Boys swim team looks to defend state title
Colton Babcock swims the 200 freestyle at the state meet in Missoula last week.
The Columbia Falls swim team will see a coaching change this year. Assistant Amy Caudill is now the head coach, while former head coach Mike Nelson is the team’s assistant coach.
The two made the move so Nelson could travel a bit more to watch his daughter, Karyssa, swim in college, Caudill noted last week.
Caudill (pronounced kay-dill), is a special education teacher at Glacier Gateway Elementary and she was the head coach of the summer league last season. She swam in college, attending College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York.
She said this year’s squad has a host of returning talent on the boys side, including Colton Babcock, Zayne Friar, Sage Wanner, Russell Albin, Sam Pierce and Caleb Bagley. They also have a good young swimmer in freshman Riker Foster.
The boys won the Class A-B title last year.
Last year Babcock won the state title in the 50 freestyle with a time of 21.95 and the 100 freestyle with a 46.91 — the fastest times in the state across all classes. Babcock, a senior, has signed to swim for California Baptist University after high school.
On the girls side, the team has eight new girls, Caudill said. Those include soccer players Hannah Callender, Joyce Hatfield and volleyball player Bridget Barta, to name just a few.
The team opens its season Saturday Dec. 3 with the Kalispell Invitational at the Summit in Kalispell.
Caudill also coaches the Whitefish team — the two practice together at The Wave in Whitefish, but they compete separately.