Alaska Swimming Senior Championships showcase state’s top swimmers
- Klas Stolpe
- 3 hours ago
- 15 min read
Glacier Swim Club’s Peimann, Midnight Sun Swim Club’s Schaetzle earn high-point awards
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
The best swimmers in the state finished competing in the three-day Alaska Swimming Senior Championships on Sunday at the Dimond Park Aquatic Center, and Juneau’s Valerie Peimann of Glacier Swim Club and Fairbanks’ Zen Schaetzle of Midnight Sun Swim Team earned top high-point awards.
“I am so excited to win High Point,” Peimann, 17, said. “I always appreciate getting to race the top swimmers from around the state and it was super cool to host a championship meet in my hometown.”
Peimann’s wins included the 50 backstroke in 27.76, 200 breaststroke in 2:25.31, 100 back in 58.75, and 200 back in 2:05.68.
“I think backstroke is my favorite stroke,” Peimann said. “So to win those races is super encouraging. And it means a lot to me to do it here in front of all my friends and family.”
Peimann noted the difficulty in finding time for each discipline.
“It’s hard because I kind of swim everything,” Peimann said. “So I have to pick days to work on certain strokes. But it's really just what you want to focus on at practice. So we do a lot of pace work. And you can just pick a stroke and work on that pacing. But yeah, it is a lot of hours. I think having good training buddies is important because I don't feel good a lot of days, but going there and having a good atmosphere helps a lot. And I really like to win so I feel like that motivates me because I want to win.”
Peimann was joined on the High Point podium by Southcentral’s Chugiak Aquatics Club (CAC) swimmers Lelaina Trembath, 16, who tallied 127 points, and Reese Woodward, 17, with 124.
Trembath out-touched Peimann in the 100 breast 1:10.47 to 1:07.21, with CAC’s Anna Brooks third in 1:07.86. Trembath also won the 200 free in 1:55.99; the 500 free in 5:05.88; and earned the women’s 1,650 title in 18:00.90.
“It is really hard to stay mentally ready and excited to be there,” Trembath said of the 1,650. “But it's fun when you see your teammates on the side…I usually sing songs in my head and just watch my coach and I’m usually really bored, but it’s worth it in the end.”
And the tunes she listens to?
“Anything by Nicki Minaj,” Trembath said.
Woodward won the 100 fly in 56.45; the 200 fly in 2:07.35; and out-touched Peimann in the women’s 50-yard free, 24.43 to 24.52. Anchorage’s Aurora Swim Team (AST) member Maizy Kass, 17, was third in 24.95 and GSC’s Lily Francis fourth in 225.13.
Woodward also won the 50 fly in 25.66 with Kenai’s Peninsula Piranhas Swim Team member Abigail Price, 17, second in 26.75; and the 100 free in 52.97, with Kass second in 54.15, L. Trembath third in 54.56 and CAC’s Sophia Trembath, 18, fourth in 55.08.
“I would just say our team and our coaches push me to excel,” Woodward said. “I love my teammates so much. I think they push me so much at practice. And the atmosphere here, cheering each other on, that really lets me bring it home in the back half of my races…I think just staying disciplined, focusing on interesting my coaches by doing my best at practices every day and surrounding myself with these people that push me.”
MSST’s Schaetzle, 18, earned 131 points for the men’s high-point honor with CAC’s Blake Fazio, 18, in second with 130 and AST athlete Clint Kopp, 18, in third with 125.
“Honestly, you have got to be really consistent and it is not just in the pool, it is out of the pool,” Schaetzle said. “Mentally you have to be prepared for all of the meets. During every practice you have got to just enjoy it. As long as you are having fun and being there consistently I think the results will speak for themselves…It is also a lot about diet. You have to eat healthy. Lucky for me, my mom is a really good cook, but she also teaches me how to make healthy meals myself, so that is a really good habit I have. And just getting enough sleep every night. You have to balance that with school. You have to have priorities set in line.”
