Blackhawk swimmers find success at Yakima double dual

CHENEY – The Blackhawks girls swimming continued its winning ways, this time competing against Selah High School and co-op team consisting of swimmers from Toppenish and East Valley-Yakima last Saturday at Lions Pool in Yakima. Cheney breezed to a 109-62 win over the Vikings as well as the co-op squad, with no score available at press time.

Cheney won every individual event except the 500-yard freestyle, sweeping to 1-2-3 finishes in the 100 free and 100 backstroke. Asia and Jade Gere, Izzy Williams, Janie Richards and Echo Mecklenburg all earned first-place finishes.

Jade Gere took first in the 200 and the 100 freestyle with times of 2 minutes, 8.84 seconds and 58.41. Adelyn O’Dell was second in the 100 free in 1:01.51 with Jenae Potter third in 1:09.94 while Williams was second in the 200 free in 2:11.18.

Asia Gere was first in the 50 free and 100 breaststroke with times of 26.55 and 1:17.31. O’Dell was third in the 50 free in 28.15.

Richards touched the wall first in the 200 individual medley and the 100 butterfly, winning the former in 2:28.38 and the latter in 1:05.90. Mecklenburg was third in the butterfly in 1:13.89.

Mecklenburg captured the 100 backstroke in 1:09.90, with Williams second in 1:10.43 and Hope Zaragoza third in 1:17.10. Ally Hughes was second in the 500 free in7:01.47, with Logan Krantz third in 7:14.81.

Cheney swept all three relay events. Richards, Jade Gere, Mecklenburg and Asia Gere got the meet started with a win in the 200 medley relay in 2:04.93, with both Geres, Williams and Richards winning the 200 free in 1:48.94 and Williams, Mecklenburg, O’Dell and Lauren O’Callaghan teaming to finish the meet with a win in the 400 free in 4:15.47.

“The swimmers are training pretty hard at this point in the season and we are not letting up for dual meets,” Blackhawks head coach Jennifer Hochwalt said in an email. “This means they are racing pretty tired. Despite that, they performed near their season best times (at Yakima).”

Cheney travels this Friday, Oct. 11, to take on Pullman and Clarkston before returning home for good, facing Prosser and Grandview on Thursday, Oct. 17 and Pullman and Clarkston again on Saturday, Oct. 26. Home meets are at Eastern Washington University’s pool.

John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].