Two Sisters High School records tumbled as the Outlaw swimmers returned to the pool at Philomath after a year's absence from the home of the Warriors. For their second meet of the season, the Sisters High School Swim Team competed in a three-way meet against a very strong host team and thirty swimmers from Cottage Grove. Even though depth and ability levels of Philomath and Cottage Grove were well reflected in the final team scores, the Outlaws walked away with several first places and numerous personal bests.

In the first event Justin Hedemark led the medley relay with a strong backstroke leg, followed by Scott Schreiner's record breaking breaststroke, Kevin Carlsmith's personal best split in the butterfly and Lee Pyke's best time ever in the freestyle. The group out swam both Cottage Grove's and Philomath's "A" teams and with their final time of 2:04.73 broke the Sisters High School Medley Relay record by 6 seconds.

Kevin Carlsmith added another first place for the Outlaws with his lifetime best of 26.50 in the 50 yd. freestyle, an event that will most likely see a new name on the Sisters High School record board by the end of the season. Class of 2000 graduate Nick Patterson holds the honor with a time of 25.36 seconds.

To contribute to the top finishes, Justin Hedemark swam his first 500 yd. freestyle race for the Outlaws, taking down Steve Nitcher's Sisters High School record in the process. Kevin Carlsmith barely missed in his attempt to replace his own 100 yd. backstroke record. A stroke short and a time of 1:15.98 put him into second place overall, but in  perfect position to topple the existing record before the season is over.

Riding the winning wave, Scott Schreiner shattered his own record and the competition in the 100 yd. breaststroke. With a final time of 1:11.30, he left Curtis Steely from Cottage Grove almost 2 seconds behind and added to the upbeat atmosphere of the entire team. Leading the 200 yd. Freestyle relay, he parted the waves for newcomers Wil Hanson and Kyle Whipps, as well as freestyler  Lee Pyke to finish with a respectable time of 1:58.36 and third place. Freshman Kyle Whipps added valuable points for the Outlaws with his perfectly split swim of the 100 yd. freestyle, finishing fourth overall.

The girls' Medley Relay "A" team with Lexie Comfort, Tessa Durdan-Shaw, Jamie Cundiff and Chelsea Meudt finished third with great splits in the backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle respectively. Jamie Cundiff, Chelsea Meudt, and Leah Berrey added their individual third places to the team score. Kelsey Patterson and Tessa Durdan-Shaw finished 5th in the 50 yd. freestyle and 100 yd. backstroke respectively. Jacquelein Mansker, as well as Ine Fahle, an exchange student from Oslo, Norway added final points with their sixth places in freestyle and breaststroke. 

With these early results and the general work ethic of both boys and girls, the season should show  more outstanding performances. The next competition will take the Outlaws to Sweet Home January 15.
 
 

Tessa Durdan-Shaw, Anna Evered, Jamie Cundiff