Schaetzle won the 50 fly in 22.90 with Fazio second in 23.02, Kopp third in 23.05 and GSC’s Liam Kiessling fourth in 23.70. In that race, Fairbanks’ Stingray Swim Team (SST) member Braxton Kelly, 14, placed seventh in 24.43 - a new 13-14 age group state record.
Schaetzle also won the 100 fly in 50.39 with Fazio second in 50.82, and Kopp third in 51.03; the 100 breast in 58.72; and the 50 breast in 26.77, with Kopp second in 27.53.
Schaetzle commented on the healthy sportsmanship among the swim communities in Alaska.
“For swimming the culture is actually the best,” he said. “I don’t say that just because I swim. I have done multiple other sports…cross country skiing, running, track, wrestling…I have tried multiple sports, but the people in swimming are all so nice. You make friends so easily. Even though it is an individual sport you make friends so easily. I don’t know what it is, but it is just the swimming culture.”
Kopp won the men’s 50 free in 20.91 with Schaetzle second in 21.33 and CAC’s Fazio third in 21.74; and the 200 individual medley (IM) in 1:55.98.
Kopp also won the 100 IM in 52.57 with Schaetzle second in 52.99 and SST’s Kelly third in 55.24 — a new 13-14 age group state record.
“I try to just push myself as hard as I can,” Kopp said. “Definitely have that ‘it is always a race,’ you know, it doesn’t matter who you are racing, it is always a race. Kind of race yourself. Really just pushing myself to the absolute limit.”
Kopp was noted for having one of the largest smiles and displayed that throughout the championships.
“I really like racing these guys,” he said. “They are a really great bunch of guys. We all get along. It is just super fun to race them. They really push me, too. I always smile when I lose because that really pushes me in practice and stuff. There are a couple guys, Blake Fazio is one of them, he is a huge inspiration, I love that guy.”
Fazio won the 100 free in 46.84 with Schaetzle second in 47.10 and Kopp third in 47.37; the 200 free in 1:44.10 with Sitka’s Baranof Barracudas Swim Club (BBSC) member Zach Martens, 16, second in 1:47.73; the 200 fly in 1:57.81 with Petersburg’s Viking Swim Club (VSC) member Hakon Eddy second in 2:14.07; and the 400 IM in 4:15.85 with Martens second in 4:23.04.
CAC’s Nate Shockley, 16, won the men’s 1,000-yard free in 10:08.08 and commented on what that takes.
“I think it's just the 6k to 10k hour practices that I'm hitting daily,” Shockley said. “The racing is much easier in my opinion than the actual practicing, but the work that I am putting into it outside of the racing is just way more grueling. I'm hitting these 6,000-yard sets where it's like, I've done a hundred 100s on the 110 as a set and it’s just so hard mentally. You're just sitting there for hours and hours, just swimming away. It's horrible sometimes, but it all pays off in the end when you get a nice time drop, and yeah, it's pretty awesome sometimes…The meet's the easy part. I mean, it's just 10 100s, like I get that done in 10 minutes. I mean, practice is usually two hours for me every day. I like the meets because they're over real quick and I just get to hang out with all my friends, but yeah, practice is the hard part for me.”
Shockley also won the 500 free in 4:53.02 with BBSC's Martens second in 4:53.50.
Martens won the 200 breast in 2:14.57 with CAC’s Evan Olson, 14, second in 2:16.96 and GSC’s Edwards third in 2:18.38
AST’s Kopp and female swimmers Payton Curtis, 17, and Maizy Kass, 17, and male swimmer Dax O’Brien, 16, won the mixed 200 medley relay (MR) in 1:43.70.
CAC’s Hannah Cooper, 18, L. Trembath, Woodward, and Caitlyn Rumph, 16, won the women’s 200 MR in 1:50.15 and CAC’s Woodward, Kylie Benner, 18, Rumph, and Anna Heaphy, 15, the women’s 200 free relay (FR) in 1:41.80
“Our relay team kind of builds off each other’s energy,” Rumph said. “We are all individually great people and great swimmers. When you put us all together it helps us build each other up and helps us come together as a team, and create something bigger and collectively better for all of us.”
