Senior co-captain Bailey Yost, left, and 8th grader Sophia Pieck nailed state qualifying in the 50 sprint in Taos. Photo by Libby Nolen
Junior Kamaya Ronning won the 500 free and 100 fly for the Toppers in Taos. Courtesy photo
BY STU CORLISS
Hilltoppers Swimming Coach
The Los Alamos Hilltoppers swim and dive team splashed to victories over the Taos Tigers on Friday April 16. The girls team scores were Los Alamos Hilltoppers 200.5, Taos Tigers 52.5, while the boys prevailed by a 202.5 to 54.5 count.
Senior co-captain Bailey Yost qualified for the state 50 free, and won the 100 breast. The other senior co-captain, Katherine Elton, sneaked closer to state qualifying in claiming the 200 IM for the Toppers, even without Tiger competition.
First-year Topper Sophia Pieck touched first in two events. She beat Taos’ veteran sprinter Grace Goler in the 50 free (and improved her state seed), and came within a whisker of state qualifying in the 100 back.
Sophomore Savannah Kimball picked up a win in the 200 free, following up on her 500 free triumph last week at Rio Rancho.
Junior Kamaya Ronning, still only a month into swim training after being part of the winning state cross country team, doubled in the 100 fly and 500 free.
Carl Cady’s diving team placed two more girls into the state meet: senior Anna Clark and junior Addie Richie.
Katie Wingo and Brayden Stidham took first place diving scoring honors for the second outing in a row.
Orion Henderson cruised to a quick 500 free victory in 4:47.93. Henderson just missed being named High School All-America in this event last season as a sophomore. He also claimed the 200 free event for the Toppers in Taos.
Senior Tavin Brogan sprinted to the 50 free win for his first individual state provisional time.
Rookie Duncan Henderson lowered his state seed in claiming the 100 back.
The boys relays all improved their seed times for the state meet. The Toppers’ 400 free relay – Andy Corliss, Konstantin Nelson, Matias Rougier, Orion Henderson – was one of the speediest in LAHS history. The boys already have 8 swimmers under the state provisional qualifying time in the 100 free with three meets still on the schedule. In only five of the last 44 seasons have the Topper boys gone faster in this relay event.
Junior Kamaya Ronning, still only a month into training after being part of the winning state cross country team, won the 100 fly and 500 free in Taos.
Senior co-captain Max Corliss led an energetic, but pantomimed, pre-meet “cheer” prior to the meet.
Next Saturday April 24, the Hilltoppers travel to Belen to take on the Eagles in a last tuneup prior to the Academy dual meet on May 1.
Results:
Los Alamos HS Hilltoppers @ Taos HS Tigers
4/16/21 Taos Youth and Family Center Taos, NM SQT= State Qualifying for LAHS
Girls
200 medley relay: Los Alamos 2:01.95 (SQT) (Kimball 31.97, Elton 34.12, Ronning 29.35, Pieck 26.61), Taos 2:13.92, LAHS B 2:25.36 (Long, Bathrick-Price, Katko, Montoya)
200 free: Savannah Kimball LAHS 2:18.14, Aricela Chavez TAOS 2:22.47, Allison Amrani LAHS 2:30.09; also: 4) Kylie Burns LAHS 2:42.10, 5) Libby Nolen LAHS 2:43.10, 7) Bela Montoya LAHS 2:49.36
200 IM: Katherine Elton LAHS 2:24.74, Marlee Katko LAHS 2:40.36, Ada Tripp LAHS 2:46.74; also: 4) Hannah Bishop LAHS 2:54.21
50: Sophia Pieck LAHS 26.40 (SQT), (tie) Bailey Yost LAHS 26.75 (SQT) and Grace Goler TAOS 26.75, Sylvia Holesinger LAHS 27.03; also: 4) Emily McLaughlin LAHS 28.30, 9) Ella Javernick LAHS 34.54, 10) Sophie Bathrick-Price LAHS 34.57, 11) Sofia Enriquez LAHS 36.16
1m dive: Katie Wingo LAHS 198.90, Anna Clark LAHS 174.80 (SQ), Addie Richie 173.55 (SQ); also: 4) Olivia Schmidt LAHS 149.10, 5) Kate McDonald LAHS 131.90
