651 swimmers converged on Fort Benton this weekend for the Montana Federation of Swimmers State swim meet. Swimmers in this league can practice daily and be coached only between June 1 and September 1, so they have a narrow window to fine tune their strokes.
Despite the short season, the team performed well, dropping seconds from their best times of the year. One swimmer shone particularly bright, Columbia Falls’ Erik Anderson.
In the preliminaries on Saturday in the boys 15-19 50 SC Meter Butterfly, Anderson showed the competition what to expect of him by breaking his own one week old record in the 50 meter butterfly. His record time: 27.94 seconds.
On Sunday, Anderson went into the pool on the 100 meter butterfly with a target on his back, having set the 50 meter record the day before. The first 50 looked a little slow, but I think it might have looked that way because everyone else was gunning for him. When the last 50 meters was done, Anderson had left everyone else in his wake, knocking almost two seconds off of the previous Federation record by swimming the 100 meter butterfly in 1 minute, 3.98 seconds.
After setting the 100 meter butterfly state record, he continued his domination of the event by winning the 50 meter butterfly state title.
Anderson was also part of the Columbia Falls medley relay team that finished second in the state. The relay team included Michael Baiar, Scott Boyd and Alan Newton.
Full results for C-Falls swimmers follow:
2008 Montana Federation State Swim Meet
Combined Team Scores (AA, A, B and C divisions are not noted here)
1, Malta Swim Team, 713.
2, Sidney Tiger Sharks, 711.
3, Lewistown Sea Lions, 676.5.
4, Chinook Lions, 534.
5, Bitterroot Swim Team, 476.
6, Glasgow Kiwanis Swim Team, 398.
7, Columbia Falls Swim Team, 326.
8, Shelby Water Otters, 298.
9, Fort Benton Gators, 288.5.
10, Plentywood Dolphins, 276.
11, Conrad Swim Team, 272.
12, Scobey Swim Team-2006, 208.
13, Glendive Wet Devils, 186.
14, Harlem Swim Team, 175.
15, Roundup Swim Team, 150.5.
16, Chester Swim Team, 146.
17, Cut Bank Sharks, 139.5.
18, Choteau Lions Swim Team, 62.
19, Fairfield Swim Team, 58.
20, Sunburst Swim Team, 44.
21, Plains Swim Team, 34.
22, Harlowton Swim Team, 18.
Boys 8 & Under 100 SC Meter Freestyle Relay
8, Columbia Falls Swim Team ‘A’ (Norick, Colin 8, Gargasz, Sam 8, Role, James 5, Caffrey, Garrett 7), 2:03.63.
Boys 9-10 100 SC Meter Freestyle Relay
7, Columbia Falls Swim Team ‘A’ (Norick, Colter 10, Webber, Billy 10, Ronish, Nic 9, Babcock, Colton 8), 1:22.82.
Girls 9-10 100 SC Meter Freestyle Relay
10, Columbia Falls Swim Team ‘A’ (Merrell, Gabrielle 8, Norick, Cassidy 7, Gimbel, Allyson 10, Nelson, Karyssa 9), 1:30.41.
Boys 11-12 200 SC Meter Freestyle Relay
6, Columbia Falls Swim Team ‘A’ (Ronish, Zac 11, Role, Garett 12, Gargasz, Max 12, Nelson, Dalton 12), 2:38.90.
Boys 13-14 200 SC Meter Freestyle Relay
10, Columbia Falls Swim Team ‘A’ (Erickson, Vincent 14, Newton, Hunter 13, Webber, RJ 13, Gimbel, Kodiak 14), 2:25.41.
Girls 13-14 200 SC Meter Freestyle Relay
4, Columbia Falls Swim Team ‘A’ (Potter, Elena 14, Baiar, Jessica 13, Donner, Katie 13, Ward, Bria 14), 2:17.27.
Boys 15-19 200 SC Meter Freestyle Relay
4, Columbia Falls Swim Team ‘A’ 1:52.49.
Girls 15-19 200 SC Meter Freestyle Relay
8, Columbia Falls Swim Team ‘A’ (Newton, Katie 15, Newton, Kristi 15, Potter, Keri 15, Piper, Katelynn 15), 2:26.28.
