Relay squads pace Neptunites against Bucs

The Porterville Neptunites hit the road Thursday toward Visalia for their first “away” meet of the season.  

The Neptunites were greeted by the Buccaneers, one of the three Visalia swim clubs.

It proved to be a worthwhile trip for the Neptunites, and many of the 7- and 8-year-olds swam superbly.  

The girls picked up a first-place finish with the relay team of Lauren Parnell, Nariah McRae, Hannah Anderson and Rosemary Chapman. 

 The boys relay squad of Moses Bower, Brock Fleischman, Caleb Brumley and Oliver Camarena also won first-place honors, finishing almost five seconds ahead of the next team.

In the freestyle event, the top three 7- and 8-year-old Neptunite girls were Chapman (first place), Parnell (second), and Anderson (fourth).  

The boys in the group were a strong presence.  Brumley captured first place, with Fleischman (third) and Isaiah Allard (sixth) close behind.

The 7- and 8-year-old girls with the best backstroke times were Anderson (third place), Lannah Martin (ninth) and Abby Lee (13th).  

The boys in the agegroup who excelled were Bower (first), Fleischman (second) and Allard (sixth).

The 7- and 8-year-old girls fared well in butterfly.  Chapman touched the wall in a decisive first-place finish.  

Parnell picked up the fourth-place award, and Anderson finished fifth.  

Bower claimed the first-place victory for the boys, followed by Kevin Leyva (fourth) and Phoenix Hansen (fifth). 

The breaststroke turned out to be the best individual event of the evening for these young swimmers.  

The girls earning top recognition were Parnell (first place), Johanna Scheer, age 6 (third) and Martin (fourth).  

The boys paralleled their performance with Brumley (first place), Allard (third) and Fleischman (fourth).

In the medley relay, the 7- and 8-year-old girls’ team of Anderson, Martin, Parnell and Chapman placed first.  

The boys’ relay of Brumley, John Rivera, Bower, and Fleischman came in second.

Many of the seven- and 8-year-old Neptunites improved their previous swimming times.  Those showing the greatest reductions in their times were Luke Bowers (-6.85 seconds, breaststroke; -3.61 seconds, butterfly), Eric Ogas (-6.64 seconds, breaststroke; -5.01, backstroke), and Olivia Leyva (-5.49 seconds, breaststroke; -0.01, butterfly).

It was a stellar night for many Neptunites across all age divisions.  Listed below are swimmers who received first-place awards.

First-place
Finishers

6-Under

Zannah Castaneda – freestyle, backstroke

Zannah Castaneda, Elissabel Ortiz, Keona McRae, Johanna Scheer – girls freestyle relay

9-10

Brianna Likewise – freestyle, butterfly, breaststroke

Steven Chapman – freestyle, backstroke, butterfly

Hailey Scott – backstroke

Jeffrey Scheer – breaststroke

Brianna Likewise, Madison Bower, Bryn Short, Hailey Scott – girls freestyle relay

Steven Chapman, Clayton Dignam, Grant Snyder, Jeffrey Scheer – boys freestyle relay

Hailey Scott, Brianna Likewise, Tristin Bennett, Bryn Short – girls medley relay

Grant Snyder, Jeffrey Scheer, Steven Chapman, Clayton Dignam – boys medley relay

11-12

Carly Innis – freestyle, IM, butterfly

Zack Acencio – freestyle, backstroke

Allyson Schultz – backstroke

Kyle Grissom – IM, butterfly, breaststroke

Mikayla Balangue – breaststroke 

Allyson Schultz, Mikayla Balangue, Carley Medrano, Carly Innis – girls freestyle relay

Kyle Grissom, A.J. Dodd, Alex Leyva, Zack Acencio – boys freestyle relay

Allyson Schultz, Carley Medrano, Carly Innis, Mikayla Balangue – girls medley relay

Zack Acencio, Zachary Sexton, Kyle Grissom, Christian Steventon – boys medley relay

13-14

Kassidy Lane – 100-yard freestyle

Mikayla Scheer – 50-yard freestyle, IM, breast

Caleb Parnell – 50-yard freestyle, butterfly

Geoffrey Camarena – backstroke

Gabbie Acencio – butterfly

Shannon Kaye, Zander Short, Kassidy Lane, Mikayla Scheer – girls freestyle relay

Caleb Parnell, Gregory Haas, Hans Schalembier, Geoffrey Camarena – boys freestyle relay

Kassidy Lane, Mikayla Scheer, Gabbie Acencio, Shannon Kaye – girls medley relay

Christopher Moore, Gregory Haas, Caleb Parnell, Geoffrey Camarena – boys medley relay

15-18

Patrick Burns – 50-yard freestyle

Bailey Likewise – backstroke, butterfly

Titus Moore – breaststroke

Patrick Burns, Logan McAllister, Jake Watson, Titus Moore – boys freestyle relay

Kyla Hill, Mercedes Lisenbery, Bailey Likewise, Ariel Guerrero – girls medley relay