Eagle River girls dominate the field to earn first-ever state swimming and diving title

In most years, a regional title would be completely out of the question for the Eagle River girls swimming and diving team.

A state title, almost inconceivable.

With a small squad, the Wolves simply didn’t have the firepower to contend with the depth of the state’s top teams. But not in 2024.

Eagle River won two relay races and won another five individual events to come out on top in the 2024 Alaska State Swimming and Diving Championships on Saturday at the Bartlett High pool.

The title was the first ever for the Wolves, who won the Region IV meet the weekend before. That title was also a first.

“This was our first year when we looked at it and said, ‘We can really get at this,’” Eagle River coach Bryce Carpenter said. “It’s a group of girls that want to race each other in practice, but they’re just a big family. It makes me so happy to see such a cohesive unit and see the reward of the hard work of the season.”

Eagle River finished with 117 points. Runner-up Juneau-Douglas had 89 and South Anchorage finished with 86.

“They’re incredibly competitive, but at the end of the day, they’re spending extra time outside the water hanging out with each other,” Carpenter said. “They understand what it takes to win and are willing to do that as a family and work together to accomplish goals.”

Winning relays allowed the Wolves to stack big points on the field. The 200 freestyle relay team set a school record. The Sisters Relay included sisters Lola and Reese Woodward and sisters Lelaina and Sophia Trembath.

“They did amazing and worked so hard this year,” senior Lola Woodward said of her teammates.

Woodward won the 100 freestyle, finished second to freshman teammate Keira Gust in the 100 backstroke and was the anchor racer in the Sisters Relay. Woodward was even more excited for the Wolves’ win in the 400 freestyle relay, a team she cheered on from the deck.

Reese Woodward took the 200 IM, 100 butterfly and swam the first leg of the Sisters Relay.

“We work super hard at practice and push each other,” Reese Woodward said. “I think that has a lot to do with our success. We have a small team, so winning state is really exciting for us.”

Lelaina Trembath entered as a favorite in the 500 freestyle and finished at the top of the podium with a time of 5:07.30 to win by six seconds.

“We had some step-up swims,” Carpenter said.

One of the surprises of the day came in the 100 breaststroke as Petersburg freshman Lexie Tow took the top spot. Despite coming in with the second-fastest seed time, the win was a shock for Tow, who has only four teammates on the Petersburg team.

“I wasn’t really expecting it,” she said. “The time I had coming in was better than my prelims time, so if I could swim that (earlier time), I knew my chances were pretty good.”

Other winners included the Juneau-Douglas 200 medley relay team and Juneau-Douglas swimmer Amy Liddle, who took the 200 freestyle. Kodiak’s Amaya Rocheleau won the 50 freestyle in 23.96.

In the girls diving event, Colony’s Charlize McManus broke through with 456.25 points to earn a state title. In her fourth high school season, she was excited to win.

“I’ve had some close competitions and have worked hard and got closer and closer each year,” she said.

Alaska State Swimming and Diving Championships

Girls

Team Rankings

1. Eagle River High School, 117 2. Juneau Douglas High School, 89 3. South Anchorage High School, 86

Girls 200 Yard Medley Relay

1. Juneau Douglas High School (Deedee Mills, Parker Boman, Lucia Chapell, Kennedy Miller), 1:51.90; 2. Kodiak High School, 1:52.63; 3. South Anchorage High School, 1:54.64; 4. Robert Service High School, 1:55.34

Girls 200 Yard Freestyle

1. Amy Liddle, Juneau Douglas, 1:55.96; 2. Kylie Benner, Palmer, 1:56.47; 3. Abigail Price, Kenai, 1:56.52; 4. Sophia Trembath, Eagle River, 1:56.69; 5. Lelaina Trembath, Eagle River, 1:57.18; 6. Molly Wirschem, East, 2:01.87; 7. Lexie Tow, Petersburg, 2:02.33; 8. Alexa Kotter, South Anchorage, 2:03.92

Girls 200 Yard IM

1. Reese Woodward, Eagle River, 2:10.26; 2. Keira Gust, Eagle River, 2:12.30; 3. Hannah Cooper, Colony, 2:12.87; 4. Zoe Fencil, South Anchorage, 2:13.94; 5. Anna Brooks, Service, 2:17.46; 6. Zoe Zipsir, South Anchorage, 2:19.10; 7. Tui Stanbury, South Anchorage, 2:21.35; 8. Payton Curtis, West Anchorage, 2:22.38

