Local athletes compete at long course state swim meet

THE GORGE — Hood River and The Dalles summer swim teams both had two athletes who qualified for the USA Swimming/Oregon Swimming Inc. (OSI) Long Course State Championship age 11-and-over meet July 24-27 at the Mt. Hood Community College Aquatic Center in Gresham.

The Dalles swim team, guided by Coach Ann Goodman and assistant coaches Carter Randall and Rita Rincon, had two swimmers who earned a spot in the event: Sebastian Powell (boys age 11 class) and Solana Doty (girls age 12 class). Powell and Doty both competed in one event.

“Sebastian did fine, and he added a little time to his previous best 50 free (35.68 seconds),” said Goodman. “He was one of the youngest swimmers here and this was the first time that he’s experienced a big meet like this. We tried to get other swimmers qualified for the state meet, but since we’re not an all-year-around swim team, our kids compete against other kids who swim in meets throughout the entire year. Some of the kids here are swimming all the time and all-year around.”

Powell and Doty qualified for just one event at the huge meet, which included more than 800 swimmers from around the state. Powell swam in the age 11-12, 50-meter freestyle on July 24 and he took 18th place with a time of 37.14 seconds. Doty swam in the 200 free July 27 and she took 20th place with a personal-best time of 2:43.44.

“I’m very proud of Sebastian and Solana, and I’m proud of everyone on our team even though we only had two state qualifiers in the 11 and over division,” said Goodman. “I’m proud of the fact that we have 70 kids on our team every summer.”

The Hood River swim team, guided by Coach Shelley Rawding, had two state qualifiers — Mason Epstein and Rowan Hogue — who both competed in the boys age 11 division. Hogue competed in six events, including the 50 free where he swam to a personal-best time of 33.65 seconds to take eighth place in the finals on July 24. Hogue lowered his best time in four of the six events he competed in.

“They have both done a great job in qualifying for the state meet,” said Rawding. “Mason swam in only one event in the 50 free last Thursday and he had a solid performance while swimming to a personal-best time. Unfortunately, Mason became ill later, and he was unable to continue competing. Rowan has been competing in a multiple number of events, which is really exciting, and he swam to personal-best times in every race.”

Hogue competed in the 100 free and the 400 free on Friday, the 50 backstroke and 50 fly on Saturday, swimming his final event, the 200 free, on Sunday. Hogue was 20th in the 50 fly (39.87); he took 11th in the 100 free (1:17.78); he was 10th in the 400 (5:59.26); and 21st in the 50 back (43.21). Hogue, in his final event on Sunday, dropped seven seconds off his previous best time in the 200 free (2:50.41) and he finished in 20th place.

The Dalles and Hood River swim teams will conclude the summer season with their final event Aug. 8-10 at Newport. The Dalles will have 37 athletes competing at Newport and Hood River will have seven swimmers. Goodman will be guiding both teams because Rawding is unable to attend the Newport meet.