Jesuit, Catlin Gabel dominate swim meet

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The state of swimming in Oregon is seemingly back and better than ever after the the performances at the OSAA/U.S. Bank state championships at the Tualatin Hills Aquatic Center - both Friday and Saturday.

Five all-time meet records were established during the two-day meet, including two each by swimmers in the boys and girls meet. Overall, the team races were won largely by Southwest Portland and Bend, but the feel of the meet was one of celebration of depth, not just from specific teams, but the state overall.

Nelson High coach Sam Nelson said the club teams throughout the metro area have had a significant impact on carrying the sport forward through the dark times of the Covid epidemic.

Two of the records were established by Jesuit senior Diego Nosack, while two others were set on on the girls side in the Class 5A meet by Wilsonville senior Helena Jones.

In addition to Jesuit winning both 6A titles, Catlin Gabel of Southwest Portland won both the Class 4A titles.

At Class 5A, Bend and Summit won the girls and boys titles, respectively, in their first year after moving down in classification from 6A.

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CLASS 6A

In addition to his two individual all-time records, Nosack also swam legs on the 200 Medley Relay team, which finished second to Nelson, and the winning 400 Freestyle Relay, which catapulted the team above Nelson, 114-108.

CLASS 5A

The Caldera Affect helped Bend and Summit return to the top of the state with team titles in the girls and boys meet, respectively. Overall, it was a spectacular meet as 10 5A records were set, and one state record was established as well.

Bend hadn’t won a girls title since 2018, hampered by four years of competition at Class 6A. Aided by a pair of wins by sophomore Kamryn Meskill, the Lava Bears bested second-place Mountain View 67-52 for the school’s fifth title.

In the boys meet, Summit hadn’t won a boys title since its 2015 when it won its 10th. But, the Storm’s depth helped it overpower defending champion Crescent Valley, 69-58.

All of the Bend school district moved to Class 5A with the addition of a new school, Caldera, this year.

In its first meet, Caldera finished seventh in boys and 11th in girls.

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CLASS 4A

Catlin Gabel rode the performances of the athlete of the meet for both girls and boys to win the team title in both meets.

Junior Hodge Dauler won four events as the boys team easily outdistanced Newport 70-48 in the team scoring, beating the Cubs for the second straight year.

The Eagles girls went down to the final race before edging Sweet Home, 54-51, in what has become an annual duel between the programs. Catlin Gabel won the 400-yard Freestyle Relay by four seconds over Sweet Home, giving the school its second win in four years. Either the Eagles or Huskies have won the title since 2019, with the other team finishing second.

Dauler swam legs on the 200 Medley Relay and 400 Freestyle Relay, and won the 200 Freestyle and the 100 Butterfly.

In addition to the lead leg on the 400 Relay, Tam won the 100 Butterfly, finished second in the 200 Individual Medley in a photo finish and swam on the 200 Freestyle Relay, which finished second.

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