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It was a successful weekend in Sitka for Juneau swimmers, as 19 Crimson Bears and two Thunder Mountain Falcons qualified for state at Bartlett in Anchorage this weekend, with the JDHS boys winning the Region V championship while the girls finished second.

Juneau-Douglas swim coach Kathrin Millhorn said it was a good weekend overall.

"They did well, but I think they can do better," she said. "The kids were all saying, 'I can go faster; I felt really good.' We didn't have any complaints about being tired in the water, just the feeling like they were getting there and actually starting to move more freely in the water."

As for state this weekend, Millhorn said she expects Kodiak to be the team to beat on the girls' side.

"I think our girls are going to do well," she said. "Because of where we are situated, I think we can move up in the rankings. We just don't have as many girls going as we had hoped to have. So, that's going to hurt us in terms of where we place overall. I think the girls that are going are going to do a great job, and can all final in their events with a little bit of focus."

Senior Kate Lukshin said she is looking forward to her final high school swim meet with her Crimson Bear teammates and coaches.

"This weekend is our time to perform and show we are a part of a team," she said. "We still want to make our presence felt at state. It'll hopefully go well this weekend."

She said the team has not been going too hard at practice so they will have the energy for the upcoming meet.

"We're just tapering, pretty much just savoring our strokes, and thinking, 'Feel the water and be the water,'" she said smiling. "You just get in this mindset of swimming fast and being excited to swim. That's a big part of it, even more so than the physical part."

While the girls have a tough task ahead, Millhorn said she expects the boys to win state again, though they are going to need to work hard for it, especially considering the level of competition.

"There were some really good swims across the state this past weekend," she said. "Our boys weren't as well rested for regions as they probably could have been, but we we're resting more for state.

"They are ready to explode."

Senior Seth Cayce said the team did well in Sitka, and he feels they have a great chance at state.

"If we swim our current seedings right now, Dimond would beat us," he said. "So we are going to have to work hard to defend our title."

He said he's looking forward to the 100-meter breaststroke, a race he's been swimming the last four years, and swimming for Juneau-Douglas for thefinal time.

"I'm looking forward to it since it's my last time to swim at JDHS," he said. "It's going to be weird. It probably won't hit me until afterward.

Thunder Mountain swim coach Jason Wilson said he was thrilled with his team's performance - not only in Sitka, but for the entire season.

"I can't say enough about how the Thunder Mountain swim team swam this past weekend," he said. "There were 23 swims, 19 best times and kids were excited and happy to be there. They swam lights out, and displayed great character and closeness."

He also said that preparations for state include not only getting in the water and refining strokes, but adjusting the mental psyche of theswimmers.

"It's an interesting time for the swimmers because as they rest, their energy level is just skyrocketing," he said. "They're just bouncing off the walls and we want them to hold on to a little of that energy, and you still want them to listen to you at practice."

Even with the high energy, Wilson said he expects his team to swim loose.

"There is always room for improvement, but experiencing the state level is different than what they are used to," he said. "This will be a big meet, the energy that is in the air is phenomenal. The place is packed, there are swimmers everywhere, everyone is representing their different colors and it's like the Super Bowl for these swimmers."

The state swim meet will be Friday and Saturday in Anchorage at Bartlett High School. Local Region V meet results and state qualifiers will be listed in tommorow's Sports section.

•Matthew can be reached atmatthew.tynan@juneauempire.com