The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé swim and dive team continues to swell up the number of top placings and extreme efforts across Southeast pools as they put in another strong showing over the weekend at the Sitka Invitational.
JDHS won 12 of 24 events on Friday and 12 of 24 on Saturday. They also gathered 19 second-place finishes and a host of third- and fourth-place finishers through the weekend.
“We are doing really well,” JDHS head coach Josiah Loseby said. “It is hard to pinpoint just one thing when there are so many good things that we have going on with the team.”
[Official results: Friday | Saturday]
Among the many highlights Loseby noted freshman William Kiessling in the 100 backstroke on Saturday.
“He has had a long-standing goal to break a minute in it,” Loseby said. “He ended up going past 59…so that was a really cool thing to be able to experience and watch him be able to accomplish.”
Kiessling hit 58.99 to win the event.
“A lot of work goes into that,” Loseby said. “It is a huge physical piece, obviously, in the practice setting and training at that race pace and then mentally it is difficult. Hundreds are hard because a lot of people feel like they want to save at least a little bit for that last 50 and not put everything forth during that first half. Mentally that is a really hard thing to not do because it really hurts and it doesn’t feel pleasant whatsoever. Trying to be OK with knowing that you are going to be going out as fast as you possibly can and just coming back with whatever you have left is a huge mental barrier to overcome, and knowing that it is going to feel really painful in the process of doing it. When you touch the wall in the end, and being able to look up and see that time you’ve achieved for yourself, is all worth it in the end.”
Kiessling also led off the winning boys 200-yard medley relay team on Friday that included seniors Matthew Plang and Matthew Godkin and sophomore Josh Edwards and finished in 1:44.38. Godkin, Edwards, senior Owen Rumsey and Plang won the boys 200 free relay in 1:35.04.
The girls 200-yard medley relay of senior Pacific Ricke, sophomore Kennedy Miller, senior Lucia Chapell and sophomore Bailey Fisher won in 1:59.71 on Friday and junior Deedee Mills, senior Parker Boman, sophomore Amy Liddle and Ricke won Saturday in 1:58.50.
The girls 200 freestyle relay of Mills, Miller, Fisher and Liddle won in 1:44.89 on Friday and Miller, Fisher, Ricke and Chapell won in 1:48.71 on Saturday.
The girls 400 free relay of Chapell, senior Nova Brakes-Hines, Boman and Ricke won in 4:05.85 on Friday and Fisher, Miller, Mills and Liddle won in 3:58.00 on Saturday.
“We don’t usually focus too much on placing,” Loseby said. “And that is really like a mindset shift I try and focus on with kids. The placement is the result of the effort and the time that they achieve and put forth. Ultimately the only thing that we can control, and they can control, is themselves and the effort that they put forth every practice both physically and mentally, and the support that they give each other and their teammates. All of that is culminating in them racing the clock and them trying to improve upon their times for themselves and improve upon their times for their teammates, and whatever placing that gets them we really try and emphasize that we can’t control what other people do. We can swim exceptionally well, but we still might get 16th place, but you might get a huge best time and that is still an accomplishment in and of itself…The placement on top of that is really a bonus…”
On Friday, Liddle won the girls 200 IM in 2:13.02 and was followed by Ricke for second in 2:25.95, Boman 3rd in 2:32.97, sophomore Maddox Rasmussen 4th in 2:33.21, Brakes-Hines 5th in 2:39.95 and freshman Delphine Hochstoeger sixth in 2:46.34. All demonstrating the talented roster the team features (complete results are included in attached meet pdfs).
“Amy is one of the top-ranked girls right now in many of her events,” Loseby said. “And she is seeded first in quite a few. It is just great to see her continue to improve in her swims time-wise and similar to many other kids on the team getting really close to that fully tapered time that they had previously accomplished at regions or state last season. In a lot of occasions this season with Amy she is getting faster than those times she previously gotten before when she was fully tapered and prepared for that final competition. Amy is going to do exceptionally well just like everybody else come regions and state and I’m excited to watch her swim.”
Junior Taylor Mesdag led a sweep of Crimson Bears girls divers both nights, and was followed by sophomore Moira Bahn, senior Caitlin Sanders, and sophomores Adeline Williams and Stella Asplund.
“Our divers are just continuing to do really well, and both Moira and Caitlin are relatively new to the sport of diving,” Loseby said. “They are both just really enjoying it and making a ton of improvements with each meet that they go to.”
On Friday, Mills won the 50 free in 26.00, Bailey the 100 free in 58.20 (Miller 2nd 58.71), Rasmussen the 500 free in 5:55.91, Mills the 100 back in 1:01.28, and Liddle the 100 breast in 1:09.57. Godkin placed second with 57.93 to Sitka’s Tommy McCarthy’s 57.67 in the boys 100 fly. Godkin and Plang placed second and third, in 1:01.74 and 1:03.36 respectively, to Ketchikan’s Parker Hagan’s 59.05 in the 100 back.
On Saturday, Miller won the girls 50 free in 26.82 (Fisher 2nd 27.27, sophomore Kaelyn Szefler 3rd 27.47). Liddle won the girls 100 fly in 58.70 (Miller 2nd 1:05.12). Plang won the boys 100 fly in 56.60 (Edwards 2nd 57.23).
“Matthew swam the 100 fly this meet and was about a second off his fully tapered time that he previously achieved during the state championship meet last season,” Loseby said. “And so that was cool to be right on that time when we haven’t even tapered yet, we’re just reaching the peak of our training right now in terms of difficulty and yardage being put forth. We as a team are in a really good spot for regions and for state.”
Mills won the girls 100 free in 57.62 and the 100 back in 1:01.61 (Liddle 2nd 1:02.35). Chapell won the girls 500 free in 5:48.56. Boman won the girls 100 breast in 1:13.99 (Sanders 3rd 1:24.85). Plang won the boys 100 breast in 1:02.40 (Edwards 3rd 1:05.79).
Only a Saturday team score was available. The JDHS girls won with 705 points, Ketchikan 273, Petersburg 185, Craig 140, Wrangell 98 and Sitka 71. The JDHS boys won with 590, KTN 565, SIT 377, CRG 62, PSG 32 and WRG 14.
The Crimson Bears next will compete at the Region V Championships in Petersburg Nov. 1-2 to qualify individual and relays to the State Championships Nov. 8-9 at Anchorage’s Bartlett High School Pool.
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@juneauempire.com.
Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé senior Matthew Plang looks at his time at the finish of the Crimson Bears’ boys winning 200 yard relay on Friday at Sitka. (James Poulson/Daily Sitka Sentinel)
