The Wave's Kobe Abe, left, prepares to take off in the 100-yard freestyle.
The Fernley High School swim team wasn’t the only group celebrating after its senior day meet on Saturday when the Greenwave varsity swimmers’ final numbers came in.
Fallon dominated Sparks and Fernley in its last league meet of the season before the regional championships, the boys team earning 116 points and the girls team totaling 112. Fernley and Sparks’ boys teams earned 36 and 21 respectively and their girls teams totaled 78 and 30 respectively.
With the final times in from the win, Fallon will be sending 14 swimmers to the regional championship with three relay alternates, one of the highest totals sent by the Fallon team in years coach Ken Grimes said he is very proud of.
“I know that we will have a very emotional banquet at the end of the year as we say goodbye to our seniors and a few others moving this summer,” Grimes said on his seniors moving on after this season ends. “Right now our focus is on making Regional Finals and trying to qualify as many as possible for the State Championships in Las Vegas.”
The veteran foursome of Kaelehn Nemeth, Danielle Brown, Amber Revels and Katalina Martinez continue to dominate in the 200-yard medley relay, the first event of the day, with a time of 2:19.49. Then, exchanging Brown for Sierra Bivens, they took first again in the 200-yard free relay, finishing at 2:03.18, a personal record among Fallon’s relay times.
Brown, Bivens, Kaelehn Nemeth, Revels and Martinez will all be competing in the regional championship.
“Our girls relay teams have been strong but we know we have very tough competition out there,” Grimes said. “We have to focus on swimming our race and improving our time. If we do that we will be a tough team to beat.”
Individually, Martinez won first in the 100-yard freestyle at 1:06.04. Revels took first in the 200-yard freestyle at 2:45.65 and Kaelehn Nemeth was first in the 100-yard backstroke at 1:16.52.
In the boys competition, individuals have been making a little more progress than relay teams, though both have steadily caught up to the girls.
Fallon’s Charlie Brown, for example, took first in the 100-yard breast stroke at 1:21.81 while Fallon’s Nathan Narag did the same in the 200-yard freestyle at 2:19.36.
The Wave’s Isaac Kelsey was first in the 50-yard freestyle at 27.03
Fallon’s boys relay teams took first by default in each of its events due to Sparks and Fernley’s low numbers.
Charlie Brown, Narag and Kelsey along with Kendall Rogers, Ryan Ware, Jared Miller and Brian Seline will represent the boys at regionals.
The boys have not seen much competition in relay events, as well as in some individual events where Fallon had one swimmer with no competition. Nonetheless, Grimes said his boys, particularly Narag, Kelsey, Charlie Brown and Christian Nemeth, find ways to surprise him every meet.
“We always tend to have a tough time fielding enough young men to fill all our events each year,” Grimes said. “This year our veterans have improved consistently and our younger swimmers have really improved and stepped up to swim events wherever we have needed them.”