After winning both the boys and girls divisions in a smaller meet in Gunnison early in the week, the Grand County High School (GCHS) swimming teams competed at the Last Chance Invitational in Price on Saturday, Jan. 19, where the boys placed second and the girls tied for fourth.
In Gunnison on Tuesday, Jan. 15, the GCHS boys scored 740 points, more than doubling second-place Gunnison Valley’s total of 331. Wasatch Academy was third at 231 and North Sevier was fourth at 36.
For the girls, GCHS scored 391 points, Gunnison Valley had 262 and Wasatch Academy had 207.
The meet in Price on Saturday was a much larger meet, and served as the final tuneup prior to the Region 15 Championship meet, which takes place in Castle Dale on Thursday, Jan. 24.
The GCHS Red Devils boys placed second in the meet with 160 points, just behind Emery’s 176. Delta was a distant third with 53 points, host Carbon scored 48, North Sanpete scored 44 and Wasatch Academy scored eight points. Emery also took first in the girls division, scoring 209 points, ahead of host Carbon in second with 164 points. North Sanpete took third with 26 points and Grand, Wasatch Academy and Altamont tied for fourth with 16 points.
The GCHS Red Devil boys got event wins in five individual races and a relay at the Last Chance Invitational. Braxten Pierce won both of his events, taking the 200-yard freestyle at 1:54.82, and breaking his own school record in the 100-yard butterfly with a 56.93 time.
Seniors Corbin Arbon and Connor Ainge, and sophomore Pat Pakkarato, each won one individual event. Arbon took first in the 50-yard freestyle at 24.58, Pakkarato took first in the 200-yard individual medley at 2:23.71, and Ainge took first in the 500-yard freestyle at 6:21.09. Pakkarato also took second in the 100-yard breaststroke at 1:11.26, while Arbon took third in the 100-yard freestyle at 55.28 and Ainge took eighth in the 50-yard freestyle at 26.39.
In Relay events, Pierce, Arbon, Ainge and Pakkarato teamed up to win the 200-yard freestyle relay at 1:40.71, and take second in the 400-yard freestyle relay at 3:41.57. The quartet of Arthur Hawks, Brendan Moore, Dallin Stucki and Preston Barlow took third in the 200-yard medley at 2:04.89
Individually, Barlow took second in the 500-yard freestyle at 6:25.39. Hawks took second in the 100-yard backstroke at 1:08.23, followed by Stucki in third at 1:09.71.
“We had a great meet this weekend with quite a few personal bests,” GCHS swimming coach Brian Pierce said, noting that Stucki’s backstroke time was a personal record by over two seconds, and Barlow’s 500-yard freestyle time was an improvement of more than eight seconds.
Pierce also noted that for the girls, freshman Zoe Campbell “had a great 200 freestyle and 100 freestyle,” in which she placed seventh and 19th, respectively. In the 200, she clocked in a 2:52.81, improving by over five seconds; and in the 100, she improved almost three seconds at 1:19.66. Junior Kiersten Kimmerle also dropped time in both her individual events, placing eighth in the 100-yard breaststroke at 1:29.35, and 14th in the 50-yard freestyle at 32.22.
GCHS preps for Region 15 Championship meet
“We had a great meet this weekend with quite a few personal bests.”
When: Thursday, Jan. 24, at 1 p.m.
Where: Emery County Aquatic Center, 240 E. 800 North, Castle Dale