Rumph noted the sportsmanship felt through the pool lanes.
“It means so much,” she said. “It is honestly so amazing when we see other teams supporting us. Especially at CAC we like to go out and support other teams as well. It just means a lot as Alaskans and as a community of swimmers to see everyone supporting each other.”
GSC’s Peimann, Kennedy Miller, 16, Amy Liddle, 16, and Lily Francis, 17, were second in the 200 MR in 1:51.34 and Miller, Bailey Fisher, 16, Liddle and Francis second in the 200 FR with 1:42.02.
GSC’s Liddle, Peimann, Cora Soboleff, 14, and Francis won the 800 FR in 8:26.18.
GSC's Soboleff also placed third in the 1,650 free in 19:58.61; third in the 1,000 free in 11:51.63; and fifth in the 500 free in 5:34.41, among other races.
"All swimming events are challenging and hard," Soboleff said. "During long-distance events you really need to have a strong mindset to keep swimming on. After the long events you always need a second to catch your breath before high-fiving or congratulating your competition. In the 1,650 or 1,000 I usually start out at a good pace, but slowly get more tired and try to entertain myself through the difficulties. Once halfway through my thoughts are focusing on keeping a good technique and finishing the swim as well as possible... This meet was against older swimmers and was a neat experience to admire how fast they are and how hard they work. One struggle for me after two full days of swimming was the third day had the 500 prelims and finals and it took lots of energy."
GSC’s Liddle won the women’s 100 IM in 1:01.34; AST’s M. Kass the 50 breast in 30.73; CAC’s Cooper the 200 IM in 2:14.19; and BBSC’s Taryn Fleming, 17, the 400 IM in 4:58.92.
CAC’s Cooper, Brooks, Woodward and S. Trembath won the women’s 400 MR in 4:07.44. AST’s Curtis, M. Kass, Ireland Kass, 17, and Zaylee Mullinax, 17, were second in 4:11.45, and GSC’s Francis, Peimann, Liddle and Fisher third in 4:12.01.
AST’s Curtis, M. Kass, Kopp, and Dax O’Brien, 16, won the mixed 200 MR in 1:43.70, and CAC’s Iver Gates, 17, L. Trembath, S. Trembath, and Matthew Baker, 16, won the mixed 200 FR in 1:32.36.
VSC's Cyrus Hulebak, 14, Kendyl Lachapelle, 13, Eddy, and Tori Miller, 13, placed fifth in the mixed 200 FR in 1:41.37, but that time set a new 13-14 age group state record, beating the old mark of 1:44.78.
“I feel very happy,” Lachapelle said. “We all tried our hardest. We have been practicing hard at home trying to beat a record at home, too, and overall I think we did really well. We were all really tired after the relay…I hope our program gets more popular and keeps growing.”
VSC’s Hulebak placed fifth in the 50 breast but set a new 13-14 state record with 28.86, breaking the old record of 29.11 he set a week ago. He also placed fourth in the men’s 100 back in 56.23 and that time broke the VSC club record of 56.70. The record had belonged to his coach — 18-time NCAA champion Derek Gibb.
“I want to beat it by more,” Hulebak said. “I still have another six months. Coach Gibb has taught me a lot about 'underwaters.' Focus on your underwaters, that is the most important thing. I love swimming. It keeps me in shape all year.”
Hulebak was also within a second of Gibb’s 200 back VSC record, swimming 2:06.45 for fifth place.
GSC's Kiessling won the men's 200 back in 2:00.83 with PPST's Lyman McBride, 15, second in 2:04.90 and CAC's Theodore Olson, 16, third in 2:05.43.
Kiessling also won the men’s 100 back in 53.16, reaching the wall over Aquatic Foundation of Alaska (YETI) swimmer Beck LaBoucane, 16, who touched in 54.25; and won the 50 back in 24.44 (LaBoucane second in 25.07).
