Dozens of swimmers involved in Wrangell Swim Club gather for a mostly-complete group photo before chowing down at an awards ceremony on December 7. Now in its second year of competitive swimming, the club has proven to be a popular activity among local youth.
A dozen members of Wrangell Swim Club joined swimmers from six other clubs around the region in Ketchikan earlier this month.
Entering its second year of competitive swimming, the Wrangell group saw some first and second place finishes from its kids during this year's Mike Smithers Southeast Championship. There were 144 swimmers in all, coming from Juneau, Sitka, Craig, Haines, Petersburg and Ketchikan.
Wrangell coach Bruce McQueen explained the meet is equivalent to the league's regionals, with opportunities to qualify for state-level competition later next year.
Among the Wrangell group, Nikolai Siekawitch was its high scorer with a total of 47 points. Among his events, he took first place in both the boys' 19-and-under 200-yard individual medley and 100-yard breaststroke.
Renee Roberts finished with 38 overall points. She had four second-place finishes in the girls' 19-and-under category, for the 100- and 200-yard backstroke, 100-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly.
Daniel Harrison came away with 29 points and a first-place finish in the boys' 12-and-under 50-yard breaststroke. Jimmy Baggen scored 28 points overall, including a first-place finish in the boy's 19-and-under 100-yard breaststroke. Jack Roberts rounded out the team's top five scorers with 27 points, taking a second-place finish in the boys' 12-and-under 100-yard individual medley.
Other notable contributions to Wrangell's overall score included Paige Baggen, placing fifth in the under-12 girls' 50-yard breaststroke; Ben Houser with third in the boys' under-10 50-yard breaststroke; Sophie O'Brien, taking fifth in the girls' under-19 50-yard freestyle; Andrei Siekawitch, with third in the under-12 50-yard backstroke; and Rhiannon Wenzel, taking seventh in the under-12 girls' 50-yard breaststroke.
Giving out ribbons after the meet, the full team got together at the community center last Thursday for appetizers and awards. This year the team has over 40 swimmers, ranging from elementary age on up to high schoolers.
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