By KLAS STOLPE
Sentinel Staff Writer
One swimmer remembers breaking a record with teammates, another thinks of the fans, and another recalls a swimmer wearing ankle weights.
But all of Sitka High’s senior class swim team members have one thing in common: they will miss their home pool and the people around it.
Kyleigh McArthur has swum in the Blatchley pool since she was 6 years old.
“My favorite memory was last year when my sister Whitney, Skylar Moore, Jessica Davis and I broke a club state record,” she said. “So now we have that and it was really fun.”
That swim was the 400-medley relay and Kyleigh was the last cog in the finely tuned machine, swimming the 100 free.
“There was a lot of pressure,” she said. “I was mostly thinking I just have to swim fast, I have to give it everything.”
When she touched the pool wall she looked up.
“My teammates were cheering,” she said. “Everyone else around the pool was cheering. I yelled ‘We did it!’ It was so much fun.”
The Sitka swim team seniors are, from left, Kyleigh McArthur, Jessica Davis, Mac Janik, J.D. Gagner, Erin Blankenship and Molly Blackmon. The seniors will lead their Wolves teammates into swim & dive
meet action against Southeast rivals tonight at 5:30 at the Blatchley Middle School pool and will be honored before Saturday’s 1 p.m. meet continuation. (Sentinel Photo by Klas Stolpe)
The team and fans are a big part of her memories.
“Definitely all the memories you make as a team,” she said. “It is so much fun being around them all the time and working hard together.”
J.D. Gagner has been swimming at Blatchley since second grade.
“Last year I remember Jake Trierschield raced his 100 back with ankle weights and a big suit on and a ski mask on,” Gagner said. “That was pretty funny.”
“I’m going to miss the team aspect,” he said. “When you show up everyone is really bonded together through hard work and dedication, it’s hard to find that anywhere else.”
He remembers breaking his personal record as a sophomore in the 100 fly at the regional tournament.
“That was a good one for me,” he said. “It was kind of bragging rights. You tell somebody that you have a sub-one in the 100 fly.”
Jessica Davis has also been in the Blatchley pool waters since second grade. Her favorite event is the 100 back stroke. She is a three-time state champ in the event. With all the accolades and accomplishments however, she will miss something more important.
“The people,” she said.
Mac Janik has swum in Blatchley for 12 years.
“I am going to miss the people and the coaches,” he said.
Erin Blankenship has been in the Blatchley pool since fifth grade.
“I will remember the 500 free,” she said. “I just like swimming it. I’m going to miss the people, the teammates.”
Molly Blackmon is swimming her first season at Blatchley. Her competitive career has moved her through many pools, from Kodiak to Anchorage, but she will remember something more than anything else.
“Probably the people,” she said.
After a warm-up pep talk during Thursday’s practice, Sitka head coach Ben Adams told his team they would be swimming events in the meet they had not swum before.
This keeps the team fresh, enthused, and working hard.
And they have fun.
Adams walked to the corner of the pool while his seniors and their Wolves teammates did laps.
“Senior appreciation is just something that you will remember,” Adams said. “It’s a big capstone thing and you remember it for the rest of your life.”
Adams said the six are training hard and not making any changes, just being recognized for dedication and being part of the program.
“We make sure they realize this is the last time they get to wear the Sitka High cap for the school at home,” he said. “We tell them to take it in and enjoy it and they tend to do that.”
Adams had his own senior night in this pool.
“It wasn’t as big a deal as it is now,” he said. “But you remember it forever.”
Adams has coached Blankenship, Davis, Gagner, Janik and McArthur their entire high school careers, and Blackmon since she moved to town. He’s retiring after this, his fifth, season.
Standing in the distance, watching them train, he had his own memory.
“This is a really hard working group of kids,” he said. “They have come a long way, they know how to work hard and it’s fun to watch. They are the reason I decided to coach another year – I just couldn’t let them go.”
The six seniors can be seen with their teammates competing tonight at 5:30 p.m. at the Blatchley Middle School pool against teams from across Southeast. They will be honored before the meet resumes on Saturday at 1 p.m.
