Hood River boys win IMC swimming championship

“Our boys won by their depth — we were able to field B relays and had many swimmers that scored just a few points, but they all added up for the win,” HRV Coach Shelly Rawding said. “It was an awesome team effort by all the Eagle boys who competed in the meet.”

Hood River’s boys scored 288 points and Redmond was second with 219. Redmond had won the past two IMC district crowns. The Dalles boys were third with 185 points.

This year’s girls team result was a flip-flop of the 2019 and 2020 meets, as well, won by HRV. Pendleton’s 2-3 finish in the meet’s final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay, clinched the girls title for the Buckaroos. Hood River won the event, as it did all three relays.

“Our girls also showed their versatility in the stroke events and had two double event winners with Sarah Arpag and Michelle Graves,” Rawding said. “We won all three relays, and had depth for B relays, as well, but Pendleton was right there with us and came out on top by one point this year.”

HRV scored 160 points in the girls relays, including 32 in each of its three wins. Pendleton countered with the maximum of four entrants in all but two of the eight individual events. As a result, the Buckaroos outscored HRV in five of those events.

Pendleton’s biggest lead was 21 points after it outscored Hood River 30-17 in the 500 freestyle. But the Eagles outscored the Buckaroos in each of the next three events — 200 free relay, 100 backstroke and 100 breaststroke — to pull within 326 to 323 before the final event, the 400 free relay. Hood River easily won that race by 15 seconds, but Pendleton finished second and third for 50 team points. The Eagles’ B team was fifth for 20 points, and that combined with the 32 first-place points left HRV one shy of the Buckaroos in the team competition.

Hood River had two double winners in Arpag and Graves. Arpag won the 100-yard butterfly (by nine seconds) and edged Pendleton’s Melinda Cramp by a half second in the 100 backstroke. Graves won the 200 individual medley by 16 seconds and the 100 breaststroke. Cramp was Pendleton’s lone individual girls champion (100 freestyle).

“In addition to Sarah and Michelle’s double wins, other notable swims included Abby McCormack’s awesome finish to win the 50 free by a few hundreths of a second,” Rawding said.

McCormack was seeded second to Lydia DiGennaro of The Dalles in the short race, but edged past at the finish to win 26.54 to 26.57.

HRV’s Emma Titus broke the 60-second barrier for the first time in the 100 free (finishing second in 59.11 to Cramp’s 57.03) and won the 200 free. Madaket Greenleaf was second in the latter race for 13 team points.

“For how short this season was I’m incredibly proud of the way our swimmers competed today,” said Eagle assistant Coach Connor Webb. “Times may not have been what were last year, but the effort was incredible.”

Hood River’s district relay champions included: Arpag, Graves, Greenleaf and McCormack in the 200 medley; McCormack, Titus, Graves and Greenleaf in the 200 free; and Titus, Olivia Summerfield, Abby Tomlinson and Arpag in the 400 free.

Like the Pendleton girls, the HRV boys’ depth carried them to the title. The Eagles had two individual champions: Luke Southall won the 200 free — by 17 seconds — and Gavin Hackett took gold in the 100 fly. Southall was second in the 100 free and anchored HRV’s second place 200 medley relay and its third place 200 free relay. Hackett also was second in the 100 back and swam legs on HRV’s medley and free relays.

Hackett’s 100 butterfly championship included a second-place finish by The Dalles’ Michael Cole, who was third in the 50 free to lead the Riverhawk boys placers (25 team points). Teammate Skyler Coburn was fourth in the 200 free.

Other top individual places for the Riverhawk girls included DiGennaro’s aforementioned second in the 50 free and third place in the 100 free. Teammate Hannah Haight was third in the 100 breaststroke and fourth in the 500 free. Paige Compton of The Dalles was fourth in the 200 free.

Riverhawk Coach Derek Shortt said, “We swam hard and achieved our goals. Coming third in both competitions without our full complement of swimmers and meets is something we’re really happy with.”