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Posted: Feb 19, 2015 8:07 AMUpdated: Feb 19, 2015 12:53 PM
Bartlesville Swimming Set For State
The Bruins and Lady Bruins are two of the top teams in the state in 6A swimming, so both are eyeing state titles on Friday and Saturday in the 6A State Swimming Championships at Edmond Sante Fe High school.
The boys are ranked second, and the girls are ranked third in 6A. That puts Bartlesville in as one of the favorites to win to whole thing. Bruin head coach Chad Englehart says that he likes his team's chances, but both squads will have to preform well. The western half of Oklahoma has some of the better swim teams in the state, which puts Bartlesville against some tougher competition than its faced on the east side. The Lady Bruins took second, and boys took first in the 6A regionals a couple weeks ago.
The scoring is a bit complicated for swimming. The overall number of swimmers each school has correlates directly with its chance of winning. More swimmers means more swims at the meet. More swims at the meet means more chances to score. Englehart explains the scoring formula.
Because the Bruins have less swimmers than some of the other top teams at state, BHS will have to have more swimmers finish at the top of their swims. Englhart runs down Bartlesville's chances. He says if the meet is fast, meaning overall times are good, it will give BHS an advantage. He likes Bartlesville's chances to finish at the top of many different races. So, a faster overall meet means the pool won't ,figuratively, dilute, and let other teams score.
Kyle Ward and Aaron Stanek are both returning state champions for Bartlesville. Thomas Downey is the number one seed in the breast stroke, and his sister, Haley is the defending state runner-up in both the 200 IM and 100 breast stroke. There are quite a few guys and girls on both sides, in relays, and other races, that will have a solid chance at winning state individually.
The state tournament runs through Saturday.
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