Bend girls, Summit boys win swimming state titles; Lava Bears break relay record again

'So we're all super, super close - like a family.'

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The podium at the 5A swimming state championships in Beaverton was constantly full of Central Oregon athletes with medals around their necks this weekend.

Often it was the Summit boys, and the Bend girls, who both captured state titles.

Sophomore Kamryn Meskil and Bend High took home the girls state title, and another 200-meter freestyle relay record.

“I actually didn’t know that we broke it at Districts until our anchor, Grace, got out of the water and said, 'That’s a record, guys!' and we had a delayed celebration,” Meskill said Tuesday on breaking the record the first time. “And then at state, we knew our time, so we just celebrated and had fun with it.”

Meskill and the relay team of Grace Benson, Jacquelyn Horning and Maddie Thornton beat the record they shattered a week ago, with a time of 1 minute and 36.06 seconds.

Meskill said: “To have it be a memory that we’ll hold onto forever with this group of people is really special, I think, to everyone.”

Additionally, senior swimmer Kian Warnock and his Summit swim team captured the 5A state title this weekend in Beaverton, the Storm's eighth in the past 15 years.

“This is my last year swimming, so for sure it was a really great way to end the whole thing,” Warnock said. 

The Summit boys came into the season unsure of the 5A competition, but once they saw their talent in the pool, they knew they could do great things.

“Once we showed up and started swimming, it was a little easier to tell that we definitely had a chance,” Warnock said.

The Summit team, coached by Jennifer Robeson, had a school-high 48 kids on it this year.

“They are a really lively bunch of kids, and they have a lot of energy, but they know how to direct it into swimming. And the ones we took to state were committed, knew exactly what they needed to do,” Robeson said. “They hardly needed anything from me -- it was all them, and the success of the team is thanks to them.”

For the girls, Mountain View took second and Summit took third overall, but there were Central Oregon swimmers from several schools all over the podium -- something both teams enjoy seeing.

“It's awesome," Meskill said. “Most of those kids, we all train together on the Bend Swim Club, so we're all super, super close -- like a family."

Warnock agreed.

“Not even necessarily your team, but people you know and your friends do well,” the Summit senior added. “So I have a sense, and do feel bad for some of the other districts. But I don’t think I would prefer it any other way.”