Diving In

POLSON – Less than four months after the opening of the Mission Valley Aquatic Center, the pool hosted its first ever swim meet.

Saturday’s Pool Record Pentathlon hosted local swimmers, many of whom have just recently begun swimming with the team at the aquatic center. Many of the swimmers were competing for the first time ever.

“I thought it went really well,” Mark Johnston, the head coach of the team said. “It was really fun.”

Johnston organized the meet and served as the starter before hopping into the meet’s last event—the 100-yard individual medley—to smoke the competition.

In total, 31 swimmers—18 children and 13 adults—swam on Saturday. With more than half of his newly formed team participating, Johnston was very pleased with the turnout.

“Pentathlon” referred to the five core events of the meet: 50-yard swims in butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle, and the 100-yard individual medley. The meet also feature the 100-yard freestyle and 100 and 200-yard choice events.

If the meet had a theme, it was to establish pool records for the new aquatic center, but the real mission of the event was for Johnston to get his swimmers some race experience. Johnston was elated with those results, especially with his younger swimmers.

“How good they were, how fast they went, you can’t accomplish that in a long weekend,” Johnston said of the new swimmers. “They knew what to do and when to do it. That shows that you have kids who are listening.”

Dana Johnston, the team’s assistant coach (and Mark’s wife) was also quite impressed with the youngsters.

“They were at zero [when they started],” Dana Johnston said. “They didn’t know a single stroke. Today we had kids doing flip turns at 7 years old.”

The Johnstons were also excited about the community support their program has been receiving so far. Dozens of friends and family members filled the bleachers on the pool deck to cheer on the participants, giving the event the feel of a true swim meet. More enthusiastic parents either swam or helped out by serving as timers.

Mark Johnston said the community involvement was good for his program in a number of ways. First, it helps get family members involved in swimming. Second, and perhaps more importantly, he said it helps him build community within the team by allowing the staff to form relationships with those families.

The team met after the competition to vote on the long-awaited team name, which Johnston said will be revealed in the not-too-distant future.

The meet, the Johnstons said, was a much-needed stepping stone to their team participating in state and nationwide USA Swimming competition with other year-round club teams. To be able to do that or host their own meets at the new facility in Polson, though, they will have to expand their volunteer base and the team as a whole.

