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Community Sports: Fast Breaks for Aug. 2: Area swimmers compete at state meet
By Staff Reports
Saturday, August 2, 2008 12:15 PM PDT
Two swimmers from the Gold Coast Swim Team and six from the South Coast Aquatic Team competed in the Oregon 11-and-over long-course state championships last weekend in Eugene.
Max Stuntzner-Gibson of the Gold Coast Swim Team turned 14 the day the meet started, so he was the youngest swimmer in his age group. His best finish was fourth in the 200-meter individual medley, Stuntzner-Gibson also just missed making Oregon’s zone team in the 200-meter backstroke by eight-10ths of a second.
Tyler Bunnell, competing in a 50-meter pool for the first time, was 11th in his event, the 50 backstroke.
Kevin Waller led the South Coast Aquatic Team by winning the 400-meter freestyle. He posted the top preliminary times in both the 100 and 200 freestyles before finishing second in each.
Rachel Heaney finished second in the 400 freestyle and had several other top-10 finishes, while James Verger was third in the 800 freestyle and fourth in the 400 freestyle after having the second-best preliminary time. Sean Esperance had a best of seventh. Gabe Deen and Kelsey Morgan also competed.
Waller and Verger both qualified for Oregon’s zone team. A story on their accomplishment will be included in Tuesday’s edition of The World.
Results for both teams are included in today’s Community Scoreboard.
Mohr swims
Ralph Mohr, a local masters swimmer, had two second-place finishes and anchored a relay team to first place in the recent Rogue Valley Masters Open Water Weekend at Applegate Lake near Ruch.
On the opening day of the event, in pleasant 70-degree water, Mohr was second in the 65-69 age group 1,500-meter swim with a time of 27 minutes and 20 seconds. About an hour later, Mohr anchored the winning three-person 1,500-meter relay team.
“We were a balanced team,” he said. “The meet directors tried to have teams as equal as possible, but the 45-year-old woman on my team put us in third after the first leg and then our 14-year-old age-group winner scorched the field, and I had a big lead. All I had to do was keep it. Fear is a great motivator.”
On Sunday, Mohr again finished second in his age group, this time in the 5-kilometer (3.1-mile) race, finishing in 1 hour, 37 minutes and 42 seconds.
“It hurt,” he said. “I had trouble breathing all the way.”
Mohr’s next competition will be at the Cascade Lakes Swim Series at Elk Lake near Bend. The three-day event will include a 3K on Friday, a 1,500-meter race on Saturday and another 5K on Sunday.
Masters swimmers to compete at nationals
Five swimmers from the Bay Area will compete in the Outdoor Long Course Masters National Championships at Mount Hood Community College Aug. 14-17.
The locals competing, with their ages in parentheses, are Nina Gee (75), Ralph Mohr (66), Karen Matson (46), Denise Stuntzner-Gibson (46) and Jayna Tomac (36).
Mingus Swim Camp
The Mingus Park Pool will host a competitive swim camp the week of Aug. 11-15.
The camp will meet from 9 a.m. to noon each day and will cover all four competitive swim strokes, as well as starts and turns. It will conclude with a swim meet.
The camp instructor will be Gold Coast Swim Team coach Kathe Stufflebean.
The cost is $50 per student. Each swimmer should bring a suit, goggles and two to three towels, as well as a snack.Drinks will be provided.
For more information, call 267-1360.
Buck Williams Classic
The Marshfield Booster Club’s annual Buck Williams Classic golf tournament will be held on Sunday, Aug. 17, at Coos Country Club.
A shotgun start is scheduled for 8 a.m. The four-man scramble is a benefit for Marshfield’s student-athlete programs.
The entry fee is $75 per person and includes green fees, a cart, a barbecue lunch and prizes donated by local businesses. The prizes include a trip to Hawaii, various meals and pop-up canopies for both the University of Oregon and Oregon State University.
For more information or to register, call Gino Harpold at 217-8611 or Steve Schneiderman at 297-0091. |