Boys 8 & Under 100 SC Meter IM
3, Babcock, Colton, Columbia Falls, 1:59.34.
Girls 8 & Under 100 SC Meter IM
11, Merrell, Gabrielle, Columbia Falls, 3:14.08.
Boys 9-10 100 SC Meter IM
9, Norick, Colter, Columbia Falls, 1:59.00.
Girls 9-10 100 SC Meter IM
10, Nelson, Karyssa, Columbia Falls, 1:43.85.
Boys 11-12 200 SC Meter IM
13, Role, Garett, Columbia Falls, 3:48.04.
Boys 13-14 200 SC Meter IM
12, Newton, Hunter, Columbia Falls, 3:52.52.
Girls 13-14 200 SC Meter IM
8, Potter, Elena, Columbia Falls, 3:10.23.
10, Ward, Bria, Columbia Falls, 3:12.87.
14, Donner, Katie, Columbia Falls, 3:22.14.
Boys 15-19 200 SC Meter IM
4, Newton, Alan, Columbia Falls, 2:46.99.
9, Riffey, Jon, Columbia Falls, 3:04.44.
10, Boyd, Scott, Columbia Falls, 3:08.31.
Girls 15-19 200 SC Meter IM
13, Newton, Katie, Columbia Falls, 3:28.43.
14, Newton, Kristi, Columbia Falls, 3:31.30.
Boys 11-12 50 SC Meter Freestyle
7, Nelson, Dalton, Columbia Falls, 33.56.
Boys 13-14 50 SC Meter Freestyle
9, Gimbel, Kodiak, Columbia Falls, 31.33.
Girls 13-14 50 SC Meter Freestyle
9, Bartkoski, Lexie, Columbia Falls, 32.47.
Boys 15-19 50 SC Meter Freestyle
3, Anderson, Erik, Columbia Falls, 26.70.
10, Baiar, Michael, Columbia Falls, 28.54.
Girls 15-19 50 SC Meter Freestyle
7, Piper, Katelynn, Columbia Falls, 33.57.
Boys 8 & Under 25 SC Meter Breaststroke
7, Babcock, Colton, Columbia Falls, 26.04.
Boys 11-12 50 SC Meter Breaststroke
12, Role, Garett, Columbia Falls, 50.22.
Boys 13-14 100 SC Meter Breaststroke
4, Erickson, Vincent, Columbia Falls, 1:28.44.
Girls 13-14 100 SC Meter Breaststroke
13, Donner, Katie, Columbia Falls, 1:43.14.
Boys 15-19 100 SC Meter Breaststroke
9, Newton, Alan, Columbia Falls, 1:27.54.
Girls 15-19 100 SC Meter Breaststroke
12, Newton, Katie, Columbia Falls, 1:38.44.
Boys 9-10 100 SC Meter Freestyle
9, Norick, Colter, Columbia Falls, 1:41.29.
Girls 9-10 100 SC Meter Freestyle
9, Nelson, Karyssa, Columbia Falls, 1:30.48.
Boys 11-12 100 SC Meter Freestyle
6, Nelson, Dalton, Columbia Falls, 1:14.50.
Boys 13-14 100 SC Meter Freestyle
11, Gimbel, Kodiak, Columbia Falls, 1:12.17.
Girls 13-14 100 SC Meter Freestyle
5, Ward, Bria, Columbia Falls, 1:12.00.
Boys 15-19 100 SC Meter Freestyle
10, Baiar, Michael, Columbia Falls, 1:06.69.
Girls 15-19 100 SC Meter Freestyle
8, Piper, Katelynn, Columbia Falls, 1:13.74.
10, Ronish, Hanna, Columbia Falls, 1:14.84.
Boys 11-12 50 SC Meter Backstroke
10, Nelson, Dalton, Columbia Falls, 42.40.
Girls 11-12 50 SC Meter Backstroke
4, Palmer, Ashley, Columbia Falls, 42.89.
Boys 13-14 100 SC Meter Backstroke
6, Erickson, Vincent, Columbia Falls, 1:27.03.
13, Gimbel, Kodiak, Columbia Falls, 1:37.68.
14, Newton, Hunter, Columbia Falls, 1:41.83.
