Swimmers rise at Kelso Invitational

The Camas High School girls swimming team creamed the competition at the Kelso Invitational Saturday. The Papermakers won the 15-team meet by 365 points.

Anna Panebianco, Allison Bourquin, Julieann Reed and Sierra Colletto finished in first place for the Papermakers in the 200-meter medley relay with a time of 2 minutes, 3.7 seconds. Colletto, Reed, Panebianco and Brittany Worley grabbed first in the 200 freestyle relay (1:49.99). Panebianco captured first in the 200 individual medley (2:26.65) and the 500 freestyle (5:34.45). Reed earned first in the 100 backstroke (1:03.40) and second in the 50 free (25.84).

“Winning the meet gave us a lot of confidence. The girls swam well and got more district cuts,” said head coach Mike Bemis. “Our depth is coming up. We might be one of the biggest teams at districts. How well we do is going to depend on our depth.”

The Papermakers only have a few more meets before districts to make their marks. Camas faces Evergreen, Heritage, Mountain View and Union Thursday, at Cascade Fitness Center. Events start at 4 p.m. Camas and Union are both undefeated going into this meet. The winner will be the league champion.

“Union has a good top end. We’ll have to see if our depth is strong enough to catch them,” Bemis said. “It depends on where they swim their best and where we swim our best. In that respect, it’s going to be an interesting meet.

“A lot of our girls are close to the state cuts,” he added. “We’ll see if the excitement of the meet brings it out of them.”

Several top 10 performances propelled the Papermakers Saturday.

Nicole Lobkov, Makena Lopiparo, Abby Olander and Katie Johnson snagged second in the 400 free relay (4:40.39). Lopiparo also placed second in the 500 freestyle (6:18.45). Colletto clinched second in the 100 free (1:01.91) and Worley followed in third (1:04.06). Worley also took third in the 200 free (2:19.39).

Lopiparo, Phillips, Beth Abby and Makenzie Hall finished fourth in the 200 medley relay (2:17.22). Emily Carson, Alexandra Hall, Makenzie Hall and Abby grabbed fifth in the 200 free relay (2:03.22).

Hannah Walters, Katie Keller, Alyssa Lobkov and Lyvia Barret took fifth in the 400 free relay (4:50.52), and Bourquin, Isabel Lee, Katie Schroeder and Ashley Cupryk followed in sixth (4:51.7). Alexandra Hall, Olander, Worley and Nicole Lobkov claimed seventh in the 200 medley relay (2:20.37).

North County swimmers from Battle Ground, Hockinson, Prairie, Ridgefield and Seton Catholic also made waves at the Kelso Invitational.

Julia Sanders snagged first place in the 50 free (24.34), 100 butterfly (59 seconds) and helped lead Hockinson to second place in the 200 medley relay (2:07.19). Bailee Christiansen earned first in the 200 free (2:07.36), second in the 100 backstroke (1:04.79) and joined Sanders in the 200 medley relay.

Jamie Rogers grabbed first for Battle Ground in the 100 breaststroke (1:14.1) and third in the 100 backstroke (1:05.62). Bailey Colombe won the 100 free (59.81) for Ridgefield.

Prairie placed first in the 400 free relay (4:31.30). Ada Beale earned second in the 100 breaststroke (1:15.69), fourth in the 50 free (26.87) and helped Seton Catholic take third in the 400 free relay (4:42.36).

The Southwest Washington Invitational is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 20, at Mark Morris High School.

The sub-district meet is Oct. 24, at Propstra Pool.

Districts is Nov. 2, at Propstra Pool.

State is Nov. 9 and 10, at the King County Aquatics Center, in Federal Way.