Messerly places first at state swim meet; Women 11-12 Relay third

On August 2 through the third the Malta swim team went to Conrad for the state meet.

The team didn’t place amongst the top teams this year, however there were several swimmers that placed in the top ten of their respective divisions.

“The kids swam hard. They put in a lot of effort as Malta kids do,” Malta Swim Team Coach Donnie Lynn told the PCN. “That’s one thing I have no complaints about. They swam hard and to the best of their abilities.”

Coach Lynn believed that the team could’ve placed higher as a team if all of their swimmers were healthy, but a few shoulder injuries slowed them down.

“We had a lot of key injuries that hampered several of the kids from even going to state,” he said.

The injuries did slow Malta down after such a promising year in the pool.

Those following the team last year may recall that even though the team was young they finished higher than expected at state.

With a lot of those same swimmers back, the odds were in Malta’s favor. The timing however, was not.

“We knew we only had 30 plus kids, but we had a lot of quality kids on the team this year,” Coach Lynn said.

Darrow Messerly was the only swimmer to place in the top three, taking first place in the Men 9-10 50 meter breaststroke. His time was 47.58. He also placed second in the 50 backstroke, with a time of 44.50. He placed fourth in the 100 IM, with a time of 1:38.87.

The Women 11-12 relay team consisting of Reba Doucette, Carly Garfield, Jillian O’Brien and Chloe Hunter placed third in the 200 freestyle, with a time of 2.29.38.

Shay Garfield had an impressive outing grabbing fifth in the Women 13-14 100 backstroke with a time of 1:26.05. She also placed sixth in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:33.61.

“Shayen Garfield had a real fine meet. She swam in two championship final heats and in a consolation meet in her other event,” said coach Lynn.

Lynn went on praising her hard work and effort all season.

Jenise Amestoy placed ninth in the 15-19 Women 100 backstroke with a time of 1:29.68.

Typically excelling in the freestyle swim, Amestoy surprised Coach Lynn with her performance in the backstroke.

“Even though the backstroke isn’t particularly her best stroke she swam really well at state in the backstroke,” said Coach Lynn.

Amestoy also took tenth in the 100 freestyle with a time of 1:14.52.

Reba Doucette placed sixth in the Women 11-12 50 breaststroke with a time of 46.34.

“Reba had shoulder problems also but as far as her shoulder problems went the breaststroke didn’t seem to bother her shoulder as much as other strokes,” Lynn said. “She came up with a nice swim.”

Rheanna Messerly placed ninth in the 13-14 100 breaststroke. She had a time of 1:35.85.

“Rheanna is a classic breast stroke swimmer. She has great technique, great form, tremendous legs with a great kick,” said Coach Lynn. “She didn’t swim her best times of the year but it was good enough for ninth place.”

Grant O’Brien placed sixth in the Men 15-19 100 fly with a time of 1:37.92. That was impressive considering his involvements in other activities like football and Key Club.

“When Grant got back from his absence he came to every practice. He was the first one there, ready to go,” said Coach Lynn. “He had a lot of catching up to do and his did a tremendous job to place that well at state.”

Like O’Brien, Tyler Ost also missed time due to football camp, but he swam well, placing seventh in the Men 15-19 100 backstroke with a time of 1:21.83.

“Tyler is a great kid. He was pretty busy this summer, and he came to practice when he could and came up with a real nice backstroke that weekend,” Lynn said.

His brother, Marcus Woods also fared well at state finishing ninth in the Men 11-12 200 IM with a time of 3.59.97.

“When you see kids line up on the blocks, Marcus was probably the smallest kid (in height), when he swam,” Lynn said.

He went on to say that there were a lot of good swimmers in Woods’ age bracket and he was proud when Woods placed as high as he did.

“He stepped in and swam a really good time,” he continued.

Time F/P/S Event Place Points

Jenise Amestoy (16) W

33.60S P # 30 Women 15‑ 19 50 Free 16

1:14.52S F # 50 Women 15‑ 19 100 Free 10 3

1:29.68S F # 60 Women 15‑ 19 100 Back 9 4

Cole Brown (16) M

32.75S P # 29 Men 15‑ 19 50 Free 18 ‑ ‑ ‑ 1:19.94S P # 49 Men 15‑ 19 100 Free 17 ‑ ‑ ‑ 1:32.88S F # 59 Men 15‑ 19 100 Back 10 3

Reese Brown (8) M

22.62S P # 21 Men 8 & Under 25 Free 18 ‑ ‑ ‑ 37.73S P # 31 Men 8 & Under 25 Breast 14 ‑ ‑ ‑