Girls 13-14 100 SC Meter Backstroke
5, Ward, Bria, Columbia Falls, 1:25.89.
6, Potter, Elena, Columbia Falls, 1:31.03.
Boys 15-19 100 SC Meter Backstroke
4, Boyd, Scott, Columbia Falls, 1:17.43.
Girls 15-19 100 SC Meter Backstroke
10, Newton, Kristi, Columbia Falls, 1:37.13.
Boys 8 & Under 25 SC Meter Butterfly
3, Babcock, Colton, Columbia Falls, 22.88.
11, Norick, Colin, Columbia Falls, 5:00.00.
Boys 9-10 50 SC Meter Butterfly
5, Norick, Colter, Columbia Falls, 51.46.
Girls 9-10 50 SC Meter Butterfly
5, Nelson, Karyssa, Columbia Falls, 48.57.
Girls 13-14 50 SC Meter Butterfly
10, Bartkoski, Lexie, Columbia Falls, 38.87.
Boys 15-19 50 SC Meter Butterfly
1, Anderson, Erik, Columbia Falls, 28.22.
7, Baiar, Michael, Columbia Falls, 32.01.
11, Riffey, Jon, Columbia Falls, 33.30.
Girls 15-19 50 SC Meter Butterfly
13, Ronish, Hanna, Columbia Falls, 37.99.
Boys 15-19 400 SC Meter Freestyle
5, Newton, Alan, Columbia Falls, 5:28.45.
14, Donner, Benjamin, Columbia Falls, 5:57.02.
Girls 15-19 400 SC Meter Freestyle
7, Piper, Katelynn, Columbia Falls, 6:01.11.
12, Newton, Katie, Columbia Falls, 6:15.17.
Boys 9-10 100 SC Meter Medley Relay
7, Columbia Falls Swim Team ‘A’ (Ronish, Nic 9, Babcock, Colton 8, Norick, Colter 10, Webber, Billy 10), 1:38.74.
Girls 9-10 100 SC Meter Medley Relay
10, Columbia Falls Swim Team ‘A’ (Merrell, Gabrielle 8, Gimbel, Allyson 10, Nelson, Karyssa 9, Norick, Cassidy 7), 1:50.02.
Boys 11-12 200 SC Meter Medley Relay
5, Columbia Falls Swim Team ‘A’ (Ronish, Zac 11, Role, Garett 12, Nelson, Dalton 12, Gargasz, Max 12), 3:15.61.
Boys 13-14 200 SC Meter Medley Relay
11, Columbia Falls Swim Team ‘A’ (Gimbel, Kodiak 14, Erickson, Vincent 14, Newton, Hunter 13, Webber, RJ 13), 2:58.23.
Girls 13-14 200 SC Meter Medley Relay
4, Columbia Falls Swim Team ‘A’ (Ward, Bria 14, Donner, Katie 13, Potter, Elena 14, Baiar, Jessica 13), 2:40.39.
Boys 15-19 200 SC Meter Medley Relay
2, Columbia Falls Swim Team ‘A’ (Boyd, Scott 15, Newton, Alan 18, Anderson, Erik 18, Baiar, Michael 15), 2:05.67.
Girls 15-19 200 SC Meter Medley Relay
6, Columbia Falls Swim Team ‘A’ (Newton, Kristi 15, Newton, Katie 15, Ronish, Hanna 15, Piper, Katelynn 15), 2:41.66.
Boys 13-14 100 SC Meter Butterfly
10, Erickson, Vincent, Columbia Falls, 1:39.73.
Girls 13-14 100 SC Meter Butterfly
6, Potter, Elena, Columbia Falls, 1:30.88.
8, Bartkoski, Lexie, Columbia Falls, 1:34.57.
Boys 15-19 100 SC Meter Butterfly
1, Anderson, Erik, Columbia Falls, 1:03.98F.
7, Riffey, Jon, Columbia Falls, 1:22.07.
12, Donner, Benjamin, Columbia Falls, 1:33.59.
Girls 15-19 100 SC Meter Butterfly
7, Ronish, Hanna, Columbia Falls, 1:28.88.
12, Potter, Keri, Columbia Falls, 2:03.97.