique meet setup, but it’s not like super crazy important,” Nickolas said. “If I didn’t win, I wouldn’t be super sad.
“We’ve still got a lot of work left to do for the season, and state is still the main goal.”
Nickolas also credited coach Solomon D’ Amico for helping him to the victory.
“Our training is always great stuff,” Nickolas said. “He’s always got great practices, and I feel like I get better.”
Kodiak’s James Berestoff was third for the boys at 2:48.90, while Colony’s Isaiah Hulien was fourth in 2:49.95, Palmer’s Aidan Houser was fifth in 2:50.55 and Soldotna’s Nikita Monyahan was sixth in 2:51.17.
Rocheleau also went from fourth place to first place in the Pentathlon. She won at 2:57.32, while Colony’s Jasmine Anderson was second for the second straight year at 2:59.73.
According to Rocheleau, a good year in training made the difference.
“Just lots more sprint work, and training more,” she said. “Focusing on all of my strokes, especially leading up to this meet.
“Last year, I had some problems with my knees. So this year, recovering from that has helped me to be able to push myself a lot more.”
Anderson won the 100 IM at 1:01.94, taking an advantage of 1.54 seconds on Rocheleau.
Usually, the 100 IM is a good predictor of success at the meet, but Rocheleau won the 50 fly in 26.68 to go up .36 seconds on Anderson and won the 50 backstroke in 28.21 to up the lead to 3.83 seconds.
Anderson won the 50 breaststroke in 31.06 to cut the gap to .96 seconds, but Rocheleau sealed it with a comfortable win in the 50 freestyle.
Rocheleau said she appreciates how the Pentathlon allows swimmers to compete in events they normally don’t see on the meet schedule during the season.
“I think it’s a really fun one for everybody,” she said. “I really enjoy it. I think it’s a good stress reliever overall.”
Because the events are unique, there’s also commonly not a clear favorite heading into the meet. Rocheleau said she was surprised she won.
“I just really didn’t know how I was going to stack up,” she said. “I had no idea going into this meet.”
Rocheleau said the victory has her looking forward to chasing her goals this season, like a school record in the 100 backstroke.
Senior Charisma Watkins led the Stars by finishing third at 3:05.36, while Colony’s Hannah Cooper was fourth at 3:09.49, Kodiak’s Morgan Hagen was fifth at 3:13.67 and Kenai’s Sierra Hershberger was sixth at 3:16.29.
Watkins, who finished her Pentathlon career with her top finish, said the meet is always something SoHi swimmers look forward to. She said not having the meet freshman year due to the pandemic has made her appreciate it even more.
“It’s always super fun,” she said. “I always go into it with an open mind-set just trying to have fun.
“I love my competition. Amaya from Kodiak is amazing. She’s so sweet.”
Watkins said the meet also has her feeling refreshed as she chases things like a top-four finish at state and a school record in the 200 IM.
SoHi Pentathlon
Friday at Soldotna High School
GIRLS
Top six finishers
1. Amaya Rocheleau, Kod, 2 minutes, 57.32 seconds; 2. Jasmine Anderson, Col, 2:59.73; 3. Charisma Watkins, Sol, 3:05.36; 4. Hannah Cooper, Col, 3:09.49; 5. Morgan Hagen, Kod, 3:13.67; 6. Sierra Hershberger, Ken, 3:16.29.
Other peninsula finishers
11. Esme Wilder, Sew, 3:22.03; 12. Isla Crouse, Ken, 3:22.49; 13. Zoe Burns, Sol, 3:23.95; 14. Heidi Snyder, Sol, 3:24.35; 15. Maria Anderson, Ken, 3:30.94; 17. McKayla Real, Ken, 3:34.99; 21. Aubrey Wilder, Sew, 3:36.13; 23. Lucy Anderson, Ken, 3:37.42; 24. Eden Alioto, Ken, 3:40.39; 29. Ra’ah Roady, Ken, 3:44.54; 33. Audrey McDonald, Ken, 3:58.38; 36. Michelle Duffield, Ken, 4:02.18; 38. Gen Sheldon, Sol, 4:03.92; 39. Ariel Wheeler, Sol, 4:05.43; 41. Hallee Schoening, Sew, 4:11.04; 42. Lily Dawley, Sol, 4:22.59; 46. Bella Croom, Ken, 4:44.27; 49. Sidney McRorie, Ken, 4:58.11; 51. Kara Veihdeffer, Sol, 5:02.73; 58. Abigail Price, Ken, 8:10.34.
BOYS
Top six finishers
1. Nickolas Ambrosiani, Sew, 2:39.96; 2. Bengimin Ambrosiani, Sew, 2:42.05; 3. James Berestoff, Kod, 2:48.90; 4. Isaiah Hulien, Col, 2:49.95; 5. Aidan Houser, Pal, 2:50.55; 6. Nikita Monyahan, Sol, 2:51.17.