“I feel awesome, really good,” Kiessling said. “This was something I've been working towards. It's just been a time thing, I dropped to a best time. But it was just something special beating him. We've traded placings. We beat each other a lot throughout the season. And I hope it keeps going on. I really hope we keep going against each other.”
Victory is never assured, and Kiessling relies on training and teammates.
“I just train and I just know that it will happen,” Kiessling said. “I just hope and I know that this will be the day that I beat him today, and there's always more time to train and we'll both be getting faster, so I always know I have to keep getting faster and keep going to practice.”
In a cool-down between races, GSC teammate Peimann — the women’s 100 and 200 back champion — and Kiessling exchanged congratulations and notes.
“I feel like in practice we help each other a lot with our starts and our turns, and we train together because he and I both do backstroke,” Peimann said. “So yeah, we like to work with each other and help each other, and I really like Liam. He's a great training buddy.”
Kiessling said, “Team means a lot, especially people who do the same race as you, who are good at the same thing. It means a lot to have support from upperclassmen. I'm still an underclassman, still a sophomore, and pretty young. It really helps to have some support from older people that could tell me things I don't know yet, stuff I can learn.”
GSC’s Kiessling, Josh Edwards, 16, Levi Phelps, 15, and Kaden Aldrich 14, won the men’s 200 MR in 1:40.81 with YETI’s Reed Wirschem, 15, Griffin Fencil, 16, Braeden Schoppert, 16, and LaBoucane second in 1:43.16.
CAC’s CJ Rollins, 16, Shockley, Gavin Hearth, 15, and Fazio won the 200 FR in 1:30.45 with YETI’s Pencil, Wirschem, Schoppert and LaBoucane second in 1:31.67, and GSC’s Kiessling, Edwards, Phelps and Aldrich third in 1:32.14.
“We just have been training pretty good,” Edwards said. “We have been hitting up practice really hard and, us four, have been training together for a while now and we have been practicing our relay exchanges during practice. All of us are good at our certain strokes so really this medley relay is perfect for us.”
Added Kiessling, “It is just the team I think. Each of us challenges ourselves. We all have our own people we go against on other teams, people we race. We find out what strokes they are swimming, and see what we are racing against. We see them in the water and we just want to win against them.”
GSC’s Phelps noted the value of the three-day meet.
“This is a big, statewide senior champs meet,” Levi Phelps said. “A great meet to build and see what your times are going to be for the rest of the season. It is great building blocks up to state at the end of the year, a great foundational meet. I love it…I have found more of who I am and what I like about this sport. It is a great sport. It is fun, it is enjoyable, more enjoyable when you have a lot of friends…I am targeting to just get better times right now and get to bigger meets down south. I am mainly trying to target the 200 free and 100 fly.”
The combined men’s/women’s team scores: 1. Chugiak Aquatics Club 2,455; 2. Glacier Swim Club 1,065.50; 3. Aurora Swim Team 1,044; 4. Aquatic Foundation of Alaska-YETI 614; 5. Northern Lights Swim Club 543; 6. Baranof Barracudas Swim Club 453; 7. Midnight Sun Swim Team 435; 8. Stingray Swim Team 350; 9. Peninsula Piranhas Swim Team 326; 10. Viking Swim Club 199.50; 11. Ketchikan Killer Whales 108; 12. Haines Dolphins Swim Team 13; 12. Soldotna Silver Salmon Swim Team 13.
The top three women’s team scores were CAC 1,312.50; AST 647; and GSC 619.50. The top three men’s team scores were CAC 1,142.50; GSC 446; and YETI 430.
GSC women’s individual rankings: 1. Peimann 130.50 points; 8. Liddle 92; 12. C. Soboleff 78; 19. Francis 61; 39. Annabelle Woodruff 16; 44. Kennedy Miller 11; 45. Fisher 10; 51. Molly Woodruff 3.
GSC men’s individual rankings: 8. Kiessling 94; 15. K. Aldrich 71; 17. Edwards 62; 26. Phelps 39.
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@gmail.com.