Pool Record Recap

Women

50 Butterfly

Ali Bronsdon, 32.52

100 Butterfly

Tana Seeley, 1:22.63

50 Backstroke

Anna Young, 43.01

50 Breaststroke

Ali Bronsdon, 37.71

200 Breastroke

Malia Seeley, 3:31.64

50 Freestyle

Ali Bronsdon, 29.87

100 Freestyle

Ali Bronsdon, 1:06.14

200 Freestyle

Tana Seeley, 2:34.62

100 Individual Medley

Tana Seeley, 1:17.88

Men

50 Butterfly

Mark Robertson, 33.26

50 Backstroke

Mark Robertson, 35.57

50 Breaststroke

Mark Robertson, 38.96

100 Breaststroke

Matt Seeley, 1:20.75

50 Freestyle

Troy Brackey, 28.45

100 Freestyle

Matt Seeley, 1:01.26

200 Freestyle

Matt Seeley, 2:18.16

100 Individual Medley

Matt Seeley, 1:14.58

Pool Record Pentathlon Results

from Aug. 24

50 Butterfly

Girls 11-12

1. Gwen Seeley, 57.65

Women 19 & Over

1. Ali Bronsdon, 32.52; 2. Tana Seeley, 35.94; 3. Deanna McElwee, 39.09; 4. Jaime Young, 54.81

Boys 11-12

1. Keegan Brackey, 1:01.69

Boys 13-14

1. Landon Shipley, 46.52

Men 19 & Over

1. Mark Robertson, 33.62; 2. Matt Seeley, 35.64

50 Backstroke

Girls 8 & Under

1. Lucy Violett, 56.75

Girls 11-12

1. Mikaela Ducharme, 48.45; 2. Molly Sitter, 49.65

Girls 13-14

1. Anna Young, 43.01; 2. Quin Motichka, 49.21; 3. Josey Motichka, 54.50

Women 15-18

1. Abi Lake, 43.26

Women 19 & Over

1. Hope Johnson, 43.21; 2. Deanna McElwee, 43.75; 3. AnnaMarie Leafty, 45.94; 4. Jaime Young, 50.13

Boys 11-12

1. Keegan Brackey, 47.70; 2. Joe McDonald, 48.01; 3. Isaac Stene, 59.00; 4. Ace Lake, 1:05.59

Men 19 & Over

1. Mark Robertson, 35.57; 2. Kevin Detwiler, 51.96

100 Freestyle

Girls 11-12

1. Mikaela Ducharme, 1:30.76; 2. Molly Sitter, 1:55.21

Girls 13-14

1. Anna Young, 1:32.55, 2. Quin Motichka, 1:38.41; 3. Malia Seeley, 1:40.58

Women 19 & Over

1. Ali Bronsdon, 1:06.14; 2. Tana Seeley, 1:10.14; 3. AnnaMarie Leafty, 1:24.45; 4. Hope Johnson, 1:56.72

Boys 11-12

1. Joe McDonald, 1:30.59; 2. Keegan Brackey, 1:38.40

Boys 13-14

1. Landon Shipley, 1:20.95

Men 19 & Over

1. Matt Seeley, 1:01.26; 2. Troy Brackey, 1:08.32; 3. Shea Carlson, 1:19.50; 4. Willie Stene, 1:22.26; 5. Kevin Detwiler, 1:23.76

50 Breaststroke

Girls 8 & Under

1. Isabel Seeley, 1:24.36

Girls 13-14

1. Malia Seeley, 45.13

Women 19 & Over

1. Ali Bronsdon, 37.71; 2. Deanna McElwee, 44.02; 3. Jaime Young, 55.01

Boys 11-12

1. Isaac Stene, 1:04.96

Men 19 & Over

1. Mark Robertson, 38.96; 2. Kevin Detwiler, 45.53

50 Freestyle

Girls 8 & Under

1. Lucy Violett, 1:05.00; 2. Isabel Seeley, 1:18.75

Girls 11-12

1. Mikaela Ducharme, 37.53; 2. Molly Sitter, 51.52

Girls 13-14

1. Quin Motichka, 40.37; 2. Anna Young, 41.45; 3. Josey Motichka, 43.50

Women 15-18

1. Abi Lake, 35.01

Women 19 & Over

1. Ali Bronsdon, 29.78; 2. Deanna McElwee, 34.45; 3. Hope Johnson, 35.72; 4. Jaime Young, 37.00; 5. AnnaMarie Leafty, 38.26

Boys 8 & Under

1. Owen McElwee, 1:10.18; 2. Kai McDonald, 1:10.78

Boys 11-12

1. Isaac Stene, 38.90; 2. Keegan Brackey, 41.09; 3. Joe McDonald, 41.27; 4. Ace Lake, 45.14

Boys 13-14

1. Landon Shipley, 34.26; 2. Dothan Stene, 1:40.19

Men 19 & Over

1. Troy Brackey, 28.45; 2. Mark Robertson, 30.22; 3. Willie Stene, 34.53; 4. Shea Carlson, 35.08; 5. Kevin Detwiler, 37.02; 6. Connie Plaissay, 47.02

100 Individual Medley

Girls 8 & Under

1. Lucy Violett, 2:51.39

Women 19 & Over

1. Tana Seeley, 1:17.88; 2. Ali Bronsdon, 1:19.69; 3. Deanna McElwee, 1:27.65; 4. Jaime Young, 1:43.75

Boys 11-12

1. Isaac Stene, 2:08.40

Men 19 & Over

1. Matt Seeley, 1:14.58; 2. Mark Robertson, 1:23.62

200 Breaststroke

Girls 11-12

1. Gwen Seeley, 3:57.59

Girls 13-14

1. Malia Seeley, 3:31.64

200 Freestyle

Women 19 & Over

1. Tana Seeley, 2:34.62

Men 19 & Over

1. Matt Seeley, 2:18.16

100 Backstroke

Girls 13-14

1. Anna Young, 1:37.15

100 Butterfly

Women 19 & Over

1. Tana Seeley, 1:22.63

100 Breaststroke

Men 19 & Over

1. Matt Seeley, 1:20.75