The Forest Grove Vikings had a strong showing in McMinnville at the 6A Pacific league swim meet last weekend, ending the season by notching a number of personal best times and sending 17 swimmers to the state meet.
Among them were two individual athletes and one relay team via wildcards.
“This is such a fun time in our program,” head coach Sue Fleskes said. “It’s certainly the most swimmers [we’ve sent] to state in recent memory.”
The top swimmer from each event proceeds to state. Athletes who meet state-qualifying times – the fifth-place average at the state meet from the last eight years – are invited as wildcards.
Patrick Rawson is headed to the state meet in the 100m breaststroke as a wildcard. He finished fourth in the district and is seeded No. 15 at the state meet.
“We really are the deepest league,” Fleskes said. “I know the Metro League is good, but I feel like we really are the strongest because a lot of our kids are club swimmers.”
The brother-and-sister combo, Gabe and Sharon Rooker, led the team again. Gabe placed first in the 200m free (1:43.82), broke a district-record and placed first in the 100m breaststroke (57.94) and was part of the 200m medley relay (1:41.07) and 400m freestyle relay (3:26.32).
Sharon took second in both the 100m fly (58.74) and 200m individual medley, and was part of the 200m freestyle relay (1:45.39) that placed fourth – earning a wildcard to state.
“Gabe and Sharon have set school records all season long,” Fleskes said. “They swim club year-round for Tualatin Hills and they didn’t really even taper for this race. Sharon is a competitor and Gabe is a racer that hates to lose.”
Allie Thomas, Azsha Preble and Vera Hutchinson, with alternates Elena Torry-Schrag, Grace Davey, Jami Kenny, Jessica Turner, will accompany Sharon Rooker in the 200m freestyle to state. Rawson, Jake Cockram, James McCahon, with alternates Austin Smith, Andreas Jorgensen, August Peverly and Owen Shiel, will join Gabe Rooker in the 200m medley relay.
“We’re so young,” Fleskes said, “so I took eight kids for every relay to get the experience of the state meet. I want them to get the real feeling of being at a big meet.”
One of the few seniors on the team, Cockram, also placed individually. He won the 100m fly (53.01) and placed second in the 200m individual medley (1:59.40).
“I was so happy for Jake,” Fleskes said. “The growth he has shown is amazing. He isn’t an official captain but has taken the leadership role of those club kids. When he won, and [Forest Grove swim club coach] Tim Hamlet put the medal on him, it was a chilling moment. It was special.”
The state swim meet is at Mt. Hood Community College on Friday and Saturday. Forest Grove will swim preliminaries at 7 p.m. Friday night and then take to the water for the finals Saturday at 6:15p.m.
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