By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
A handful of swimmers from the Baranof Barracudas competed in Fairbanks over the weekend. The six Sitka swimmers who traveled north to race on Friday, Saturday and Sunday dropped time in most of their events in the Alaska Age Group Championship meet.
The two Sitka boys at the meet, Jake Peterson and Zach Martens, swam their personal best times in almost all of their events.
Martens earned the number-one high point award among 12-year-old boys. Of all the 10-and-under boys at the meet, Peterson earned the third most points.
“Pretty cool – I don’t know – that feeling that you’ve won a high place out of all those people,” Peterson said at practice Thursday.
He was particularly happy with his freestyle at the meet.
“My 200 free – I liked it because I dropped 12 seconds, and in my 50 free I dropped one second,” he said. He finished first in the 200 free in 2:33, and third in the 50 free in 32 seconds. He also shaved off time in the 500 freestyle, taking second place in 7:04.
In the future, Peterson looks forward to “getting better times.”
Meanwhile, Martens finished first or second in all of his events. He won the 100 yard butterfly, the 400 individual medley, the 200 breaststroke and the 200 fly.
Taryn Fleming, 13, was happy with her 500-yard freestyle swim.
“I liked the 500 because I dropped like 20 seconds on that,” she told the Sentinel. She finished the event in 6:15 to claim seventh place.
The 13-year-old athlete stressed the importance of effort.
“You’ve just got to show up and do your best, I sometimes don’t do everything, sometimes I can’t make the intervals. That’s just me not being fast enough, but you just have to do your best,” Fleming said.
Looking forward, she’d like to work on her pacing and breathing in the long 500 free.
“Not going out super strong, a steady pace. My breathing is always messed up because I breathe every stroke instead of every three,” she said.
Though she’s been in the water since she was little, Fleming returned to competitive swimming only last year. She was happy for the chance to compete up north.
“It’s different than when I swam last. It’s nice being in the water again, it’s nice being around other teams… it gives you room to try to do better and you have a goal, instead of going against your same team every day it just makes you want to try more,” she said.
Fleming also swam in the 200 medley relay alongside Mia Turner, Evi Rice and Klayeah Lozada. The squad finished ninth in 2:15.
Evi Rice, 11, was happy with her performance in the 200 breaststroke.
“I did pretty good in the 200, I got third overall in the 11-year-olds,” she said. She touched the wall in 3:12.
She said breaststroke is her favorite event.
“I’ve always been a breaststroker, it’s always been my stroke ever since I was swimming… It always seems easier. With freestyle you always get tired out eventually, but with breaststroke it’s like I could swim forever,” Rice said.
She enjoyed the chance to travel with the team as well.
“Hanging out with my teammates, it’s always fun to travel with such a good group of people,” she said.
Rice’s teammate, 13-year-old Klayeah Lozada finished third in the 200 back in 2:28 and first in the 100 fly in 1:09. Mia Turner, 14, claimed 11th in the 200 back and 16th in the 500 free.
Of the six Barracudas in the pool, BBSC coach Kevin Knox said only two had previous experience in a championship meet.
Baranof Barracudas swimmers pose for a shot last weekend in Fairbanks during the Alaska Age Groups Championship swim meet. From the left are Mia Turner, Evi Rice, Taryn Fleming, coach Kevin Knox, Zach Martens and Jake Peterson. On the ground are Klayeah and Kaydyn Lozada. (Photo provided by Kevin Knox)
“Of the six that went, only two of them had ever been to a championship-level meet: Zach and Mia. Everyone else, this was their first time being at a prelims-finals meet,” the coach said.
He was happy his swimmers had a chance to bond.
“They all had a really good time, they all sat together and really bonded. It was fun that way,” he said.
Olympic gold medalist Lydia Jacoby, of Seward, was also present at the meet, distributing medals to various swimmers.
“She was there to hand out awards and the kids just thought that was awesome. Jake got several medals hung around his neck and so did Zach and both were presented with those high points,” Knox said. “Zach is very competitive in the high point category as far as the state goes – it was really awesome to watch him get that first place.”
This weekend, BBSC swimmer Chance Gray will race at the Alaska Masters State Championship meet in Anchorage, Knox added. The Barracudas will compete again at the Southeast Championship meet in Juneau in early April.
