Winebarger Leads Hermiston Swim Team At Championships

John L. Braese

RICHLAND, WA – Senior Hermiston swimmer Grace Winebarger picked up the highest Bulldog placement in the 50-yard freestyle at second as the Hermiston girls’ swim team finished seventh in the team standings at the MCC Championships in Richland on Saturday, Oct. 19. The elder Bulldog swimmer also finished fourth in the longer 100-yard freestyle race, one of only four swimmers to be under the 1 minute, 3 second mark.

Winebarger hit the wall in 27.96 seconds, behind only Southridge’s Jaylah Griffith in the finals. The senior joined freshman Emily Stone, sophomore Gissel Gonzalez and senior Reagan Stanek in the 200-yard medley relay in a ninth place showing for the race.

Senior Kendal Mercer picked up 14th place in the 200-yard freestyle race and junior Manulani Poumele-Hamilton was 16th in the 200-yard individual medley. In the same race, sophomore Azaria Bohnhoff finished 18th. Mercer also competed in the 100-yard butterfly race, placing 15th while Bohnhoff placed 19th in the same race.

Freshman Alexandra Hickey made the most of her first championship meet, placing 23rd in the 50-yard freestyle with sophomore Lindsey Lang just two spots behind in 25th.

The 100-yard freestyle race also saw sophomore Yaretzi Alcazar place 23rd followed by freshman Sawyer Reeve in 24th. Reeve bettered her finish in the 100-yard backstroke, finishing 20th.

In the 200-yard freestyle medley, Hermiston ended in ninth with Stanek, Mercer, Stone and Winebarger combining for a time of 2:09.91. A second squad of Alcazar, Bohnhoff, Hickey and Lang took 15th in the crowded field.

In addition to her duties on the 200-yard relay medley team, Gonzalez picked up 15th in the 100-yard backstroke race while teammate Poumele-Hamilton was 18th.

The Bulldog team picked up a top 10 showing in the 400-yard freestyle relay with Mercer, Gonzalez, Poumele-Hamilton and Reeve taking turns in the pool for tenth.

“Our girls were swimming tired as this was the culmination of our hardest weeks of training,” said coach Tammy Fisher.

Fisher stated the Bulldogs attend meets as the lone team without a home pool and a club team supporting the high school swim season.

“Our swimmers do amazing things considering the uneven playing field with swimming in our area. Every other team in our league has consistent access to facilities and a year-round club team. Hermiston has neither right now”, said Fisher. “Our girls get on the bus at 4:45 am each morning to travel to Boardmand back for practice before school. We are thankful for all of the support we get from the school district and community, and we are highly encouraged by the current task force working to support an indoor pool in Hermiston. This is a sorely needed facility for many reasons, not the least of which is the opportunity for our incredible athletes to have a more fair chance to compete in our league.”

Team Scores: 1. Richland High School, 295. 50. 2. Hanford High School, 283. 50. 3. Walla Walla, 227. 4. Kamiakin High School, 118. 5. Kennewick High School, 104. 6. Southridge, 103. 7. Hermiston High School, 81. 8. Chiawana, 74. 9. Pasco, 47.