The Wilsonville boys swimming team took second place at the 2024 Northwest Oregon Conference Championship meet on Saturday, Feb. 10, as senior Steve Khamvongsa finished first in the 100-yard breaststroke and second in the 100-yard freestyle while contributing to second-place finishes in the 200-yard medley and 200-yard freestyle relays.
Khamvongsa dropped more than a second from each of his individual preliminary times at Parkrose High School on Saturday, finishing behind Hood River Valley’s Caiden Titus in the 100-yard free by just 1.14 seconds. While Khamvongsa swam 50.76, Titus was just ahead at 49.62.
Meanwhile, in the 100-yard breast final, Khamvongsa continued his productive showing with a time of 1:01.17, topping Canby’s Kai Laitinen for the title.
Ultimately, the Wildcats’ senior led the way with 32 points as Wilsonville finished second as a team with 362 total points.
“I think I did pretty good,” Khamvongsa said. “I’ve been practicing a lot with my club team, and we haven’t quite started tapering yet, so next week, that’s when I’ll start going real fast.”
On the two second-place relay teams for the Wildcats, Khamvongsa was joined by fellow seniors Max Buchwald and Gabriel Melo. In the 200-yard medley final, the foursome finished with a time of 1:48.43, while in the 200-yard free final, a mark of 1:38.26 was enough to take second.
Wilsonville had just one other first-place finisher, as Canby took the team title with 377 points and Hood River Valley finished third with 311.
Still, the Wildcats got notable contributions from Buchwald and junior Justin Paris.
Buchwald took first in 50-yard free and in 100-yard back with times of 23.75 and 56.72, respectively. Meanwhile, Paris contributed an eighth-place finish in 50-yard free and a sixth-place finish in the 100-yard fly.
“I’m just really proud of my performance today,” Buchwald said. “I’m really excited. Two first-place individual races and I think in my relay I really put the work in getting that second place. So I’m really proud of myself and I think all the Wildcats here today raced their hearts out and I really appreciate it.”
On the girls side, the Wildcats finished seventh as a team as sophomore Avery Rogien led the way, competing in two finals on Saturday.
The sophomore finished eighth in both the 100 and 200-yard free finals with times of 1:07.92 and 2:34.40, respectively.
Ultimately, the Wildcats finished with 100 points as a team, while Canby took the title with a landslide victory, earning 505 points. Hood River Valley finished second with 421 points, while La Salle Prep took third with 285.
Khamvongsa and all other state-qualifying swimmers will be in action again this week, as the 2024 OSAA Boys and Girls 6A Swimming State Championships get underway Friday, Feb. 16.
The two-day event is set to take place at Tualatin Hills Aquatic Center in Beaverton, starting with preliminary races at 9 a.m. on Friday.
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