For the week of November 13 - 19, 2002

State swimming a success for WRHS

Gold for girls’ 200 free relay

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Eleven Wood River High School swimmers put it together and had an outstanding team performance Nov. 1-2 during the 2002 Idaho State High School Swimming championships at Boise’s West YMCA.

The Wood River girls (177 points) placed third overall of 28 teams behind such big city powers as champion Lake City (218) and Post Falls (202). Brian Gallagher is the coach of the very successful team, which also includes five hard-working boys.
Winning the gold in the girls’ 200-yard freestyle relay final with a state record 1:42.27 clocking was Wood River’s A team of Amanda Harris, Michele Lowry, Anja Sundali and Molly Parker.

A happy and successful group of Wood River High School swimmers poses with coach Brian Gallagher. From left, Michele Lowry, Molly Parker, Amanda Harris, Gallagher, Anja Sundali and Katie Bryson. Courtesy photo

They won the event by over four seconds and narrowly missed making the “All-American” standard by only 0.4 seconds.
The state championship meet was organized in a preliminary/finals format, with the top 10 swimmers in the prelims advancing to the finals.

Here are the Wood River swimmers who made the finals, followed by the other swimmers and their best placings and times at state:

Michele Lowry, 15, captured second place in girls’ 200 IM with a personal-best 2:13.24 and she also earned the silver in girls’ 100 backstroke (1:00.33).

Molly Parker (25.28) and Amanda Harris (25.65) placed 2-3 in girls’ 50 freestyle. In addition, Parker was fourth in 100 breast stroke in 1:13.92 and Harris placed fourth in 100 free, in 57.65.

Clocking a personal-best time of 1:05.56 in the 100 butterfly final was Anja Sundali, who placed seventh. Wood River’s other finals swimmer was Alex Stabler, who finished ninth in boys’ 200 IM in 2:19.59.

Indeed, Wood River boys’ team had an outstanding weekend, with Stabler qualifying for the finals and the relays taking 13th and 14th overall in a tough field of swimmers.

The boys’ 200 medley relay of Ben Parker, Collin Collins, Alex Stabler and Ray Bryson was 13th in 2:01.43. The same foursome was 14th in the 200 free relay in 1:47.44.

Other prelim placings: Collins 13th 50 free in 25.29 and 13th 100 back in 1:04.61; Stabler 12th 100 breast in 1:09.27; and Katie Bryson 17th 200 IM in 2:41.79 and 22nd 100 breast in 1:21.96.

Also doing a good job with a fifth-place finish in the girls’ 200 medley relay was the Wood River team of Michele Lowry, Katie Bryson, Anja Sundali and Molly Parker in 2:01.75.

Check next week’s Local Life for a complete team photo.

 

 

 

 

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