The Glacier Swim Club is riding the wave of success after its home meet this past weekend as it gears up for the state championship later this month, said head coach Scott Griffith.
During the weekend competition hosted at Juneau’s Dimond Aquatic Center the team of 85 Glacier Swim Club swimmers ranked highest in its combined score among the six Southeast Alaska teams that competed, outscoring the second-place team by nearly 1,000 points.
“It was a great meet all around,” Griffith told the Empire. “The ways the kids swam and supported each other was nice to see.”
The weekend meet’s win is not the only success the team has had in recent months. Throughout mid-February and into April the team also competed in three major events hosted in Washington — the Speedo Sectionals Championship (Feb. 8-12), the Northwest Age Group Sectional Championship (Feb. 15-19) and the Western Zone Senior Championship (March 29- April 1).
During the Speedo Sectionals Championship, the team brought only four swimmers — Emma Fellman, Samantha Schwarting, Olivia Mills and PJ Foy — yet broke seven team records and four state records during the competition.
Fellman, 16, broke the team’s record for 15/16 girls 200-yard breaststroke, open 200-yard breaststroke and 15/16 girls 400-yard individual medley.
Foy, 17, broke the team’s record for open boys 200-yard freestyle, 500-yard freestyle, 100-yard breaststroke, 200 yard individual medley, and broke the state’s record for 17/18 and open boys 200 yard freestyle, 17/18 and open boys 200-yard individual medley.
The team brought Lily Francis, Valerie Peimann, Dannan Mills and Amy Liddle to the Northwest Age Group Sectional Championship and together the four broke the team records for 13/14 girls 200-yard medley relay, 400-yard medley relay, 200-yard freestyle relay and 400-yard freestyle relay.
During the recent Western Zone Senior Championship, swimmers Foy, Fellman, Dannan Mills, Pacific Ricke and Olivia Mills participated in the competition. Fellman again broke the team’s record for 15/16 open girls 400-yard individual medley and 200-yard breaststroke. Foy broke both the team’s and state’s records for open boys 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard freestyle.
“They’re both performing very well,” Griffith said of Fellman and Foy’s performance this season. “They both set high goals for themselves and are deserving of the records they’re breaking — they work hard and it’s just fun to have them in the pool and lift up the people around them.”
Griffith said Foy has “really blossomed” this season after years of hard work. He said it’s great to see him achieve his goals and break as many state records as he has this season as just a junior in high school.
“He’s definitely one of the best swimmers to come out of Alaska — maybe ever,” he said.
Looking toward the upcoming Alaska Swimming State Championships set to take place in Anchorage at the end of this month, Griffith said taking home the state title for the first time ever could be a possibility but said it’s going to be a close competition no matter what.
The team has consistently placed second in recent years, but Griffith said he has hopes that the team could finish on top this time around. The state competition will be the team’s last meet of the season.
Savannah Cayce Southeast Championships team results
— First place: Glacier Swim Club, 1732 points.
— Second place: Viking Swim Club, 826 points.
— Third place: Baranof Barracuda Swim Club, 795 points.
— Fourth place: Ketchikan Killer Whales, 727 points.
— Fifth place: Craig Waverunners Swim Club, 227 points.
— Sixth place: Haines Dolphins Swim Team, 139 points.
Glacier Swim Club individual age group top scorers
— Carina Conger, first-place 8-and-under girls
—Matisse Suarez, second-place 8-and-under girls
— Oliver Albrecht, third-place 9/10-year-old boys
—Madeline Manlulu, third-place 11/12-year-old girls
— Levi Phelps, second-place 11/12-year-old boys
— Joshua Edwards, third-place 13/14-year-old boys
— Caitlin Sanders, third-place 15 and older girls
— Clive Mateo, first-place 15 and older boys
— Elyas Taylor, second-place 15 and older boys
• Contact reporter Clarise Larson at clarise.larson@juneauempire.com or (651)-528-1807. Follow her on Twitter at @clariselarson.
Glacier Swim Club coaches Scott Griffith and Lisa Jones talk with swimmers during their warm ups at Juneau’s Dimond Aquatic Center this weekend during the Savannah Cayce Southeast Championship. (Courtesy / Shireen Taintor)
