JDHS swim team keeps up momentum from Petersburg win to take home team titles at Sitka meet
- Jasz Garrett
- 12 hours ago
- 3 min read
Crimson Bears swim some of their personal best times, try new dives to prep for regionals
By Jasz Garrett
Juneau Independent
The hard work of the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé’s swim team is paying off, said coach Carole Triem, following this weekend’s swim meet at Sitka High School.
“Liam Kiessling was a rock star,” she said. “He dropped 14 seconds in his 200 freestyle just since last year. It was an amazing swim.”
Kiessling placed third in the boys' 200-yard freestyle with a final time of 1:54.26 on Friday.
Triem said Keagen Andrews dropped almost a full second in his 50-yard freestyle Saturday, “which is a ton in that short event, and broke the 26-second barrier (25.39) for the first time, which was very cool to see.”
Two Crimson Bears swimmers, Valerie Peimann and Amy Liddle, raced in the 100-yard breaststroke Saturday, with Liddle finishing first “by a split second” at 1:08.58 — Peimann was close behind at 1:08.77.
“It was best times for both of them,” Triem said. “I was ecstatic. That was my favorite race of the whole weekend, I think. It was really fun to watch.”
She said the kids have been stepping up to swim fast during practice as well. Their last regular conference meet will be a home event Oct. 17-18 at Dimond Park Aquatic Center, where seniors will be put in the spotlight. Between now and then, swimmers will hone their techniques, determine which events they’ll swim for their regions and state, and focus on the aerobic aspect of their practices.
Triem said she’s excited for the strong senior leaders of their team to be featured at the upcoming home event, but they’ll also be missed after graduation.
Dive coach Savona Kiessling said the Juneau divers all have dives they are very good at and know they can get points for, but at this point of the season, they’re encouraged to challenge themselves. She was happy with their performances in Sitka.
“What we did in this meet was try hard to not repeat our dives,” she said. “Also we were trying out some new dives. We’re still at the point where we’re trying to get them ready to perform at regions. So I’m very happy with how the divers did at this meet. They also performed well and had good scores, but at this point, when you’re only a month away from regions, I’m less concerned about how well they did and more about how they pushed themselves.”
Savona Kiessling said Juneau’s home meet is the team’s last chance to polish their dives before regionals, where they will be expected to perform in 11 dive categories.
It was diver Alex Davis’s first non-exhibition meet in Sitka this weekend. He did twist on Friday and then reverse on Saturday. Davis switched to diving this year after being a swimmer. Kiessling said her other divers are seasoned, with some going to state before, but they still need to focus on their execution.
“Now he’ll be more ready for the Juneau meet,” she said about Davis. “It’s really a lot of pressure when you’re on the board and you’re in the pool.”
Sitka Invitational
Friday Team Scores
Girls
1) Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé 248 2) Petersburg 76 3) Sitka 68 4) Kayhi 39 5) Craig 14 6) Wrangell 6
Boys
1) Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé 149 2) Sitka 124 3) Kayhi 112 4) Craig 34 5) Petersburg 16
Saturday Team Scores
Girls
1) Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé 271 2) Petersburg 79 3) Kayhi 50 4) Sitka 49 5) Craig 28 6) Wrangell 7
Boys
1) Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé 150.5 2) Sitka 139.5 3) Kayhi 132 4) Craig 25 5) Petersburg 18 6) Wrangell 2
Diver Results
Girls 1-meter-diving Friday
1) JDHS Moira Bahn, 165.75 2) JDHS Taylor Mesdag, 157.35 3) JDHS Adeline Williams, 127.25 4) Kayhi Lina Merrill, 124.75
Boys 1-meter-diving Friday
1) Kayhi Liam Woodward, 242.80 2) JDHS Easton Berger 196.50 3) Kayhi Jett Miller, 156.95 4) JDHS Alex Davis, 83.50
Girls 1-meter diving Saturday
1) JDHS Moira Bahn, 168.05 2) JDHS Taylor Mesdag, 159.75 3) Kayhi Lina Merrill, 134.00 4) JDHS Adeline Williams, 119.65 5) Kayhi Mia Calvin, 112.90
Boys 1-meter diving Saturday
1) Kayhi Liam Woodward, 238.35 2) JDHS Easton Berger, 166.55 3) Kayhi Jett Miller, 135.95 4) JDHS Alex Davis, 113.10
• Contact Jasz Garrett at jasz@juneauindependent.com or (907) 723-9356.