Reba Doucette (12) W

46.34S F # 36 Women 11‑ 12 50 Breast 6 7

1:23.63S P # 46 Women 11‑ 12 100 Free 20 ‑ ‑ ‑

Carly Garfield (11) W

35.35S P # 26 Women 11‑ 12 50 Free 13 ‑ ‑ ‑ 1:23.49S P # 46 Women 11‑ 12 100 Free 19 ‑ ‑ ‑ 44.46S P # 56 Women 11‑ 12 50 Back 15 ‑ ‑ ‑

Shayen Garfield (14) W

1:33.61S F # 38 Women 13‑ 14 100 Breast 6 7 1:26.05S F # 58 Women 13‑ 14 100 Back 5 8 41.15S F # 68 Women 13‑ 14 50 Fly 12 1

Ryan Holt (7) M

34.82S P # 51 Men 8 & Under 25 Back 23 ‑ ‑ ‑

Chloe Hunter (12) W

4:02.14S F # 16 Women 11‑ 12 200 IM 19 ‑ ‑ ‑ 50.03S P # 56 Women 11‑ 12 50 Back 24 ‑ ‑ ‑ 47.98S P # 66 Women 11‑ 12 50 Fly 18 ‑ ‑ ‑

Raleigh Hunter (14) W

36.94S P # 28 Women 13‑ 14 50 Free 22 ‑ ‑ ‑ 1:24.25S P # 48 Women 13‑ 14 100 Free 22 ‑ ‑ ‑ 1:42.20S P # 58 Women 13‑ 14 100 Back 16 ‑ ‑ ‑

Dallan Messerly (10) M

58.72S P # 53 Men 9‑ 10 50 Back 19 ‑ ‑ ‑

Darrow Messerly (10) M

1:38.87S F # 13 Men 9‑ 10 100 IM 4 9 47.58S F # 33 Men 9‑ 10 50 Breast 1 14

44.50S F # 53 Men 9‑ 10 50 Back 2 12

Rheanna Messerly (14) W

34.64S P # 28 Women 13‑ 14 50 Free 14 ‑ ‑ ‑ 1:35.85S F # 38 Women 13‑ 14 100 Breast 9 4 1:21.54S P # 48 Women 13‑ 14 100 Free 16 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑

Erika Nagy (12) W

45.62S P # 56 Women 11‑ 12 50 Back 18 ‑ ‑ ‑

Grant O’Brien (15) M

3:21.15S F # 19 Men 15‑ 19 200 IM 8 5

1:35.69S F # 39 Men 15‑ 19 100 Breast 11 2

1:37.92S F # 85 Men 15‑ 19 100 Fly 6 7

Jillian O’Brien (12) W

3:32.83S F # 16 Women 11‑ 12 200 IM 11 2 48.78S P # 36 Women 11‑ 12 50 Breast 13 ‑ ‑ ‑ 47.21S P # 66 Women 11‑ 12 50 Fly 17 ‑ ‑ ‑

Tyler Ost (17) M

30.61S P # 29 Men 15‑ 19 50 Free 15 ‑ ‑ ‑ 1:21.83S F # 59 Men 15‑ 19 100 Back 7 6 34.68S F # 69 Men 15‑ 19 50 Fly 10 3

Taylor Score (10) M

1:46.50S P # 43 Men 9‑ 10 100 Free 23 ‑ ‑ ‑

55.41S P # 53 Men 9‑ 10 50 Back 17 ‑ ‑ ‑

Makiya Wilke (9) W

43.39S P # 24 Women 9‑ 10 50 Free 20 ‑ ‑ ‑ 53.85S P # 54 Women 9‑ 10 50 Back 15 ‑ ‑ ‑

Marcus Woods (12) M

3:59.97S F # 15 Men 11‑ 12 200 IM 9 4

54.09S P # 35 Men 11‑ 12 50 Breast 17 ‑ ‑ ‑ 51.56S F # 55 Men 11‑ 12 50 Back 12 1

Event # 3 Men 9 10 100 Free

1:22.74 S F Malta Swim Team 7

Event # 6 Women 11 12 200 Free

2:29.38 S F Malta Swim Team 3 8

Event # 8 Women 13 14 200 Free

2:23.76 S F Malta Swim Team 9

Event # 75 Men 9 10 100 Medley

1:38.24 S F Malta Swim Team 7

Event # 78 Women 11 12 200 Medley

2:54.70 S F Malta Swim Team 5 4

Event # 80 Women 13 14 200 Medley

2:47.81 S F Malta Swim Team 8