The Lakeridge girls swim team took second at the 2024 OSAA 6A State Championships at Tualatin Hills Aquatic Center on Saturday, Feb. 17, as senior Rae Dodson and sophomore Helena Huettemeyer finished first and second in the 100 yard breaststroke final.
“We’re really proud of how they swam today,” Lakeridge co-head coach Briggette Stacey Dennett said. “We had a few upsets, but they came back and performed in the relays and went out there and took it. They did awesome.”
Both Dodson and Huettemeyer also contributed to a first-place finish in the 200 yard medley relay, while Huettemeyer additionally swam a leg during a first-place effort in the 400 yard freestyle relay, an event where the Pacers shaved more than six seconds off their preliminary time.
“(The difference) was mindset,” Lakeridge co-head coach John McCommish said. “They wanted to win it. They wanted to go out and beat Jesuit.”
“And then it just comes down to grit. You gotta want it,” Dennett added.
Ultimately, Huettemeyer, junior Sydney Brandvold, junior Jessica Paulsen and sophomore Zoe Chen swam a school-record 3:33.30 to take first in the 400 free relay, while Huettemeyer, Dodson, Chen and senior Munroe Blem swam 1:45.85 to take first in the 200 medley relay.
Meanwhile, Dodson took first in the 100 breast final with a school-record time of 1:02.62, while Huettemeyer finished second in 1:03.77.
“(Dodson)’s been swimming the 100 breast since she was a freshman, and she’s a senior now, so we knew she could break the record, which was 1:03.18, and she went after it today,” Dennett said. “We just keep telling her, ‘You got it, you can do this.’ A lot of times it’s about having kids buy into that. We believe in them, but we need them to believe in themselves.”
Placing first in each of the last two girls events of the day, Lakeridge secured second place with 93 team points, while Jesuit took first with 107.
From the other side of the lake, Lake Oswego junior AnneMarie Vlaic took first in both the 100 yard butterfly and the 500 yard freestyle, fueling the Lakers to a 12th-place finish as a team.
“There were so many awesome races today that nobody could’ve expected,” Vlaic said. “It’s all about how everyone’s feeling on that day and I felt good, so I just went for it and whatever happened, happened, and I was really happy with it.”
In the 100 fly, Vlaic bested West Linn’s Maeve DeYoung with a time of 54.76, while in the 500 free, the junior pulled away late to win by more than two seconds, finishing in 4:57.15.
“In the front half I always try to just get into it, stay with the event, and see how it plays out,” Vlaic said. “Because if I waste my energy in the first half, then I’m just gonna be dead by the end.”
Meanwhile, on the boys side, the Lakers were powered by senior Minsong Kim, who took first in the 50 yard freestyle with a blistering time of 21.05.
“I was kind of nervous for the race, because last year, I didn’t do too good at the state meet,” Kim said. “But I’m glad I was able to swim well and come out on top.”
Kim also contributed to a sixth-place finish in the 200 yard freestyle relay alongside sophomore Alexandru Epifanov, who also finished sixth in the 100 yard backstroke with a time of 51.92.
Ultimately, Lake Oswego finished with 25 points as a team to take ninth.
Meanwhile, Lakeridge freshman Sylvan Schoenheit took fifth in the 500 yard freestyle final with a time of 4:48.50 as the Pacers finished 16th as a group.
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