Anchorage Daily News

At 3:02 p.m. Friday afternoon -- two minutes after the designated starting time -- the first of 58 heats of swimmers in the Cook Inlet Conference championships hit the water at Bartlett High.

It was the last time the meet was behind schedule all day.

"It runs like clockwork," remarked Bartlett assistant principal Rodger Nicolls, the meet's coordinating administrator.

A newcomer to the swimming world would have a hard time believing that based on a quick observation of the chaotic scene inside Bartlett's freshly renovated 50-meter pool.

Speedo-clad swimmers from eight high schools crowded every corner of the facility, lounging casually poolside, snacking, cheering on fellow competitors and taking intermittent dips in the warm-up pool.

Judges in matching white polo shirts stood at attention, their gazes fixed on the competition pool, where heat after heat of swimmers took to the water with a precision that would make the soldiers at nearby Elmendorf Air Force Base smile.

Inside the buzzing natatorial hive, the din of chatter, whistles and public address announcements was broken only by the starter's stern command of "Take your mark," followed by the starting horn.

More than 200 swimmers and divers are participating in the three-day meet, which in addition to serving as the conference championship is also one of four statewide qualifying meets.

The job of bringing order to the chaos falls on the Anchorage swimming community, a tight-knit group of volunteers whose love of the sport helped pass a $2 million bond last year that went toward renovating pools at Bartlett and Service.

The KNIK Aquatics swim club is running this weekend's event, with the broader Central Area of Alaska Swimming taking over for next week's state event, also at Bartlett. Meet director Gretchen Jennings said more than 70 volunteers are needed for such a meet, with preparations ongoing throughout the year.

"We'll start planning for next year at the end of this meet," she said.

The bond package -- coupled with a $2 million state match -- helped pay for new scoreboards, fresh tiles and an improved automated scoring system, which Jennings said makes her job a lot easier.

"The more high-tech, the easier it gets," she said.

Bartlett's pool now ranks as the state's finest, making it an ideal venue for regional and statewide competition.

"We're really fortunate to have this," Jennings said.

She said when swimmers from other parts of Alaska arrive for next week's state meet, they're in for a treat.

"It's like walking into Lambeau Field," she said.

Volunteers handle every aspect of the meet, from making sure swimmers use proper strokes to ensuring the automatic timing systems are working correctly. They even provide food for coaches. Over the past two weeks, Jennings said, she's been working almost nonstop to make sure everything goes off without a hitch. And she hasn't been alone.

"All of these people just jumped in and said, 'What do you need?' " Jennings said.

There was plenty of action in the water as well Friday, with several CIC athletes having big days. Five swimmers posted the top times in two events apiece and will try to become double winners when finals begin at 3 p.m.:

Dimond's Matt Summers in the boys 200-yard freestyle and 500-yard freestyle;

South's Jay Schulte in the boys 100 breast stroke and 100 individual medley;

Dimond's Nikki Wray in the girls 500 freestyle and 200 individual medley;

East's Sam Wicks in the girls 50 freestyle and 100 backstroke;

Service's Margot Adams in the girls 100 butterfly and 100 freestyle.

The CIC champion in each swimming event will advance to the state meet, as will the top two finishers at three other conference meets around the state, plus the 12 swimmers statewide with the next-best times.

While it takes a lot of hard work to put on the CIC meet -- which continues today with second-round diving preliminaries at 8:30 a.m. -- Jennings said it's an event for the Anchorage swimming world to gather in one spot and celebrate their sport.

"I like this event because it gets all of Anchorage together," she said.

Find Matt Tunseth online at adn.com/contact/mtunseth or call 257-4335.

CIC Swimming/Diving Meet

Friday at Bartlett

Boys

200 Freestyle -- 1, Summers, Matthew S, Dimond, 1:46.38. 2, Wilcox, David K, Dimond, 1:51.14. 3, Ursin, Jackson G, Dimond, 1:51.50. 4, Ross, Simon P, Dimond, 1:52.84. 5, Dunhoff, Michael, Service, 1:53.33. 6, McGownd, Tucker F, West, 1:54.11. 7, Stocker, Micah R, East, 1:54.89. 8, Steger, Clinton P, East, 1:56.40. 9, Esplin, Eric, South, 1:57.22. 10, Rockwell, Zach, South, 1:58.06. 11, Ray, Isaah, Chugiak, 1:59.12. 12, McWorkman, Christian, Service, 2:05.34. 13, Marks, Jackson, West, 2:08.45. 14, Gonzalez, Victor, South, 2:09.93. 15, Rivera, Bronson A, East, 2:11.38. 16, Rosane, Trent, Chugiak, 2:13.47.