Other peninsula finishers
7. Iver Gates, Sew, 2:52.93; 15. Benjamin Merritt, Ken 3:04.63; 16. Michael Davidson, Sol, 3:07.37; 17. Benn Abel, Sol, 3:08.56; 18. Arthur Price, Ken, 3:14.46; 20. Enoch Frederickson, Sol, 3:16.53; 23. Peyton Katzenberger, Ken, 3:20.76; 26. Oliver Trobaugh, Sew, 3:23.15; 28. Jacob Merritt, Ken, 3:25.25; 32. Johnathan White, Sol, 3:33.45; 34. Jason Johnson, Ken, 3:34.67; 39. Brett Haas, Sol, 3:42.73; 41. Ben Inman, Sol, 3:48.01; 43. Dwight Brown, Sol, 3:49.27; 51. Aidan Volk-Wall, Sol, 4:17.94; 57. Philip Trobaugh, Sew, 4:54.21; 60. David Price, Ken, 7:51.45.
Colony sweeps Soldotna Invitational
The Colony swimming and diving teams swept the Soldotna Invitational on Saturday at Soldotna High School.
The Knights girls won with 104 points, while runner-up Kenai Central had 93. Also from the peninsula, Soldotna was fourth, Homer was sixth and Seward was ninth.
The Colony boys won with 88 points, with runner-up Soldotna at 55 and third-place Seward at 52. Kenai finished fifth.
Soldotna Invitational
Saturday
GIRLS
Team scores: 1. Colony, 104; 2. Kenai, 93; 3. Kodiak, 61; 4. Soldotna, 35; 5. Palmer, 10; 6. Homer, 8; 7. Unalaska, 6; 8. Wasilla, 4; 9. Seward, 3.
Diving — 1. McManus, Col, 392.05; 2. Werner, Sol, 368.35; 3. Wallstrum, Col, 312.15; 4. Grisham, Col, 307.85; 5. Geoghegan, Was, 257.30; 6. Althens, Pal, 252.70.
200 medley relay — 1. Kodiak (Hagen, Jones, Neo, Rocheleau), 1:58.49; 2. Colony, 2:03.41; 3. Kenai, 2:05.47; 4. Colony, 2:18.84; 5. Kenai, 2:21.22; 6. Wasilla, 2:34.79.
200 freestyle — 1. Cooper, Col, 2:06.27; 2. Snyder, Sol, 2:10.18; 3. Crouse, Ken, 2:15.64; 4. Anderson, Ken, 2:16.11; 5. Ligman, Col, 2:16.25; 6. Hagen, Kod, 2:18.64.
200 IM — 1. Watkins, Sol, 2:20.62; 2. Burns, Sol, 2:34.81; 3. Roady, Ken, 2:52.32; 4. McDonald, Ken, 3:00.30; 5. McBee, Pal, 3:07.20; 6. McDonough, Col, 3:56.86.
50 freestyle — 1. Hershberger, Ken, 26.73; 2. Jones, Kod, 27.43; 3. Carrol, Hom, 27.61; 4. Dunford, Col, 28.77; 5. Lekanoff, Una, 29.66; 6. Bunch, Col, 29.81.
100 butterfly — Anderson, Col, 1:02.28; 2. Watkins, Sol, 1:03.78; 3. Neo, Kod, 1:07.37; 4. Anderson, Ken, 1:14.75; 5. Alioto, Ken, 1:15.91; 6. Dinwiddie, Col, 1:20.32.
100 freestyle — 1. Rocheleau, Kod, 55.20; 2. Hershberger, Ken, 59.70; 3. Blackburn, Col, 1:02.24; 4. Ligman, Col, 1:04.52; 5. Roady, Ken, 1:05.78; 6. Real, Ken, 1:06.76.
500 freestyle — 1. Cooper, Col, 5:41.08; 2. Price, Ken, 5:43.23; 3. Snyder, Sol, 5:59.01; 4. Bamford, Pal, 6:10.90; 5. Burns, Sol, 6:12.98; 6. Bunch, Col, 6:21.43.
200 freestyle relay — 1. Kodiak (Rocheleau, Hagen, Jones, Neo), 1:45.30; 2. Kenai, 1:50.93; 3. Colony, 2:01.61; 4. Kenai, 2:09.31; 5. Palmer, 2:15.37; 6. Soldotna, 2:16.16.
100 backstroke — 1. Rocheleau, Kod, 1:01.94; 2. Hagen, Kod, 1:05.19; 3. Carrol, Hom, 1:09.71; 4. Anderson, Ken, 1:11.39; 5. Edgar, Col, 1:15.62; 6. Lekanoff, Una, 1:17.07.
100 breaststroke — 1. Anderson, Col, 1:05.59; 2. Crouse, Ken, 1:18.74; 3. Jones, Kod, 1:19.66; 4. Wilder, Sew, 1:20.47; 5. Scott, Una, 1:24.61; 6. Lekanoff, Una, 1:26.10.
400 freestyle relay — 1. Colony (Ligman, Blackburn, Cooper, Anderson), 4:05.17; 2. Kenai, 4:40.96; 3. Kenai, 5:14.56; 4. Colony, 6:02.54.
BOYS
Team scores: 1. Colony, 88; 2. Soldotna, 55; 3. Seward, 52; 4. Kodiak, 46.5; 5. Kenai, 39; 6. Palmer, 29; 7. Wasilla, 15.5; 8. Unalaska, 2.
Diving — 1. Thornton, Was, 423.45; 2. Musgrave, Was, 327.70; 3. Glover, Kod, 298.00; 4. Wyszkowski, Kod, 222.65; 5. Gose, Was, 135.20.
200 medley relay — 1. Seward (B. Ambrosiani, N. Ambrosiani, Trobaugh, Gates), 1:45.73; 2. Colony, 1:50.69; 3. Kodiak, 1:51.11; 4. Kenai, 1:53.74; 5. Colony, 1:59.02; 6. Palmer, 1:59.14.
200 freestyle — 1. B. Amrosiani, Sew, 1:53.81; 2. Monyahan, Sol, 1:56.03; 3. Hubert, Kod, 1:58.09; 4. Abel, Sol, 2:04.76; 5. Halstead, Col, 2:05.57; 6. Neumann, Pal, 2:10.62.
200 IM — 1. N. Ambrosiani, Sew, 2:07.34; 2. McDonough, Col, 2:20.89; 3. Houser, Pal, 2:22.00; 4. Merritt, Ken, 2:22.57; 5. Frederickson, Sol, 2:25.10; 6. Trobaugh, Sew, 2:34.98.
50 freestyle — 1. Dhondt, Col, 23.67; 2. Charton, Pal, 24.35; 3. Smith, Col, 24.76; 4. Davidson, Sol, 25.20; 5. Burnside, Kod, 25.29; 6. Branham, Was, 25.83.
100 butterfly — 1. Hulien, Col, 56.35; 2. Charton, Pal, 57.68; 3. Monyahan, Sol, 58.36; 4. Price, Ken, 1:00.17; 5. Burnside, Kod, 1:02.20; 6. Dhondt, Col, 1:02.98.
100 freestyle — 1. Berestoff, Kod, 51.37; 2. Settle, Col, 54.43; 3. Davidson, Sol, 54.70; 4. Abel, Sol, 55.12; 5. Jones, Sol, 55.32; 6. Halstead, Col, 56.71.
500 freestyle — 1. Hulien, Col, 5:09.46; 2. Hubert, Kod, 5:17.43; 3. McDonough, Col, 5:25.51; 4. B. Ambrosiani, Sew, 5:44.32; 5. N. Amborsiani, Sew, 5:45.81; 6. Frederickson, Sol, 5:49.37.
200 freestyle relay — 1. Soldotna (Davidson, Jones, Abel, Monyahan), 1:38.70; 2. Palmer, 1:42.26; 3. Colony, 1:42.90; 4. Kodiak, 1:44.48; 5. Colony, 1:53.42; 6. Unalaska, 1:56.84.
100 backstroke — 1. Smith, Col, 1:01.10; 2. Settle, Col, 1:02.99; 3. Jones, Sol, 1:06.23; 4. B. Merritt, Ken, 1:07.27; 5. J. Merritt, Ken, 1:10.95; 6 (tie). Bayle, Was, Beaver, Kod, 1:14.84.
100 breaststroke — 1. Price, Ken, 1:04.90; 2. Berestoff, Kod, 1:05.17; 3. Gates, Sew, 1:12.49; 4. Katzenberger, Ken, 1:18.25; 5. Neumann, Pal, 1:18.49; 6. Allen, Col, 1:20.08.
400 freestyle relay — 1. Seward (N. Ambrosiani, Trobaugh, Gates, B. Ambrosiani), 3:26.80; 2. Soldotna, 3:36.16; 3. Kenai, 3:47.95; 4. Colony, 4:23.86; 5. Kenai, 5:51.54.
The top five girls finishers in the SoHi Pentathlon pose with their trophy towels Friday, Sept. 15, 2023, at Soldotna High School in Soldotna, Alaska. From left to right are first-place finisher Amaya Rocheleau of Kodiak, Colony’s Jasmine Anderson in second, Soldotna’s Charisma Watkins in third, Kodiak’s Morgan Hagen in fifth and Colony’s Hannah Cooper in fourth. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