Girls 50 Yard Freestyle

1. Amaya Rocheleau, Kodiak, 23.96; 2. Julianna Rupp, West Valley, 24.84; 3. Charlotte Griffith, South Anchorage, 24.91; 4. Natalie Hostetter, Service, 25.51; 5. Varya Bodrova, Dimond, 25.62; 6. Morgan Hagen, Kodiak, 25.72; 7. Bailey Fisher, JD, 25.92; 8. Brooklyn Whitethorn, Petersburg, 26.12

Girls 1 meter Diving

1. Charlize McManus, Colony, 456.25; 2. Emma Marsh, South Anchorage, 454.65; 3. Claire Wallstrum, Colony, 447.50; 4. Kensley Denmon, Service, 369.40; 5. Samantha Grisham, Colony, 364.70; 6. Lyza Krozel, Colony, 363.55; 7. Aylin Hawkins, West Valley, 360.05; 8. Molly Althens, Palmer, 339.60.

Girls 100 Yard Butterfly

1. Reese Woodward, Eagle River, 57.64; 2. Abigail Price, Kenai, 58.97; 3. Kylie Benner, Palmer, 59.01; 4. Taryn Fleming, Sitka, 1:00.32; 5. Lucia Chapell, Juneau Douglas, 1:01.23; 6. Zaylee Mullinax, Dimond, 1:01.43; 7. Kennedy Miller, Juneau Douglas, 1:01.82; 8. Kalea Davis, Chugiak, 1:02.23

Girls 100 Yard Freestyle

1. Lola Woodward, Eagle River, 53.80; 2. Sophia Trembath, Eagle River, 54.08; 3. Deedee Mills, JD, 54.30; 4. Talia Wentz, West Valley, 54.33; 5. Molly Wirschem, East, 54.55; 6. Charlotte Griffith, South Anchorage, 54.96; 7. Tui Stanbury, South Anchorage, 56.18; 8. Natalie Hostetter, Service, 56.23

Girls 500 Yard Freestyle

1. Lelaina Trembath, Eagle River, 5:07.30; 2. Amy Liddle, Juneau Douglas, 5:13.45; 3. Hannah Cooper, Colony, 5:19.60; 4. Zoe Zipsir, South Anchorage, 5:22.84; 5. Caitlyn Rumph, Eagle River, 5:32.61; 6. Alexa Kotter, South Anchorage, 5:32.74; 7. Mia Turner, Sitka, 5:32.78; 8. Bella Miller, Petersburg, 5:40.56

Girls 200 Yard Freestyle Relay

1. Eagle River High School (Reese Woodward, Sophia Trembath, Lelaina Trembath, Lola Woodward), 1:38.58; 2. South Anchorage High School, 1:42.09; 3. Juneau Douglas High School, 1:43.41; 4. Robert Service High School, 1:43.64

Girls 100 Yard Backstroke

1. Keira Gust, Eagle River, 56.91; 2. Lola Woodward, Eagle River, 57.34; 3. Amaya Rocheleau, Kodiak, 58.33; 4. Zoe Fencil, South Anchorage, 58.49; 5. Deedee Mills, Juneau Douglas, 59.18; 6. Taryn Fleming, Sitka, 1:00.81; 7. Lucia Chapell, Juneau Douglas, 1:01.27; 8. Payton Curtis, West Anchorage, 1:02.33

Girls 100 Yard Breaststroke

1. Lexie Tow, Petersburg, 1:07.68; 2. Anna Brooks, Service, 1:08.23; 3. Stella Baldessari, South Anchorage, 1:09.73; 4. Kennedy Miller, Juneau Douglas, 1:10.04; 5. Parker Boman, Juneau Douglas, 1:10.57; 6. Kalea Davis, Chugiak, 1:11.36; 7. Bryn Baldwin, Eagle River, 1:11.46; 8. Nina Adams, Palmer, 1:12.32

Girls 400 Yard Freestyle Relay

1. Eagle River High School (Lelaina Trembath, Sophia Trembath, Keira Gust, Caitlyn Rumph), 3:37.56; 2. Juneau Douglas High School, 3:41.61; 3. South Anchorage High School, 3:43.93; 4. Kodiak High School, 3:47.52