Freshman Lucas Brandt remained unbeaten in his individual events and sophomore Cameron McLennan had a victory as well in Philomath High’s appearance Thursday at a competitive six-school Stayton Christmas Invitational.
Brandt took first place in the 200-meter individual medley with a time of 2:26.31 — well ahead of the competition with the runner-up more than 14 seconds behind. Brandt also touched first in the 100-meter backstroke in 1:06.33 with a winning margin of 1.21 seconds.
The two wins give Brandt an 11-0 record in individual events this season.
McLennan held off a Cascade swimmer by 0.87 of a second to win the 100-meter butterfly in 1:13.89.
Most of the times were a little slower than what might be expected because the meet venue, Stayton Family Memorial Pool, measures 25 meters in length instead of the typical 25 yards. For example, a 200-meter race would be equal to nearly 219 yards.
Philomath had three other swimmers with top-three finishes at the meet. Junior Kyah Weeber took second in both the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke. The latter of those two races was very close with three swimmers in contention. Cascade’s McKenna Cummins won in 1:30.46, Weeber was right there at 1:30.64 and Sweet Home’s Rylee Markell placed third in 1:30.71 — the trio finishing within 0.25 of a second of one another.
Senior Henry Katsikis finished second in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:23.19, securing that placing by 0.76 over a Cascade swimmer. Sophomore Mason Stevens placed third in the 400-meter freestyle (approximately 437 yards) with a time of 6:08.24.
Sweet Home boys and girls swept the team titles at the invite. Philomath’s boys finished fourth and the girls were fifth.
The Warriors will take a break from competition until Jan. 9 for a home meet against Blanchet Catholic and Stayton.
