Wickensheimer claims 2 titles; Stockdale third in team standings
| Saturday, May 16 2009 10:00 PM
Last Updated Saturday, May 16 2009 10:00 PM
PORTERVILLE -- It was in the aftermath of the medal presentation for the boys 200-yard individual medley Saturday that Tehachapi's Wesley Schultz made his announcement, to anyone who was listening:
"I think," he said, a smile spreading on his face, "I need to find a new event."
This after four swimmers -- led by Frontier's Randy Aakhus -- recorded automatic All-American times in the 200 IM at the Central Section Championships at Granite Hills High School.
"I like the competition like that," Aakhus said. "Just motivates me to go faster. If they weren't there, I don't think I'd have gone as fast."
Aakhus' time was 1:51.75, some three seconds below the auto All-American time and the best time in the 200 IM section finals since 2002. He edged Clovis West's Jacob McGough, who swam 1:52.89. Stockdale's Brian Collier was fourth with another auto time, 1:54.19.
"I've been blown away if I had known (there would be four AA times in the race)," said Aakhus, who was also third in a close 500 freestyle race. "I helped those guys get their best time, they helped me get my best time; it was amazing."
That 200 IM was the fastest race on a day full of them. The 22 combined boys and girls races produced 25 automatic All-American times, 13 All-American consideration times and six meet records, including two in one race.
Stockdale finished third in the team standings with 233.5 points, though the Mustangs couldn't seriously challenge Clovis West (322.5 points), which won the meet for the 11th year in a row.
"We came in with a goal of top three," Stockdale coach Adam Bledsoe said. "So we're very pleased."
The Mustangs did crown a couple of individual champions. Dan Wickensheimer out-touched the field by .03 seconds in the 50 freestyle with a personal-record 21.61. Lemoore's Nate Fravor was second in 21.65.
"Long fingernails," Wickensheimer said. "I knew it was going to be a crapshoot of 21s. The top seven places were all 21s. I didn't breathe the whole race, and figured I could out-reach the guy next to me."
Wickensheimer, who moved to Bakersfield from Indiana after his freshman year, added a title No. 2 in the 100 butterfly with an auto AA time of 49.91 -- actually a bit slower than his Friday preliminary time of 49.40 but plenty good enough.
"I started off swimming a 1:13 in my 100 fly," Wickensheimer said. "If you talk to the people I swam with Indiana, they couldn't have told you I would get to this spot ... It's a really meaningful moment at the end of your senior year to be able to place as I as (this) and win these events."
Another Stockdale senior, Jon Kim, won the 100 backstroke with an auto AA time of 51.59.
"It was a great race," Kim said. "It was the last race of my high school career, and I just wanted to take it out as hard as I could. The last 25 (yards) hurt really, really bad."
The Mustangs only had a few disappointments. In the 200 medley relay, they set what would have been a meet record 1:35.50 -- but Clovis West swam 1:35.35. And in the 100 breaststroke, Brian Collier came in with the best time in the section and lowered that time but placed second when the Golden Eagles' Omar Dwidar blew away his personal record with a 57.98.
Still, Collier and the Mustangs ended the year on a bright note, finishing second in swimming's signature event, the 400 freestyle relay. Wickensheimer, Kim and Collier placed second in the event with an auto AA time of 3:11.50. They finished second behind Clovis, but got some revenge on Clovis West by edging them for second.
"It's been three years with me, Jon and Brian on the relay," Wickensheimer said. "That was really an emotional moment when we pulled ahead of Clovis West and finished second."
Liberty, buoyed by two top-five finishes each from Michael Rowe and Justin Kraetch and top-five finishes in both freestyle relays, was fifth in the team standings with 179 points. Centennial was ninth with 86 and Tehachapi 10th with 85.
