Wasatch swimmers host first swim meet
By James Tilson
Staff writer
Apr. 19, 2018
MT. PLEASANT—Area high school swim teams reaped the rewards of a new swim facility this year at the 3A State Swim Championship.
This was Wasatch Academy’s sixth season fielding a swim team, but the first time the academy hosted a swim meet in Mt. Pleasant. Wasatch Academy and North Sanpete shared the new Aquatic Center facility that just opened this year.
North Sanpete Coach Brittany Adams said the new facility helped the team prepare and compete at a higher level. “It definitely played a part, “she said. “It allowed the team to practice with less stress and travel.” Adams also said it was a new feeling to have a home pool. “It represented their home, and it gave them something to try harder for.”
Wasatch Academy Coach Trish Rasmussen agreed: ‘This was by far the most fun, most positive, successful season of my six years coaching at Wasatch Academy,” she said. Rasmussen believes the advantage of having a pool in Mount Pleasant will enable the returning athletes to improve their times next year.
The Wasatch Academy swim team successfully competed in the 3A State Swim Championship with two swimmers, Oliver Wood and Clista Galecki, leading the way for the boys and girls teams, respectively. Oliver Wood took 4th place in the 100-yard breaststroke and 5th place in the 200-yard individual medley. Clista Galecki took fourht place in the 200-yard individual medley and sixth place in the 100-yard backstroke. The men’s 200-yard medley relay team of Sam Wood, Oliver Wood, Jake Quakenbush and Monlam Teshar took fifth place. The combined score for the boys and girls teams was 167.5 points, which was good enough for 12th place overall.
The North Sanpete High School swim team also did well at the 3A state meet, with three swimmers, Allie Boyer, Eli Crittenden and Porter Hellander placing during the meet. Allie Boyer took fifth place in the women’s 200-yard freestyle. Eli Crittenden placed fourth in the men’s 50-yard freestyle, and third in the men’s 100-yard freestyle. Porter Hellander placed fourth in the men’s 100-yard freestyle. The combined score for the girls and boys teams was 22 points, good enough for 19th place.
