Piranhas swim at home meet

PLAINS – Swimmers crashed through the water and churned out laps during the annual Plains Invitational Swim Meet over the Fourth of July weekend at the EL Johnson Memorial Pool Park.

The hometown Piranhas Swim Team took fourth at the swim meet, compiling 284 team points over the two-day competition.

The winning squad at this year’s competition was the Bitterroot Swim Team who took the competition with 1,655 team points.

The Conrad Swim Team took second in the meet with 506 points and Columbia Falls took third with 419 points.

A Piranhas volunteer coach was excited with the team’s performance at their home meet.

“Everybody did real well, I am real impressed with the kids,” Doreen Stokes said.  

The coach added the team exceeder her expectation noting the Piranhas swimmers really kicked it into gear once competition started.

“There is something about competition that brings out big performances,” Stokes said.

Stokes mentioned she was especially proud of the team’s first year swimmers, who put up strong performances at last weekend’s meet.

Stokes coaches the team with Kirk Fry.

The swim meet features several age divisions, with the youngest group of competitors in the 8 and under group and the senior division featuring competitors ages 15-19.

The Piranhas got strong performances from throughout their roster with younger and older swimmers both performing well.

In the girls 9-10 100-meter individual medley Grace Horton took fifth with a time of 2:04.58 and Genevieve Deschamps placed sixth with a time of 2:06.50.

In the girls 9-10 50-meter freestyle Grace Horton placed fifth with a time of 44.91 and Anna Pallister took eighth with a time of 55.74.

G. Horton also took second in her division’s 50-meter breaststroke with a time of 50.88.

Deschamps and Pallister finished fifth and six in the event with times of 1:02.78 and 1:05.47 respectively.

In the boys 8 and under 25-meter freestyle event, Cole DuBois took second with a time of 23.32 and Brock Ryan finished fifth with a time of 36.33, Liam Pallister also placed in the freestyle event with a time of 1:14.76.

C. DuBois also took third in the 50-meter freestyle with a 56.86 and placed fifth in the 25-meter backstroke clocking in at 40.62.

In the girls 8 and under 25-meter freestyle Hallie Corbin placed with an end time of 28.36.

Corbin also placed in the 25-meter freestyle with a 28.37 and placed in the 25-meter backstroke with a 34.89.

Matthew Woods took sixth in the Boys 9-10 50-meter freestyle with a time of 43.36.

Woods also took third in the 9-10 50-meter breaststroke with a time of 55.90 and finished in sixth in the 50-meter freestyle with a time of 43.36.

In the 100-meter freestyle event Woods took fourth with a time of 1:36.33 and Spur Ryan placed for the Piranhas with a time of 2:29.17.

Hondo Ryan took sixth in the boys 11-12 50-meter freestyle finishing the race with a 55.89.

In the girls 11-12 50-meter breaststroke Kaylee Cole placed with a time of 54.53.

Makiya DuBois took fourth in the 100-meter freestyle with a time of 1:25.48 and K. Cole placed with a 1:25.23 in the event.  

K. Cole and BuBois had strong performances in the 50-meter butterfly finishing the race with times of 47.04 and 48.56 respectively.

Wyatt Horton took second in the boys 13-14 100-meter breaststroke with a 2:01.60.

W. Horton placed in the 100-meter freestyle event with a time of 1:42.24 and took fourth in the 100-meter backstroke with a time of 2:01.50.

In the girls 13-14 100-meter breaststroke Jacelynn DuBois took fifth with a time of 1:52.68.

In the girls 15-19 100-meter freestyle Danika Whitcomb and Grace Gamboa took top spots, finishing third and fourth with times of 1:16.09 and 1:46.18 respectively.

Whitcomb took third in the 100-meter backstroke with a 1:26.86 and Gamboa placed third in the 100-meter butterfly event with a time of 2:28.46.

In the 50-meter butterfly event Gamboa placed fifth with a time of 1:02.42.

Whitcomb swam to a third place finish in the 400-meter freestyle event with a time of 6:13.29.