Swimmers look to make a mark at home meet

The Columbia Falls summer swim team is rounding into form as they host their home meet this weekend.

The Wildcats are especially looking for good things from their relay teams, third-year coach Deidre Loyda said.

The boys 13-14 age group relay of Bubba Loyda, Jacob Hohman, Zayne Friar and Tyler Langton is particularly strong this season. Foster Riker, Kyler King, Ansen Ingraham and Russell Albin also make a strong 11-12 boys relay team.

“Our goal is to have a clean sweep of high point at the state meet,” Loyda said last week.

The summer swim program differs from indoor swim leagues, as swimmers are restricted to the amount they can practice and be in a pool during the year. They can’t practice in a pool in the winter, for example. Even so, the members all love to swim.

Jacob Hohman specializes in the breaststroke.

“I practice a lot, and it comes together,” he said.

Zan Friar likes the butterfly.

“It’s a complicated stroke, and it’s very tiring,” he said.

On the girls side, the squad has been getting great results from Kaylee King, a 9-year-old firecracker in the pool who has been leading the team in points scored. King said she enjoys the backstroke. Her favorite swimmer?

“My brother Kyler,” she said. “He got me interested in it.”

The girls will also look for good things from youngsters Sadie Cheff and Campbell Fox in the 8-and-under category. The Peacock sisters, Kimberly and Haylie, and the Bellon sisters, Kathleen and Briceida, are also strong swimmers.

Most of the top swimmers started at a young age — two or three. But Albin said he learned to swim when he was five when family members threw him in the pool and told him to start paddling,

It worked out, Albin’s one of the top scorers on the squad and has a 36-inch standing vertical leap at the age of 13. After practice, he was jumping on top of a picnic table from a standing position just for fun.

But the team, which has 77 members, includes swimmers with many different abilities. Five team members could barely swim when they started this year, Loyda noted.

Ten-year-old Jenisha Green was one of them. Now she’s to the point where she’s working on her form.

“I like the breaststroke,” she said. “It’s fun.”

Nearly all the swimmers said they plan to swim in high school. This year will be the first season Columbia Falls has a high school swim team.

—————

Swimmers do well at Chester meet

Several Columbia Falls swimmers had a good meet in Chester on July 12-13.

Zayne Friar took three first-place medals, winning the 100-meter freestyle, the 50 butterfly and the 100 butterfly in the 13-14 age bracket.

Kaylee King was first in the 8-and-under 25-meter backstroke, and Connor Cheff took first in the 10-and-under 50 breaststroke finals.

Jacob Hohman was second in the boys 13-14 50 freestyle finals, and the girls 8-and-under 100 medley relay of Avery Role, Sadie Cheff, Campbell Fox and Taryn Borgen won as well.

The team is at home this weekend.