Dogies fine-tune at Buffalo

Dogie boys swimmers used a busy two-day stretch in Buffalo to test versatility, sharpen technique and build momentum heading into this week’s 3A boys conference meet at Newcastle.

Newcastle competed Friday at the Buffalo Pre-Invitational before returning Saturday for the Buffalo Invitational, where the Dogies stayed competitive despite fatigue and came away with measurable improvements across the lineup.

The pre-invite featured a modified format designed to encourage swimmers to experiment with events and strokes, something coach Doug Scribner said fits well with the program’s long-term goals.

“The Buffalo pre-invite had a slightly different format and encouraged the swimmers to change up their swims a little bit,” Scribner said.

Gabe Hoover was one of several Dogies who embraced the opportunity, swimming the 200-yard freestyle as backstroke rather than front crawl. Hoover placed second with a time of 2:10.37.

“This gives them a time that can carry over into their club season and possibly qualify them for club state,” Scribner said. “Gabe’s time was slower than his typical freestyle time but close to his 200 backstroke goal time.”

Isaiah Anderson also mixed things up by swimming the 50 freestyle as butterfly, while Archer Ohnstad continued his steady improvement by dropping just over seven seconds in the 200 free during the pre-invite.

The following day at the Buffalo Invitational, the Dogies returned to their normal event lineup and focused on technical execution despite heavy legs.

“Everyone was back to their normal swims,” Scribner said. “Despite the team being tired, they stayed competitive in their races and focused on the technical pieces of their races.”

That focus showed up in both places and times. Nathan Smith improved by nearly a second in the 200 freestyle and followed with a solid swim in the 100 freestyle, while Anderson dropped nearly two and a half seconds in the 100 free. Ohnstad continued his trend of improvement by cutting time in the 100 breaststroke.

Hoover delivered one of Newcastle’s top performances of the meet by winning the 500 freestyle in 5:30.56, improving his time by nearly five seconds and earning 16 points.

Newcastle also picked up points in the sprint events, with Hoover placing second in the 50 freestyle, Ohnstad seventh, Anderson eighth and John Sandrini 12th.

The Dogies’ relay teams stayed competitive as well. Newcastle placed sixth in the 200 medley relay and finished fourth in the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 4:14.00.

With the postseason approaching, Scribner said practices will now shift to recovery and preparation.

“The focus of practice will change this week, emphasizing a lot of rest as the team gets ready for the conference meet,” Scribner said.

Newcastle hosts the 3A boys conference meet Friday afternoon beginning at 2 p.m., with finals scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday at the Kozisek Aquatic Center.

Dogies at Buffalo meets

Buffalo Pre-Invitational
Friday, Jan. 30

200 freestyle
Gabe Hoover: second, 2:10.37
Archer Ohnstad: fifth, 2:17.20

50 freestyle
Gabe Hoover: eighth, 27.62
Nathan Smith: 18th, 30.98
Isaiah Anderson: 22nd, 32.39

100 freestyle
Archer Ohnstad: sixth, 1:00.72
Isaiah Anderson: 27th, 1:19.78

200 freestyle relay
John Sandrini, Isaiah Anderson, Gabe Hoover, Archer Ohnstad: sixth, 2:04.71

400 freestyle relay
John Sandrini, Isaiah Anderson, Gabe Hoover, Archer Ohnstad: fourth, 4:14.00

Buffalo Invitational
Saturday, Jan. 31

200 medley relay
Newcastle: sixth, 2:08.17

200 freestyle
Nathan Smith: eighth, 2:29.21

50 freestyle
Gabe Hoover: second, 23.13
Archer Ohnstad: seventh, 26.87
Isaiah Anderson: eighth, 28.03
John Sandrini: 12th, 28.79

100 freestyle
Isaiah Anderson: seventh, 1:04.75
Nathan Smith: 10th, 1:07.22

500 freestyle
Gabe Hoover: first, 5:30.56

100 breaststroke
Archer Ohnstad: 12th, 1:26.75

400 freestyle relay
John Sandrini, Isaiah Anderson, Gabe Hoover, Archer Ohnstad: fourth, 4:14.00