Eight members of the Haines Dolphins swim team competed at the Dec. 5-7 Southeast Champs meet in Juneau, an elite event that required athletes to post qualifying times to enter.
The meet also drew entrants from Craig, Juneau, Ketchikan, Petersburg and Sitka.
“It’s a relatively difficult meet to qualify for,” said coach Robert Butker.
Dolphin participants included Pacific Ricke, 7; Hannah Boron and Brennan Palmieri, 11; Dylan Chapell, 12; Naomi Green and Skye Posey, 13; and Dylan Palmieri and Jasper Posey, 16.
“Brennan shaved about 20 seconds off his 200-yard individual medley,” Butker said. “That was the highlight reel for us.”
He noted Southeast Champs can be an intimidating environment for first-time entrants like Boron and Ricke, and Butker credited them for having the heart to “sign up and go do it; it was a big deal and a big hurdle for them.”
Each day of Southeast Champs featured preliminary and final sessions at the Dimond Park Aquatic Center.
“There were maybe 25 kids swimming in each event, with eight to the final,” Butker said. “Every single one of our swimmers made it into a finals event.”
The Dolphins recently endured a weeklong pool closure in Haines, for lighting replacement at the facility. The pool re-opened Monday, Dec. 15.
“This is the brightest light I’ve been in in months, almost,” Butker said. “If anybody’s feeling down and out, tell them to take a quick ‘daycation’ at the pool.”
Haines will host its annual Winter Games North meet Jan. 31-Feb. 1. Butker said the team also plans to host a community swim meet in February or March, followed by the Swim-a-Thon fundraiser.