SPORTS

State swimming meet kicks off Friday at Swarthout

Tribune Staff

For many months, Great Falls swimmers and fans have been looking forward to the biggest meet of the year.

And it truly will be just that.

A record 481 athletes from 22 schools will be at Swarthout Fieldhouse pool this weekend as the State Swimming Meet returns to the Electric City. The action starts Friday morning at 11 and continues until about 6:15 in what is a day filled with preliminaries.

Saturday’s championship finals start at 11 a.m. and run until midafternoon.

This is the first time in four years that Swarthout has been the site of the state meet. This year’s event features more swimmers than ever before.

“It will be well-organized and well-run,” said meet director Gary DeGooyer, athletic director of Great Falls Public Schools. “We’ve got a group of about 35 dedicated swimming volunteers in town. It’s a unique group. They go to meets all over the state. (Meet statistician) Merle Gunderson, I can’t say enough about what he does for us. And (Swarthout Pool manager) Bob Stingley is a great help, too.”

For the last 14 years, Ed McNamee has coached both the Great Falls High and C.M. Russell High boys’ and girls’ teams. He’s proud the state meet is returning to the Electric City.

“I know the product we put out, thanks to our facility and a community that really comes together to provide support, is outstanding,” McNamee said. “The city of Great Falls always does a really good job of hosting events like this. We’ll put our best foot forward and represent our town in a manner that both schools can be proud of.”

There are two divisions, AA and A. Fourteen schools, including GFH and CMR, will compete in AA. The Class A division includes Bigfork, Billings Central, Columbia Falls, Hardin, a Havre-Chinook co-op and Whitefish. Athletes from Missoula Loyola swim on the Big Sky team.

“The Hellgate boys’ and girls’ teams are a juggernaut,” McNamee said. “They’re deep and talented and will be tough to beat.”

Hellgate’s boys and girls have won the last two state team titles. Boys’ and girls’ teams from Billings Central, meanwhile, have claimed the last six Class A titles.

Squads from CMR have had considerable success the last decade. The Russell boys won the state title in 2010, while the CMR girls earned team championships in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. In 2012, the last time the State Meet was in Great Falls, the Rustler girls tied with Helena High for top honors.

“Bozeman’s boys and girls are both tough, but after that it’s a toss-up,” McNamee said. “Both of our guys’ teams (CMR and GFH) could have a real good showing. We need to move up and have things go our way (on Friday), but both the Bison and Rustlers are in contention.”

The CMR girls’ team is considered a contender for a top-three finish along with squads from Helena High and Kalispell Glacier.

Among those swimming for the Electric City teams are the following seniors: CMR’s Patrick Brennan, Madi Smith, Kate Heryla, Tana DeBolt, Justin Sowa, Dawson Grunzweig, and Patrick Hodges; and Great Falls High’s Jared Biddle, Jaydan Elpel, Layton Quinn, and Mackenzie Downard.

Brennan, a state champion two years ago, is expected to be among the top challengers in the 200 IM and 100 fly.

There are no championship finals until Saturday.

“Friday is just for seeding, but we’ll need to be spot-on just to be in position to score a lot of points,” McNamee said. “I think we we can do that. We’ve got the home-pool advantage, and our kids are prepared physically and mentally. It should be exciting. We’re looking forward to it.”