by MICHAEL DASHIELL

Sequim Gazette

Talk about an even meet.

Sequim and Olympic swimmers and divers battled to a near dead heat last week, with the Wolves coming out on top by a single point (92-91) on Jan. 13.

Noe Calderon picked up two individual wins — in the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke by just six-tenths of a second — while teammates Drew Rickerson (50 free), Kris Petersen (100 fly), Tommy Moores (500 free) and Connor Christianson (diving) each picked up individual victories.

Petersen’s 1:11 finish in the 100 fly was a district-qualifying time.

Rickerson swam a 24.50 in the 50 free event — a half-second better than his previous best in that event — that earned a tie with Olympic’s Ries Meyer for first.

He also improved his 100 free time by more than two seconds.

“It’s hard to remember that (Drew) just learned competitive swimming in November,” Sequim coach Linda Moats said.

Sequim’s divers contributed a key 13 points to the victory by sweeping the diver-less Trojans. Connor Christianson led the Wolves with 157.95 points, followed closely by Austin Clement at 151.65 points.

Doug Dunbar and Andrew Gunstone each shed about four seconds off their 100 free times and are closing in on district-meet qualifying times.

“Andrew Gunstone had a great swim in the 200 free; I expect he will continue to improve exponentially,” Moats said.

The Sequim coach also lauded several of her swimmers for setting personal bests, including Kiano Stoppani in the 500 free (by 35 seconds), David Vollenweider in the 200 IM (by eight seconds), Alex Rodriguez in the breaststroke (by seven seconds), Keil Wood in the 100 backstroke (by six seconds), Matt Cays in the 50 free (by one second) and particularly Steve Dewey, who trimmed 15 seconds off his 100 free time and two seconds off his 50 free best.

“(Steve) has so much potential,” Moats said. “When he really gets serious about swimming, he will be an awesome contender.”

In junior varsity action, Jake Sisco stood out with a 50 free finish of 33.71 and a 1:18.83 mark in the 100 free. 

“Jake hasn’t had a chance to compete much this season and these times are quite good at this stage of his training,” Moats said.

The Wolves are at Bremerton on Jan. 20 and conclude the regular season with a Jan. 27 home meet against Kingston.

The Olympic League meet is slated for Feb. 1.

Reach Michael Dashiell at miked@sequimgazette.com.