200 IM -- 1, Schulte, Jay, South, 2:03.81. 2, Scofield, Forrest, Service, 2:08.56. 3, Bullington, Nick L, West, 2:09.75. 4, Wilcox, Erik K, Dimond, 2:10.42. 5, Sandstorm, Joseph A, Dimond, 2:10.45. 6, Wilson, Matthew S, Dimond, 2:15.66. 7, Steger, Eddie R, East, 2:22.28. 8, Hummel, Austin K, Dimond, 2:23.45. 9, Kinney, Ryan, Chugiak, 2:23.62. 10, Emile, Xander, South, 2:24.38. 11, Ensign, Grant, Chugiak, 2:29.92. 12, Chu, Joe, Service, 2:35.91. 13, Wilder, Mitchell, Chugiak, 2:52.82. 14, Dey, Colin A, East, 2:55.38. 15, Wise, Brian, West, 2:57.78. 16, Snyder, Andrew, South, 2:58.75.

50 Freestyle -- 1, Wooten, Shawn L, East, 22.54. 2, Adams, Wyatt, Service, 22.57. 3, Krenzelok, Brett, Eagle River, 22.83. 4, Rockwell, Ben, South, 22.90. 5, Anderson, Adam W, Dimond, 24.69. 6, Roylance, Kris, West, 24.82. 7, Anderson, Jeremy G, Dimond, 24.89. 8, Lewellyn, Zach, Service, 24.93. 9, Lister, RJ, Eagle River, 25.01. 10, Towslee Jr., Donald, Dimond, 25.67. 11, Holmquist, Brandon, Eagle River, 25.82. 12, Murray, Jacob, Chugiak, 25.98. 13, Kellar, Griffin, South, 26.11. 14, Moore, Gage, South, 26.80. 15, Bissell, Donald K, Dimond, 27.09. 16, Carillo, Toby, Bartlett, 27.29.

100 Butterfly -- 1, Adams, Wyatt, Service, 53.73. 2, Wilcox, David K, Dimond, 56.19. 3, Wilson, Matthew S, Dimond, 57.19. 4, Dunhoff, Michael, Service, 58.62. 5, Esplin, Eric, South, 59.87. 6, Anderson, Adam W, Dimond, 1:00.22. 7, Steger, Eddie R, East, 1:04.34. 8, Emile, Kyle, South, 1:04.64. 9, Bostick, George F, East, 1:04.77. 10, Chu, Joe, Service, 1:05.00. 11, Ensign, Grant, Chugiak, 1:08.89. 12, Booth, Jonah, Chugiak, 1:09.02. 13, Hess, Austin, Service, 1:09.69. 14, Carter, Matt, West, 1:12.93. 15, Vu, Alexander, Dimond, 1:13.50. 16, Todd, Garrett, West, 1:16.10.

100 Freestyle -- 1, Kowalewski, Adam M, Dimond, 48.83. 2, Wooten, Shawn L, East, 50.04. 3, Rockwell, Ben, South, 50.46. 4, McGownd, Tucker F, West, 51.27. 5, Bulkow, Rowan, Service, 52.75. 6, Ray, Isaah, Chugiak, 53.48. 7, Hummel, Austin K, Dimond, 53.84. 8, Scofield, Forrest, Service, 53.85. 9, Hullinger, Chase, Eagle River, 54.45. 10, Towslee Jr., Donald, Dimond, 56.53. 11, McWorkman, Christian, Service, 56.92. 12, Wilson, Tommy S, Dimond, 57.41. 13, Lewellyn, Zach, Service, 57.63. 14, Moore, Gage, South, 57.94. 15, Durr, Franklin, Bartlett, 58.41. 16, Roylance, Steve, West, 59.22.

500 Freestyle -- 1, Summers, Matthew S, Dimond, 4:46.73. 2, Ursin, Jackson G, Dimond, 5:06.31. 3, Ross, Simon P, Dimond, 5:11.39. 4, Miller, Adam, Service, 5:14.70. 5, Krenzelok, Brett, Eagle River, 5:17.61. 6, Steger, Clinton P, East, 5:22.99. 7, Bostick, George F, East, 5:30.58. 8, Kinney, Ryan, Chugiak, 5:43.40. 9, Gonzalez, Victor, South, 5:49.12. 10, Roylance, Kris, West, 5:50.80. 11, Booth, Jonah, Chugiak, 5:55.21. 12, Emile, Kyle, South, 6:00.52. 13, Kellar, Griffin, South, 6:00.67. 14, Anderson, Samuel D, Dimond, 6:08.05. 15, Wood, Tyler, Service, 6:08.15. 16, Durr, Franklin, Bartlett, 6:13.43.