100 fly: Kamaya Ronning LAHS 1:07.43, Hannah Bishop LAHS 1:21.50
100 free: Grace Goler TAOS 58.59, Sylvia Holesinger LAHS 58.89, Katherine Elton LAHS 1:00.42; also: 4) Savannah Kimball LAHS 1:01.61, 5) Emily McLaughlin LAHS 1:02.99, 6) Marlee Katko LAHS 1:04.40, 7) Ada Tripp LAHS 1:05.49, 8) Allison Amrani LAHS 1:07.67, 9) Bella Montoya LAHS 1:13.39, 10) Olivia Long LAHS 1:14.10, 11) Libby Nolen LAHS 1:15.29, 12) Ella Javernick LAHS 1:17.35, 13) Sofia Enriquez LAHS 1:27.17
500: Kamaya Ronning LAHS 6:20.17
200 free relay: Los Alamos 1:47.49 (SQT) (Pieck 26.45 – SQT, Yost 27.18, Kimball 26.90, Holesinger 26.91), LAHS B 2:02.09 (Tripp, Bishop, Amrani, McLaughlin), LAHS C 2:21.35 (Burns, Enriquez, Javernick, Nolen)
100 back: Sophia Pieck LAHS 1:06.07, Aricela Chavez TAOS 1:15.61, Olivia Long LAHS 1:32.08; also: 4) Kylie Burns LAHS 1:32.11, Brooklyn Herwig TAOS
100 breast: Bailey Yost LAHS 1:15.90, Sophie Bathrick-Price LAHS 1:24.83, Maye Montoya TAOS 1:31.58
400 free relay: Los Alamos 4:07.41 (SQT) (Ronning 1:03.42, Elton 1:01.05, Yost 1:02.75, Holesinger 1:00.22), Los Alamos B 4:24.15, Taos 4:29.33; also: 4) LAHS C 5:01.55 (Burns, Nolen, Bishop, Montoya)
Girls Team Scores: Los Alamos Hilltoppers 200.5, Taos Tigers 52.5
Boys
200 medley relay: Los Alamos 1:40.97 (SQT) (D Henderson 26.05, M Corliss 27.42, A Corliss 24.65, Brogan 22.75), LAHS B 1:51.29, Taos 1:54.64, LAHS C 2:06.39 (Berndt, Katko, Javernick, Takeshi Shiina)
200 free: Orion Henderson LAHS 1:46.23 (SQT), Duncan Henderson LAHS 1:53.85 (SQT), Andy Corliss LAHS 1:54.67 (SQT); also: 4) Matias Rougier LAHS 1:55.10 (SQT), 5) Konstantin Nelson LAHS 1:55.57 (SQT), 6) Takuma Shiina LAHS 1:58.52, 7) Takeshi Shiina LAHS 2:07.64, 8) Seth Javernick LAHS 2:31.94
200 individual medley: Eric Burns LAHS 2:17.62, Eddie Duran TAOS 2:19.69, Dillon Brown TAOS 2:26.77; also: 4) Logan Black LAHS 3:17.46
50: Tavin Brogan LAHS 23.11 (SQT), Wayne Williams LAHS 23.85, Estevan Salazar TAOS 24.81; also: 4) Gabe Katko LAHS 25.71, 6) Eric Burns LAHS 26.61, 7) Max Berndt LAHS 27.11, 9) Seth Javernick LAHS 28.82, 10) Avery Johnson LAHS 29.18, 12) Jace Kerstiens LAHS 45.00, 13) Hiram Lopez Castillo TAOS 55.97
1m dive: Brayden Stidham LAHS 274.30 (SQ), Aidan Cooley LAHS 115.20
100 fly: Andy Corliss LAHS 55.41 (SQT), Matias Rougier LAHS 56.45 (SQT), Nikolai Nelson 1:03.28; also: 5) Takeshi Shiina LAHS 1:06.01
100 free: Maximilian Corliss LAHS 49.64 (SQT), Konstantin Nelson LAHS 51.94 (SQT), Takuma Shiina LAHS 52.54 (SQT); also: 4T) Tavin Brogan LAHS 52.98 (SQT) and Dillon Brown TAOS 52.98, 6) Caleb Kerstiens LAHS 54.13, 7T) Nikolai Nelson LAHS 54.76 and Jesse Casias TAOS 54.76, 10) Avery Johnson LAHS 1:11.92, 11) Logan Black LAHS 1:12.64
500: Orion Henderson LAHS 4:47.93 (SQT)
200 free relay: Los Alamos 1:31.67 (SQT) (O Henderson 22.78 – SQT, Rougier 22.55, K Nelson 23.67, M Corliss 22.57), LAHS B 1:38.59 (Sutton 24.48, Williams, N Nelson, Eric Burns), LAHS C 2:14.26 (Black, Takeshi Shiina, Javernick, J Kerstiens)
100 back: Duncan Henderson LAHS 55.97 (SQT), Estevan Salazar TAOS 1:00.22, Hayden Sutton LAHS 1:02.67; also: 4) Caleb Kerstiens LAHS 1:05.60
100 breast: Max Corliss LAHS 1:02.20 (SQT), Wayne Williams LAHS 1:08.98, Max Berndt LAHS 1:14.96
400 free relay: Los Alamos 3:19.00 (SQT) (A Corliss 50.51 – SQT, K Nelson 51.18, Rougier 49.08, O Henderson 48.28), LAHS B 3:37.79 (SQT) (Takuma Shiina 52.81 – SQT, Brogan 53.00, C Kerstiens 56.48, Burns 55.59), Taos 3:40.61, LAHS B 4:00.36 (D Henderson 52.63 – SQT, N Nelson 55.54, Katko 57.00, Black 1:15.26)
Boys Team scores: Los Alamos Hilltoppers 202.5, Taos Tigers 54.5