Panthers earn 6A district swim and dive title
The state swim meet will be held Friday and Saturday in Bentonville.
Siloam Springs was a runaway winner in the Class 6A boys division of the North District Swim and Dive Championships held Wednesday at the Bentonville Community Center.
The Panthers took first place in all 12 events and finishing with 648 points to 174 for secondplace Mountain Home and 149 for Russellville. Mountain Home claimed the girls title by a 371314 margin over second-place Russellville, while Siloam Springs finished third with 212 and Greenwood fourth at 76.
“Super proud of all of our swimmers,” said Siloam Springs swim coach Stephanie Goddard. “Everyone put the team first and some swam some events that they weren’t excited about but did it because it would score points for the team. We had a lot of personal bests and a couple of
heartbreak swims.”
Boys
Siloam Springs senior Brittan Butler, who will swim at Oklahoma Christian next year, had individual wins in the 200 individual medley and the 100 backstroke, then played a part in the Panthers winning two relays. Lee Thompson also gave Siloam Springs two individual victories in the 200 freestyle and the 100 butterfly.
“Our boys have worked really, really hard this year,” Goddard said. “It’s a good group of boys. We’re graduating four seniors, but we will be strong again next season because we’ve worked so hard.
“Brittan has such a great work ethic, and he’s such a workhorse. It’s been what he’s wanted to do since he was itty bitty.”
Butler and his 200 medley relay teammates Landon Cottrell, Will O’Hare and Ryke Beever took first place with a time of 1 minute, 46.98 seconds, more than 22 seconds ahead of second place Mountain Home.
Thompson won the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:18.70 ahead of teammate Steven Walls at 2:34.00. Ethan Davis was fourth at 2:40.85, while Sean Jeppsen was fifth at 2:44.46.
Butler won the 200 individual medley with a mark of 2:08.74, followed in second by Cottrell at 2:15.56, Chase Kruger third at 2:29.77 and Quade Greening in fourth at 3:01.58.
“Landon Cottrell missed the state cutoff time in the 200 IM by two hundredths of a second,” Goddard said. “His positive attitude amazes me along with his work ethic. He just smiled and said that he would get it next year.”
Beever was first in the 50 freestyle at 23.56 with O’Hare finishing second at 24.66. Hayden Moore took fourth place at 25.04 and Stephen Grant in fifth at 25.44. Ethan Andrus was sixth at 26.86, while Luke Markovich was eighth at 28.22, Nick Woodard ninth at 28.63 and Zachary Becan 10th at 29.26.
Thompson won the 100 butterfly at 1:04.16, while Greening was third at 1:17.03, Ethan Andrus fourth at 1:20.82 and Jeppsen fifth at 1:34.50.
O’Hare was the winner in the 100 freestyle at 53.66, Beever, who finished second at 54.71. Grant took third place at 56.81, while Moore was fourth at 57.57.
Walls scored first place in the 500 freestyle with a time of 7:01.05, while Harrison Losh was second at 7:03.00 and Davis third at 7:17.07.
The team of Moore, Kruger, Cottrell and Grant took first place in the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:39.34.
Butler was the top finisher in the 100 backstroke at 59.99, while Kruger was second at 1:10.32 and Luke Markovich fourth at 1:19.77.
Cottrell finished first in the 100 breaststroke at 1:07.59, while Zachary Becan was second at 1:21.31 and Losh third at 1:29.05.
The team of O’Hare, Grant, Beever and Butler finished first in the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:35.09.
The one-meter diving event was held Tuesday at the Bentonville Community Center.
Siloam Springs freshman Damien Martin scored first place with a score of 189.15 over freshman teammate Gage Weaver, who placed second at 185.5.
“Damien Martin and Gage Weaver really stepped up and completed the 11 dives with only eight total practices,” Goddard said. “Watch out next year because they are going to be great.”
Girls
The 200 medley relay team of Tabitha Eiland, Catherine Donner, Caroline Farine and Shayla Enlow finished second with a time of 2:21.16.
Chandler Losh placed third in the 200 individual medley with a time of 3:12.44, while Eiland was fourth at 3:13.59.
Farine placed fourth in the 50 freestyle with a time of 28.47.
Donner had the Lady Panthers’ only first place finish in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:17.02.
Enlow placed third in the 100 freestyle with a time of 1:08.09.
The 200 freestyle relay team of Donner, Eiland, Enlow and Farine finished third with a time of 2:03.70.
Baleigh Butler placed third in the 100 backstroke with a finish of 1:26.81.
Britain Castagna placed third in the 100 breaststroke at 1:34.24.
The 400 freestyle relay team of Donner, Eiland, Enlow and Farine placed third at 4:48.19.
“It was fun to see our girls medal in all of their events,” Goddard said. “It is tough swimming in the 7A conference and it was a good motivator for them knowing that they were just competing against the 6A swimmers.”
Up next
Qualified swimmers advance to the state meet, which will be held Friday (dive) and Saturday (swim) at the Bentonville Community Center.