7/24/2009 6:00:00 AM Dolphins ready to make a splash at state Five of eight Kingman swim team members will compete in multiple events
JC AMBERLYN/Miner
Patrick Webb of the Kingman Dolphins Swim Team churns to the finish in the boys 13-14 100-meter butterfly during last weekend's Dick Tomlin Memorial Invitational at Centennial Pool.
KINGMAN - The long summer swimming season is beginning to set for the Kingman Dolphins Swim Team, with eight members qualified for the 2009 Long Course Age Group State Championships at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center on the ASU campus in Tempe. The event began Thursday.
The Dolphins head to state after hosting the Dick Tomlin Memorial Invitational Saturday and Sunday at Centennial Pool. The Dolphins won the boys division with 630 points, and Anthem finished second with 571.
The girls team finished fourth with 167, just one point behind third-place Kaizen Swimming of Lake Havasu City. Anthem won the combined event with 1,687, outdistancing KDST's 983.
Five of the eight Dolphins will swim in the maximum six events at state, and several of them had to choose between events as they qualified for more than six.
Brady Cowin, Alek Dunton and Kael Juelfs will represent the Dolphins in the boys 9-10 division. All three are scheduled to swim six events, including Dunton's 50-meter freestyle and 100 butterfly.
"They're my favorite events," Dunton said.
He learned a lot when he qualified for state for the first time last season, and he expects to make it into the finals in at least one event.
"I learned to warm up before I swim," Dunton said. "Last year, I got really tired and my arms cramped up in the 200 free. I'll for sure make in the 100 fly."
Nathan Barnhart of Bullhead City will swim for the Dolphins in three events in the boys 11-12. Barnhart joined the Dolphins because of their year-round program.
Jacob Miyauchi, 11-12, and Patrick Webb, 13-14, are in six events, and Kyle Julle qualified for the boys 9-10 100 backstroke.
Alexis Bathauer is the girls sole representative for the Dolphins at state. Bathauer will be in the 50 and 100 backstrokes, her favorite stroke.
"I'm good at it, and I get to breathe the whole way," Bathauer said.
Bathauer will be returning to the state meet for the second time. She qualified last year in the 11-12 group.
"I want to beat my times," she said. "Last year, I qualified for a lot more events, but I've been pushing myself to do more this year."
Dolphins' coach Beth Mathe has kept her expectations realistic for state.
"I'd like to see the majority of them come back for at least one final," she said. "And I expect a lot of dropped times."
The state meet continues through Sunday, and KDST has the Cottonwood Invitational on its schedule for Aug. 1.
