WINNEMUCCA - It was a mixed bag of results for the Lowry High School swimming team, who opened its season at Northwest Pool in Reno on Friday, March 9, with a double-dual against South Tahoe and Reed.
The Buckaroo boys won both duals on the day, beating Reed 123-120 and South Tahoe 116-109. The Lady Bucks were defeated twice, losing 142-100 to Reed and 151-99 to South Tahoe. It was a strong weekend for Lowry, who qualified a number of swimmers for the regional championship in May.
"I felt we did a pretty good job and I was impressed with how we swam," said LHS head coach Mike Owens. "We had seven disqualifications that cost us some points, but for all the new swimmers we had that wasn't too bad. Some of those came in relays with our experienced swimmers. We took 30 kids on the trip and half of them were new."
On the day, Michael Drake won the 50-yard freestyle in 24.53 seconds and the 100-yard backstroke at 1:06.15, nearly three seconds ahead of his best time a season ago. Dakota Flanagan won the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 1:03.09 and was second in the 50-yard freestyle at 27.20, finishing behind his teammate.
Jessie Pate was second in the 200-yard individual medley in the South Tahoe dual at 2:32.59, but was quick enough to have the top time in the Reed dual to win the event against the Raiders. The senior also claimed the top spot in the 100-yard butterfly in both duals at 1:08.75.
Matthew Ruehl was second in the South Tahoe dual in the 100-yard freestyle at 1:04.56. He was first in the 100-yard breaststroke at 1:20.07 and was second in the same event in the Reed dual. A.J Jackson was second in the Reed dual in the 200-yard freestyle in a time of 2:29.26 and was fourth in the South Tahoe dual. He placed second in the 100-yard breaststroke against South Tahoe at 1:28.35 and was fourth in the Reed dual.
Dane Maher finished second in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 7:58.31. Jeremiah Maestrejuan placed fourth in the 200-yard freestyle against South Tahoe in a time of 2:38.49 and was fifth in the Reed dual. His time was 23 seconds quicker than a year ago.
"Jeremiah cut 23 seconds off his time and that is just crazy," Owens said. "He had a very good meet for the first time. A lot of our kids were posting times that were better than last year and that is a good sign in the first week."
The 200-yard individual medley team of Drake, Ruehl, Jackson and Pate won both duals with a time of 2:04.60. The 200-yard freestyle B squad of Ruehl, Greg Forney, Maher and Maestrejuan was second in both duals at 2:06.09.
On the girls side, Johana Christensen picked up from where she left off from last season and won the 100-yard freestyle at 58.12 and the 100-backstroke with a time of 1:06.31. Tori Echeverria won the 200-yard individual medley against both South Tahoe and Reed with a time of 2:31.10. She also claimed first in the 50-yard freestyle against South Tahoe at 28.12 and was second in the 50-yard freestyle versus Reed.
"Johana and Tori swam very well," said the coach. "It will come down to finding what events fit them best for the regional championships. I think the two events that Johana was in will be best for her. A lot of swimmers want to be in the freestyle races but not a lot want to be in the backstroke. The fewer competitors who have to swim against her, the better."
Kinzie McClintick won the 200-yard freestyle against Reed with a time of 2:28.22 and was third in the dual with South Tahoe. The senior placed second in the 500-yard freestyle against Reed in a time of 6:36.53, 50 seconds quicker than her previous best time. She was third in the South Tahoe dual in the event.
"Kinzie looked really good after missing last year," Owens said. "It is nice to have her back."
Trish Bates and Olivia Snow led a 1-2 finish in the 100-yard breaststroke against Reed with times of 1:22.09 and 1:30.60, respectively. The duo was second and third in the South Tahoe matchup. In addition, Bates placed third in the 100-yard butterfly and Snow finished fourth in the 50-yard freestyle against both schools.
Jillian Pfarr finished third in both duals in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 29.45. She was third in the 100-yard freestyle against South Tahoe at 1:08.48 and was fourth in the event versus Reed. Jessica Jensen was sixth in the dual against South Tahoe in the 50-yard freestyle at 23.12 and the sophomore finished sixth in the Reed dual in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 1:14.43. Emma Kracaw turned in a fourth-place outing versus Reed in the 100-yard backstroke at 1:31.13 in her first swim meet as a freshman.
The 200-yard medley relay of Christensen, Echeverria, Bates and Snow were second in both duals at 2:08.65. The 200-yard freestyle relay of Becky Barber, Sabrina Jensen, Jessica Jensen and Pfarr were second against South Tahoe with a time of 2:10.97.
Lowry travels to Reno today for the Zephyr Aqua 5 at noon. The Buckaroos then have a month off but have scheduled an unofficial meet with Fernley and Churchill County.
"It was a good way to start with a three-way dual and we get to see what we are up against," Owens said. "The schedule is a weird one for us. Both Fallon and Fernley are off a month like us so we are going to get together and have a meet."
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