100 Backstroke -- 1, Rockwell, Zach, South, 57.56. 2, Chan, Cory, Dimond, 57.94. 3, Anderson, Jeremy G, Dimond, 58.59. 4, Miller, Adam, Service, 59.67. 5, Stocker, Micah R, East, 59.68. 6, Wilson, Tommy S, Dimond, 1:06.45. 7, Marks, Jackson, West, 1:07.27. 8, Bissell, Donald K, Dimond, 1:07.90. 9, Rivera, Bronson A, East, 1:11.68. 10, Rosane, Trent, Chugiak, 1:11.70. 11, Carter, Matt, West, 1:17.33. 12, Wilcox, Chance, Service, 1:18.34. 13, Minster, Zach, South, 1:20.01. 14, Laufer, Eric, South, 1:27.62. 15, Grumman, Eric, West, 1:32.42.

100 Breaststroke -- 1, Schulte, Jay, South, 1:00.74. 2, Kowalewski, Adam M, Dimond, 1:03.77. 3, Bullington, Nick L, West, 1:04.58. 4, Sandstorm, Joseph A, Dimond, 1:05.86. 5, Wilcox, Erik K, Dimond, 1:07.99. 6, Hullinger, Chase, Eagle River, 1:12.53. 7, Bulkow, Rowan, Service, 1:12.83. 8, Nagel, Patrick I, Dimond, 1:13.82. 9, Murray, Jacob, Chugiak, 1:15.40. 10, Roylance, Steve, West, 1:16.75. 11, Emile, Xander, South, 1:17.31. 12, Cluff, Derek, Chugiak, 1:17.84. 13, Wilcox, Chance, Service, 1:20.35. 14, Pessetto, Jared, South, 1:20.47. 15, Holmquist, Brandon, Eagle River, 1:20.77. 16, Wilder, Mitchell, Chugiak, 1:21.25.

Preliminaries

Girls

200 Freestyle -- 1, Knight, Chelsea, South, 2:00.11. 2, Iverson, Jordan, Service, 2:01.73. 3, Dalton, Katy H, West, 2:02.76. 4, Iverson, Hannah, Service, 2:03.65. 5, Brustolin, Leticia R, Dimond, 2:04.54. 6, Cavanaugh, Jesi E, East, 2:05.12. 7, Bauer, Katie, Service, 2:05.45. 8, Wallace, McKinley R, East, 2:05.48. 9, Summers, Lauren M, Dimond, 2:05.84. 10, Bulkow, Madeline, Service, 2:09.38. 11, Redick, Mali R, West, 2:10.77. 12, Holtman, Cierra, Chugiak, 2:10.85. 13, Taylor, Ashley, South, 2:10.87. 14, Sauerbrey, Sarah E, East, 2:13.11. 15, Gomez, Xiunell, Dimond, 2:13.50. 16, Sandstrom, Julie E, Dimond, 2:14.79.

200 IM -- 1, Wray, Nikki L, Dimond, 2:15.77. 2, Adams, Victoria, Service, 2:16.93. 3, Miller, Chloe, Service, 2:17.04. 4, Hawkins, Michelle D, Dimond, 2:17.17. 5, Jones, Lori C, East, 2:21.28. 6, McDuffie, Laura, Service, 2:24.29. 7, Hodgson, Haylee, Service, 2:29.79. 8, Johnson, Richelle, Eagle River, 2:35.07. 9, Hartke, Amy, Chugiak, 2:36.32. 10, Desatoff, Savanna K, Dimond, 2:36.42. 11, Rohleder, Jessica L, East, 2:36.65. 12, Shercliffe, Rachel, Chugiak, 2:38.15. 13, Grosch, Katie, West, 2:38.41. 14, Saur, Kaylin J, Dimond, 2:39.70. 15, Comellas, Thomissa, South, 2:39.79. 16, Wika, Kianna, South, 2:39.93.

50 Freestyle -- 1, Wicks, Sam J, East, 24.17. 2, Uselmann, Mary, Service, 24.91. 3, Jones, Kaylen, South, 25.62. 4, Bissell, Haley N, Dimond, 25.67. 5, Yoo, Paulina, South, 25.73. 6, Sauerbrey, Carrie M, East, 25.83. 7, Kirk, Christine, Service, 26.01. 8, Oldenkamp, Katie, Chugiak, 26.52. 9, Jordan, Renee R, East, 26.79. 10, Kirkwood, Katherine, South, 26.87. 11, Robinson, Haleigh, South, 27.04. 12, Parker, Danielle M, Dimond, 27.06. 13, Patin, Hayley, Eagle River, 28.01. 14, Kujala, Dana, Service, 28.03. 15, Anderson, Cortney M, Dimond, 28.25. 16, Morthorpe, Roni, Eagle River, 28.26.

