The all-seniors Hilltoppers 8 x 50 free relay broke the Barney Relays record at Albuquerque Academy on Saturday, November 13. Pictured are, top row from left, Coach Stu Corliss, Andy Corliss, Wayne Williams, Caleb Kerstiens, Matias Rougier. Bottom row from left: Ada Tripp, Sylvia Holesinger, Kamaya Ronning, Kelly Wetteland. Courtesy photo
BY STU CORLISS
Swim Coach
Los Alamos High School
Los Alamos High School’s swim teams won both the girls and boys team titles at the Barney Relays Nov. 13 at Albuquerque Academy.
It was the first time the Hilltoppers had beaten the Chargers at this meet in more than a decade.
The Hilltoppers won the girls competition over Academy 156 to 146. The boys beat the Chargers 172-134. The meet featured non-standard relays including mixed (coed) events.
The Toppers got off to an early lead by taking the diving “relay” behind Kyle Hatler’s and Annie Beus’s strong performances. Los Alamos swimmers fortified their lead over the Chargers with wins in the three other mixed relays.
The Wetteland sisters, senior Kelly and sophomore Anna, posted quick splits in their Topper debut to help lift the girls to victory over the state champ Charger team.
Similarly, the Henderson brothers, senior Orion and freshman Duncan, sparked several of the boys relays.
Duncan moved into 5th on the all-time topper backstroker list with his 55.33 leadoff leg in the mixed 400 medley relay.
Kelly Wetteland has committed to Navy and Orion Henderson has signed a letter of intent with University of Arizona.
Senior Wayne Williams and sophomore Hayden Sutton showed sprint flash for the Toppers with lifetime best relay legs for the boys.
Senior Matias Rougier qualified for state with a lead off swim of 22.35 in the boys 200 free relay.
The Toppers clinched the wins in the meet’s finale, the mixed 400 free relay (8 x 50 free). Los Alamos fielded an all-senior team for this event, continuing a Topper tradition.
The octet of Sylvia Holesinger, Caleb Kerstiens, Kamaya Ronning, Wayne Williams, Ada Tripp, Andy Corliss, Kelly Wetteland, and Matias Rougier bested Academy by nearly 40 seconds, but the Chargers were disqualified for a too-quick exchange anyway.
The relay’s time of 3:20.79 broke the meet record of 3:24.13 set by an all-senior Los Alamos relay in 2016. Ada Tripp and Kamaya Ronning posted “non-tech-suit” personal best split times to ensure the victory in the event.
The Toppers will host twelve teams in the upcoming Bill Hudson Memorial High School Invitational December 3-4 at Larry Walkup Aquatic Center. It will be the only home meet of the season for Los Alamos High School.
39th Annual Barney Relays:
11/13/21; Albuquerque; SQT – State Qualifying Time
Mixed 400 medley relay: Los Alamos 3:52.11 (Duncan Henderson, Kelly Wetteland, Andy Corliss, Sophia Pieck), Academy 3:57.73, Hope 4:26.33, St Pius DQ, Sandia Prep DQ
Girls 200 free relay: Academy 1:43.77 (SQT), St Pius 1:50.04 (SQT), Los Alamos 1:50.96 (SQT) (Savannah Kimball, Kamaya Ronning, Ada Tripp, Sylvia Holesinger), Hope 2:11.34, Sandia Prep 2:18.06
Boys 200 free relay: Academy 1:33.01 (SQT), Los Alamos 1:33.28 (SQT) (Matias Rougier 22.35 – SQT, Caleb Kerstiens, Hayden Sutton, Wayne Williams), St Pius 1:39.38, Hope x1:59.00
Girls 200 breaststroke relay: Academy 2:18.46, Los Alamos 2:32.58 (Marlee Katko, Sadie Evans, Emily McLaughlin, Lena Ronning), St Pius 2:40.85, Sandia Prep 3:13.02, Hope x2:52.65
Boys 200 breaststroke relay: Los Alamos 1:55.49 (Wayne Williams, Ming Lo, Andy Corliss, Orion Henderson), Academy 2:15.46, Sandia Prep DQ, St Pius DQ, Hope xDQ
Girls 200 backstroke relay: Academy 2:20.16, Hope 2:12.81, Los Alamos 2:19.58, St Pius 2:26.19
Boys 200 backstroke relay: Los Alamos 1:51.37 (Duncan Henderson, Takeshi Shiina, Nikolai Nelson, Hayden Sutton), Academy 1:56.40, St Pius 2:29.43, Hope x2:27.56, Sandia Prep NS
Mixed 400 freestyle relay: Los Alamos 3:25.52 (meet record, old 3:31.31 Los Alamos HS 2015 S Lott, J Moore, K Unal, A Jaegers) (Orion Henderson 47.65 – SQT, Matias Rougier, Sophia Pieck, Kelly Wetteland)
Girls 4 x 100 IM relay: Los Alamos 4:29.53 (Emily McLaughlin, Lena Ronning, Sophia Pieck, Anna Wetteland), Academy 4:41.75, Hope 4:58.43, St Pius NS, Sandia Prep NS
Boys 4 x 100 IM relay: Los Alamos 3:52.19 (Ming Lo, Nikolai Nelson, Duncan Henderson, Orion Henderson), Academy 4:15.76, St Pius DQ, Hope NS, Sandia Prep NS
Girls 200 fly relay: Los Alamos 1:58.08 (Allie Holland, Lena Ronning, Kamaya Ronning, Anna Wetteland), Academy 2:03.56, Hope 2:13.22, Sandia Prep 2:41.67
Boys 200 fly relay: Los Alamos 1:50.34 (Isaac Gao, Nikolai Nelson, Takeshi Shiina, Hayden Sutton), Academy 2:04.53, St Pius NS, Hope NS, Sandia Prep NS
Girls 200 medley relay: Academy 1:57.63 (SQT), Los Alamos 2:01.48 (SQT) (Sylvia Holesinger, Emily McLaughlin, Anna Wetteland, Savannah Kimball), St Pius 2:06.92, Sandia Prep 3:03.72, Hope x 2:30.21
Boys 200 medley relay: Academy 1:46.09 (SQT), Los Alamos 1:52.43 (SQT) (Takeshi Shiina 30.01, Ming Lo 28.69, Isaac Gao 28.15, Caleb Kerstiens 25.58), St Pius 1:55.00, Hope NS, Sandia Prep NS
Mixed 8×50 yard Freestyle Relay: Los Alamos 3:20.79 (meet record, old 3:24.13 Los Alamos HS 2016) (Sylvia Holesinger, Caleb Kerstiens, Kamaya Ronning, Wayne Williams, Ada Tripp, Andy Corliss, Kelly Wetteland, Matias Rougier), Hope 4:18.38, Academy DQ, Sandia Prep NS
Girls team scores: Los Alamos 156, Albuquerque Academy 146, Hope Christian 86, St Pius X 68, Sandia Prep 48
Boys team scores: Los Alamos 172, Albuquerque Academy 134, St Pius X 56, Hope Christian 38, Sandia Prep 10