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Competing against some of the top talent in the state, the Durango Swim Club had one of its best finishes in years at the Mavalanche Invitational in Grand Junction.
DSC traveled up the Western Slope last weekend and sat in first place after the first day of competition, which the 500-yard freestyle, 400-yard individual medley and 1,650 freestyle long-distance events.
But, after the second full day of competition, Durango was overpowered by YMCA of Denver, Aspen and the Mavericks of Grand Junction to slip down to fourth place.
The boys 400-yard freestyle relay team of Alex Martinek, Iain McCourt, Teslin Stecher and Brandon Walker dominated the powerhouse Aspen Swim Club team to take first place in 3 minutes, 31.87 seconds.
“We may not have the numbers at this meet as some of the other teams, which is fine, that’s something we can get to,” DSC head coach Alex Martinek said. “But the relays are starting to show the depth that we are developing this year.”
The girls 400-yard freestyle relay teams also were impressive, as Durango’s top team of Haley Benjamin, Julia Carrol, Angela McManus and Violet Witchel took second in 3:52.59, which was 2 seconds behind the winning time of Aspen. The team is closing in on the Senior Sectional qualifying time of 3:49.89.
“Senior Sectionals is a big meet,” coach Martinek said. “A lot of colleges will attend Senior Sectionals and even some Olympians depending on the teams that go. It consists of every state west of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico. We have a very young relay team ... it’s a big deal to be able to go. We have another big meet in Phoenix, and I think the team will make it there.”
Martinek said the team took 27 athletes to Grand Junction, nearly double the previous high for a DSC team.
“Every single one of our swimmers either scored points for the team or made it back into finals that evening,” he said. “Our biggest time drop of the meet was Iain McCourt in the 1,650-yard freestyle. He dropped 1 minute ,34 seconds coming in at 18:48 and inching into the team record territory of Aaron Miller’s 18:27.”
Quinn Schmidt, 14, was the highest scorer at the meet with 150 points, and Maggie Holcomb added 90 points. Warner Becher, 14, was the top-scoring boy with 78 points, and McCourt scored 56.
“Everyone was really supportive of one another and cheering and being really encouraging, and I think that contributed to the overall success of the team,” said Witchel, a junior.
For Durango swimmers Alex Burns, Chloe Cook, Alister Reese, Edward Reese, Alec Sheer and Avery Stevenson, it was their first championship meet of their life. Cook, 12, made it back for finals and scored 13 points by winning the consolation final in the 100-yard backstroke by dropping 16 seconds.
Alister Reese, 9, placed seventh in the 100-yard freestyle dropping 10 seconds and scoring 12 points for the team. His elder brother, Edward, 11, qualified for the championship final in the 50-yard butterfly where he dropped 4 seconds.
Avery Stevenson competed in the 50-yard backstroke and qualified 11th going into finals and improved on that place in the evening by finishing 10th.
Alec Sheer, 12, qualified in third for the championship final in the 200-yard freestyle. He dropped 25 seconds. Alex Burns, 10, scored 38 points for the team and finished top eight in every event he swam. His best place was in the 100-yard backstroke where he finished third.
heraldsports@durangoherald.com
