Despite a COVID-challenged season that included limited practice time, fewer meets, little time for warm up or cool down during meets due to capacity limits in the pool and no spectators, the PKY Swimming and Diving team put together a season to remember.
The girls finished the season as the 4th best team in the state in Class 1A. Other accolades include City Meet Runner-up, District Champions for the 10th year in a row and Regional Runner-up to Bolles.
Coach Kara Dawson said she was impressed with growth and maturity of this young team.
“The girls team is still very young but I think they are starting to believe that they belong at the top of the state and I look forward to seeing just how far they can go as individuals and as a team,” she said.
The Boys team finished 11th at State and 5th at Regionals. In addition, they were City Champions for the second year in a row and District Champions for the 8th year in a row.
Dawson was surprised by the boys’ performance this year.
“I was truthfully a bit surprised by how well the boys did this year,” she said. “We graduated four college level swimmers and a college level diver last year in addition to many other strong contributors and leaders. We had only one returning State qualifier on the team from last year yet seven individuals qualified this year and everyone one of them placed in the top 16. I expect to have another great season next year with five of those qualifiers and numerous other fast swimmers returning.”
Dawson attributes the overall success of the team to depth.
“Winning swim meets requires swimmers who place in the top two or three spots but it also requires depth since big meets score to 16th place and regular meets score to 5th or 7th place depending on the format,” she said. “Our team has great depth as evidenced by over 95% of our athletes scoring points in championship meets. We have athletes who are committed to the team, to working hard and getting better and who recognize that everyone has an important role to play if we are to be successful as a team.”
Dawson also attributes the team’s success to the 10 seniors (Catalina Aguirre, Ana Barrientos, Patrick Kallenbach , Catherine Lewis, Chloe Maclaren, Aaron Nelson, Gabriella Reeves, Kate Scarborough, Ethen Ungaro, Tate Workman).
“Many of these kids have been with the program since 6th or 7th grade and this season they really embraced their leadership role and helped the team through a challenging season,” Dawson said. “We will miss their leadership as well as their swimming talent. These 10 Seniors combined for over a third of our points in championship meets. Underclassmen will really need to step up next year to fill this void.”
2020 PKY City Champions
1. Boys 200 Medley Relay (Joseph, Ethen, Brandon, Benjamin)
2. Girls 200 IM (Gwen)
3. Girls 50 Free (Lillie)
4. Boys 100 Fly (Brandon)
5. Girls 100 Breast (Gwen)
2020 PKY City Runner-ups
1. Girls 200 Medley Relay (Ana, Gwen, Lillie, Gabriella)
2. Girls 100 Fly (Lillie)
3. Boys 100 Fly (Joseph)
4. Girls 100 Free (Samantha)
5. Boys 100 Free (Lex)
6. Girls 500 Free (Gabriella)
7. Boys 200 Free Relay (Benjamin, Lex, Aaron, Joseph)
8. Boys 400 Free Relay (Brandon, Ethen, Aaron, Lex)
2020 PKY District Champions
1. Girls 200 Medley Relay (Tara Mcgovern, Gwen Shahboz, Laci Herron, Lillie Nesty)
2. Girls 200 IM (Gwen Shahboz)
3. Boys 200 IM (Benjamin Wolking)
4. Girls 50 Free (Lillie Nesty)
5. Girls 100 Fly (Lillie Nesty)
6. Boys 100 Fly (Brandon Jeong)
7. Girls 100 Free (Chloe Maclaren)
8. Girls 500 Free (Gabriella Reeves)
9. Girls 200 Free Relay (Tara Mcgovern, Gwen Shahboz, Samantha Belmore, Gabriella Reeves)
10. Boys 100 Back (Joseph Pyon)
11. Girls 400 Free Relay (Laci Herron, Samantha Belmore, Gabriella Reeves, Lillie Nesty)
12. Boys 400 Free Relay (Joseph Pyon, Ethen Ungaro, Brandon Jeong, Lex Fetko)
2020 PKY District Runner-Ups
1. Boys 200 Medley Relay (Benjamin Wolking, Joseph Pyon, Brandon Jeong, Lex Fetko)
2. Girls 200 Free (Gabriella Reeves)
3. Girls 200 IM (Laci Herron)
4. Boys 200 IM (Patrick Kallenbach)
5. Girls 50 Free (Catalina Aguirre)
6. Boys 50 Free (Lex Fetko)
7. Girls 100 Fly (Laci Herron)
8. Boys 100 Fly (Joseph Pyon)
9. Boys 100 Free (Lex Fetko)
10. Girls 500 Free (Samantha Belmore)
11. Boys 200 Free Relay (Benjamin Wolking, Ethen Ungaro, Drew Dawson, Aaron Nelson)
12. Boys 100 Back (Brandon Jeong)
13. Girls 100 Breast (Gwen Shahboz)
2020 PKY Top 16 State Finishers
1. Girls 200 Medley Relay (Tara McGovern, Gwen Shahboz, Laci Herron, Lillie Nesty – 6th place)
2. Boys 200 Medley Relay (Benjamin Wolking, Joseph Pyon, Brandon Jeong, Lex Fetko – 8th place)
3. Girls 200 Freestyle (Samantha Belmore – 16th place)
4. Girls 200 IM (Gwen Shahboz – 6th place)
5. Girls 50 Free (Lillie Nesty – 5th place: All-American consideration time)
6. Boys 50 Free (Lex Fetko – 16th place)
7. Girls 100 Fly (Lillie Nesty – 13th place)
8. Girls 100 Fly (Laci Herron – 15th place)
9. Boys 100 Fly (Joseph Pyon – 16th place)
10. Boys 100 Free (Lex Fetko – 16th place)
11. Girls 500 Free (Samantha Belmore – 16th place)
12. Girls 200 Free Relay (Laci Herron, Abbie McGovern, Samantha Belmore, Gwen Shahboz -4th place)
13. Boys 200 Free Relay (Ethen Ungaro, Benjamin Wolking, Drew Dawson, Aaron Nelson – 13th place)
14. Girls 100 Back (Abbie McGovern -11th place)
15. Boys 100 Back (Brandon Jeong – 13th place)
16. Boys 100 Back (Joseph Pyon – 14th place)
17. Girls 100 Breast (Gwen Shahboz -7th place)
18. Girls 400 Free Relay (Samantha Belmore, Laci Herron, Tara McGovern, Lillie Nesty – 9th place)
19. Boys 400 Free Relay (Brandon Jeong, Ethen Ungaro, Joseph Pyon, Lex Fetko -8th place)
New PKY School Records set in 2020
Lillian Nesty: 50 Free (23.53 All-American Consideration)
Lillian Nesty: 100 Fly (57.26)
Gwen Shahboz: 200 IM (1:06.62)
Gwen Shahboz: 100 Breast (1:05.69)
Joseph Pyon: 100 Fly (52.40)
