Yakima Valley Boys Swimming Championships deliver consciousness to standing of Lions Pool

Yakima, Wash. — The chilly temperatures outdoors had been an afterthought on Saturday as households and mates gathered to assist their highschool swimmers within the 2026 Yakima Valley Boys Swimming Championship meet at Lions Pool.

“This sport basically brings everyone together, and they all support each other,” stated native instructor, John Whitney. “They are all working for each other and rooting each other on, and they want the best for each other.”

Whitney emphasised the significance of psychological well being and says that swimming could be a nice escape for a lot of younger athletes.

“The other thing that we have, it’s really critical in our society right now, is mental health, and I can’t tell you how much it means to just drop underneath the surface and go for a swim,” Whitney stated.

Swimmers and followers made their voices heard on the meet in regards to the significance of the Lions Pool to the area people and vouched to maintain it open long-term.

“There just aren’t enough lanes anywhere in this region, and we need to keep these six lanes open for all of these kids to have the opportunity to swim,” Whitney stated. “This pool was built ages ago, I know that, but I don’t think we should sell these community assets.”

Jake Brandt of East Valley had a stellar day, decreasing his valley greatest and state-qualifying instances within the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyles, taking the highest spot in each occasions. Alex Alejo additionally stood out for the Red Devils within the 100-yard butterfly and backstroke, dropping his instances in each and turning into the valley chief in each occasions.

Naches Valley may have a relay competing within the District Championships, with Jack McColm additionally backing up his high seed within the 200-yard freestyle with a win.

Selah’s Joshua Strand dropped 8 seconds off of his lifetime greatest within the 200 IM to dip under the state-qualifying time.

First-place winners from every occasion are as follows:

• 200-yard Medley Relay: East Valley Red Devils (Jake Brandt, James Field, Alex Alejo, Tyson Critchlow), 1:47.92
• 200-yard Freestyle: Jack McColm (Naches Valley High School), 2:03.79
• 200-yard IM: Gabe Petroff (Prosser High School), 2:07.29
• 50-yard Freestyle: Jake Brandt (East Valley High School), 22.11
• 100-yard Butterfly: Alex Alejo (East Valley High School), 54.96
• 100-yard Freestyle: Jake Brandt (East Valley High School), 49.45
• 500-yard Freestyle: Ian Ziegler (Selah High School), 5:31.64
• 200-yard Freestyle Relay: East Valley High School (Alex Alejo, Carson Grant, Tyson Critchlow, Jake Brandt), 1:37.28
• 100-yard Backstroke: Alex Alejo (East Valley High School), 55.91
• 100-yard Breaststroke: Esteban Mendoza (Toppenish High School), 1:07.43
• 400-yard Freestyle Relay: Prosser High School (Jimmy Park, Gavin Petroff, Colin Ferguson, Gabe Petroff), 3:33.76

Below are the ultimate group rankings from the meet: