The Cheney High School boys swimming season got off to an impressive start last Saturday at Lions Pool in Yakima. The boys swept a four-team meet, winning head-to-head match-ups against Selah, Grandview, Prosser and East Valley-Yakima.
Blackhawks head coach Jennifer Hochwalt said all teams but Selah were much smaller than Cheney so the scores were not very competitive. What was impressive to her was the boys 93-75 victory over an evenly-match Vikings squad.
“I think we’re starting where we left off (last season),” she added.
Cheney notched first-place finishes in seven of 11 events, including two of three relays. Individual results begin with Trevor Babcock’s win in the 200-yard freestyle.
Babcock touched the wall first in 1 minute, 50.57 seconds — almost 3 seconds faster than the state qualifying time, punching the senior’s ticket for Federal Way this coming February. Steve Freeman was second in 2:18.70 and Eric Foien was third in 2:20.71.
Jared Geschke took first in the 200 individual medley in a time of 2:17.97, with Trae Babcock third in 2:25.23. Trevor Babcock was first in the 100 butterfly in 1:00.18, with Matt Norman second in 1:18.04, while Foien took first in the 500 free in 6:10.58, with Freeman second in 6:20.25.
Geschke took first in the 100 breaststroke in 1:08.68 to wrap up Cheney’s first-place finishes. In the 50 free, Matt Christianson was second in 27.36, with Noah Solis third in 28.48. Christianson was also third in the 100 free in 1:03.17.
Trae Babcock was second in the 100 backstroke in 1:09.13, with Jacob Devine third in 1:16.79 to conclude Cheney’s individual finishes.
In relays, the 400-free team of Geschke, Norman, Freeman and Trevor Babcock was first in 3:56.72. The 200-free team of Trae Babcock, Solis, Norman and Trevor Babcock was first in 1:42.09.
The 200 individual medley team of Trae Babcock, Geschke, Norman and Freeman was second in 2:02.27.
Hochwalt was happy with the way her varsity swimmers performed, as well as the new and returning athletes competing in junior varsity heats, who she said were “miles ahead” of where they were last year at this time.
“The kids who were new swam really, really well,” she said. “I was pleasantly surprised.”
Only one of Cheney’s co-op swimmers from Medical Lake and East Valley had enough practices in to be eligible to compete in last Saturdays meet due to differences in schedules between the school districts. Medical Lake senior Tylor Edison competed in the 50 free and 100 breaststroke, posting times of 29.50 and 1:27.00 respectively.
The Blackhawks will take part in an intrasquad meet this Saturday, and return to the competitive waters next Thursday (Dec. 15) against Pullman in Cheney’s first home meet of the season.
John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].
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