100 Butterfly -- 1, Adams, Margot, Service, 57.82. 2, Uselmann, Mary, Service, 1:00.51. 3, Cavanaugh, Jesi E, East, 1:02.12. 4, Summers, Lauren M, Dimond, 1:02.49. 5, Jones, Lori C, East, 1:03.45. 6, Knight, Chelsea, South, 1:03.59. 7, Bulkow, Madeline, Service, 1:03.68. 8, Taylor, Ashley, South, 1:06.25. 9, Lange, Maegan, Chugiak, 1:09.52. 10, Sharp, Cierra, West, 1:10.50. 11, Gomez, Xiunell, Dimond, 1:11.29. 12, Pierce, Donna, Service, 1:11.82. 13, Laichak, Erin V, Dimond, 1:12.27. 14, McCormick, Brittany, Chugiak, 1:13.64. 15, Saur, Kaylin J, Dimond, 1:14.99. 16, Ebnet, Angeline, South, 1:16.05.

100 Freestyle -- 1, Adams, Margot, Service, 54.51. 2, Jones, Kaylen, South, 55.91. 3, Dalton, Katy H, West, 56.48. 4, Bauer, Katie, Service, 57.33. 5, Oldenkamp, Katie, Chugiak, 57.98. 6, Kirkwood, Katherine, South, 59.00. 7, Parker, Danielle M, Dimond, 59.05. 8, Robinson, Haleigh, South, 1:00.17. 9, Holt, Samantha C, Dimond, 1:00.52. 10, Jordan, Rochelle R, East, 1:00.72. 11, Kujala, Dana, Service, 1:01.20. 12, Sandstrom, Julie E, Dimond, 1:01.98. 13, Isakson, Kosette C, Dimond, 1:02.97. 14, Pollock, Emily, Service, 1:05.32. 15, Muldoon, Sammy, Chugiak, 1:05.33. 16, Mike, Breanna, Chugiak, 1:07.48.

500 Freestyle -- 1, Wray, Nikki L, Dimond, 5:27.58. 2, Iverson, Jordan, Service, 5:31.55. 3, Iverson, Hannah, Service, 5:32.57. 4, Wallace, McKinley R, East, 5:34.41. 5, Tucillo, Marlana, South, 5:36.25. 6, Brustolin, Leticia R, Dimond, 5:36.29. 7, Holt, Hayley L, Dimond, 5:40.16. 8, Burr, Ena J, East, 5:43.09. 9, Patin, Hayley, Eagle River, 5:50.42. 10, Holtman, Cierra, Chugiak, 5:51.87. 11, Redick, Mali R, West, 5:54.99. 12, Anger, Olivia B, West, 5:57.06. 13, Heath, Katie, Service, 5:59.99. 14, Jennings, Anna, Chugiak, 6:02.92. 15, Schulte, Jessica, South, 6:18.38. 16, Hall, Katrina, Eagle River, 6:21.39.

100 Backstroke -- 1, Wicks, Sam J, East, 58.79. 2, Hawkins, Michelle D, Dimond, 59.06. 3, Adams, Victoria, Service, 1:01.10. 4, Bissell, Haley N, Dimond, 1:02.24. 5, McDuffie, Laura, Service, 1:03.47. 6, Yoo, Paulina, South, 1:03.77. 7, Sauerbrey, Sarah E, East, 1:06.79. 8, Burr, Ena J, East, 1:07.00. 9, Johnson, Skye, Chugiak, 1:07.79. 10, Mikkleson, Birgitta, South, 1:09.92. 11, Erickson, Savannah, Chugiak, 1:09.97. 12, Holt, Samantha C, Dimond, 1:10.46. 13, Skrocki, Sarah, South, 1:10.86. 14, Heath, Katie, Service, 1:12.60. 15, Muldoon, Sammy, Chugiak, 1:12.98. 16, Wheeler, Brenna, Eagle River, 1:13.62.

100 Breaststroke -- 1, Kirk, Christine, Service, 1:11.33. 2, Tucillo, Marlana, South, 1:13.00. 3, Miller, Chloe, Service, 1:14.26. 4, Cockreham, Erin, Eagle River, 1:15.76. 5, Hodgson, Haylee, Service, 1:16.86. 6, Grosch, Katie, West, 1:17.10. 7, Anger, Olivia B, West, 1:17.51. 8, Holt, Hayley L, Dimond, 1:18.39. 9, Shercliffe, Rachel, Chugiak, 1:18.92. 10, Johnson, Richelle, Eagle River, 1:18.94. 11, Jennings, Anna, Chugiak, 1:19.84. 12, Wika, Kianna, South, 1:20.75. 13, Rhodes, McKenna, South, 1:20.80. 14, Desatoff, Savanna K, Dimond, 1:21.29. 15, Campbell, Mariah A, Dimond, 1:21.93. 16, Hartke, Sam, Chugiak, 1:23.00.

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