High Points and Pool Records Were a Normal Week for the Chinook Lions Swim Team
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The Chinook Lions 13-14 Boys 200 Meter Freestyle and Medley Relay teams won state Championships at the recent Montana federation of Swimmers State Meet in Lewistown. Counting the two relays, the Chinook Lions group of 13-14 year old boys (Brockton Elliot, Kolton DePriest, Walter Schoen and Daniel Tilleman) won Gold in nine of the ten events swam. What happened in the tenth event? They took second!
In last weeks edition we were able to get as much information from the Montana Federation of Swimmers State Swim Meet in Lewistown as we possibly could with a moved up print deadline. This week we highlight a couple of things that were not available at press time previously.
With all results available the success of the Chinook Lions Swim Team is only confirmed. The Lions had one additional High Point Trophy winner and earned two more State Championships as well.
Dentin DePriest tied for the boys 15-19 High Point following a performance that saw him win two individual titles as well as a runner up finish. Dentin claimed victories in the 100 Meter Breaststroke (1:17.34) as well as the 400 Meter Freestyle (4:53.78). He finished the 100 Meter Freestyle in :59.09 just a fraction of a second behind the winner.
The Lions 13-14 Boys claimed state titles in both the 200 Meter Freestyle Relay (1:56.12) and the 200 Meter Medley Relay (2:11.92) winning the event by nearly twelve full seconds. Both were new pool records and only added to the Lions record haul. The relay teams consisted of Daniel Tilleman, Brockton Elliot, Kolton DePriest and Walter Schoen.
The Lions success was unparalleled. Despite having just 23 swimmers in the pool compered to the 60+ of Lewistown and Sidney, they finished third overall with 554.5 points while winning the Class A Division.
The swimmers compete in five girls and five boys divisions with High Point Trophies awarded to the top point getters in each division, ties included with 42 points being the max. The Lions captured six High Points with a max 42 points and a seventh with a tie at 40 points. The team with the next most was Lewistown with three.
The Lions won a whopping 25 of the 100 events swam winning 25% of all events competed. They set 2 Federation State records while establishing 11 new pool records including a number of them in the preliminary rounds and then again in the finals.
In the 13-14 Boys Division Chinook won nine of the ten events swam, including both relays. The one race they didn't win, the 100 Meter Backstroke, the Lions finished second in.
Head Coach Benton Elliot was amazed by his teams effort all season long, "Wow what a year! I could sit here and put every single kids name and talk about how much they improved this year, but there's not enough room for it. We had Daniel Tilleman absolutely smash some very fast federation records in the 100 and 50 free. Tyler Stephens, Britton Elliot, Brockton Elliot and Katie Tilleman all came within a few tenths of breaking federation records."
Elliot couldn't hold back, "We had seven high points at state which is unheard of. Teams are lucky to get 2 or 3. We ended up placing first in class A but had enough points to get us 3rd in AA."
Dentin DePriest was the seventh Chinook Swimmer to win a High Point in Lewistown. Denton accumulated 40 points to tie for the 15-19 boys top honor.
Elliot is always looking to build the team, "If anyone is considering joining swim team, do it. You don't have to be a great swimmer, but you will become a great swimmer, everyone starts somewhere. The Little Lions is a great program for the little guys looking to be on the swim team. It's basically swim lessons for the whole summer." He stresses that no swimming experience is required and that the coaches will get in the water with them and they'll become amazing swimmers.
The Lions have some strong up and coming swimmers in the mix. Sylvi Harwood competed all season as a five year old in the eight and under girls division and finished twelfth overall at the state meet. Sylvi finished the season with fourth place finish in both the 25 Meter Freestyle and the 25 Meter Backstroke.
In addition Cynnloch Gibson, Pepper Harwood, Mariah Huravtich, Ashtyn DePriest, Clara Laird, Ivey Lenz, Calvin Frye, Jeni Mord, Lori Mord and Hanna Schoen all scored points at the state swim meet by finishing in the top twelve of at least one individual event.
It was a banner year for the Chinook Lions and with everyone eligible to swim again next summer, one can only expect more good things to come.
