HOOD RIVER - The Hood River Valley boys and girls swim teams opened their eight-event OSAA Class 5A Northwest Oregon Conference regular season schedule with a Dec. 4, four-team meet at the Hood River Aquatic Center.
The Eagles, guided by new first-year head Coach Keith Ebbert, had a strong performance as both squads took first place in team scoring to start the season with a win. The Dalles High Riverhawks, the Pendleton High Buckaroos and the Canby High Cougars also competed in the meet.
“Our team is stronger this year than it was last year,” said Ebbert. “Last year, the girls team won the NWOC district championship, so we should be one of the top contenders for the title again this season. Our boys team is stronger than last year’s squad, but I’m not sure if we’ll have enough swimmers to score enough points necessary to win the district title.”
The 15-member Eagle boys squad is led by returning state qualifiers Liam McGeeney (sophomore) and senior Felipe Mendez. The18-member girls squad is led by sophomore Luca Montague, who is expected to earn an individual state qualifying berth in several of her events this year.
The Eagles girls squad took sixth place at the 2025 state championship swim meet in February, and the boys squad took ninth place. The NWOC district meet will be Feb. 13-14, 2026, and the state meet will be held Feb. 20-21, 2026, at the Tualatin Hills Aquatic Center in Beaverton.
“Right now, I’m just kind of getting a feel for the kids themselves and see what their favorite events are and that’s how I’ll be able to help the team jell together a little bit,” said Ebbert. “I’m trying to figure out if we have a lot of people who demand to have individual events. We just need to find out if some of the people will sacrifice individual events to compete in relays. There’s always an opportunity to score a lot more points in relays.”
The Eagles competed in their second meet Dec. 11 in a three-team event that included the Parkrose High Broncos and the Putnam High Kingsmen at Parkrose High School in Portland. The HRV boys and girls teams both took first place in team scoring.
The Eagles will compete in their next NWOC event in a home dual meet Dec. 18 at 3 p.m. with the Wilsonville High Wildcats at the Hood River Aquatic Center.
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