Kodiak Divers Sharratt, Trout, Seto Place Top 5 at State Meet

Kodiak’s divers soared up the standings at the state swimming and diving championships Saturday at Bartlett High School.

The Bears demonstrated that the program’s trajectory is built on the steady progression of its junior class.

Leading the charge were Dannica Sharratt, Val Trout, and Taiyo Seto, all of whom secured top-five finishes. Sharratt’s performance stood out; after finishing 13th during her freshman year and fifth last year, she climbed to fourth place in the girls’ 1-meter event with an 11-dive total of 338.35 points.

The margin for error at the podium level proved razor-thin. Sharratt finished just .70 points away from securing a top-three spot, a tier occupied this year by seniors Claire Wallstrum and Lyza Krozel of Colony, and Lexie Bond of Service. The consistency of the Kodiak contingent showed a trend of rising talent within the program.

On the boys’ side, Val Trout made an impact in his first year of diving. Trout secured fourth place with 326.50 points, just ahead of teammate Taiyo Seto, who finished fifth with 325 points. Seto’s performance marked an improvement over his sixth-place finish at the previous year’s state meet.

The broader team results highlighted the performance of Eagle River and Juneau. Eagle River captured its first team title with 132 points, relying on a depth that produced six individual victories. Juneau secured the girls’ team title with 108 points. The victory for Juneau was anchored by sophomore Katya Foy, who won the 100 freestyle and anchored the winning 400 freestyle relay team.

Foy’s parents, Bob and Catherine Foy, lived in Kodiak before relocating to Juneau when her brother, PJ Foy, a swimmer for the University of North Carolina, was 13.

While the divers excelled, the swimming squad faced a mix of high-level qualification and hurdles. Junior Hunter Lee led the boys’ swimming effort by qualifying for two finals, placing sixth in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2 minutes, 7.94 seconds, and seventh in the 100 freestyle in 50.15. However, the boys’ 400 freestyle relay team, featuring Lee, Johnny Opheim, Conrad Linkenhoker, and TJ Jones, was disqualified.

Kodiak ultimately finished 11th in the boys’ team standings with 14 points, while the girls’ team placed 13th with five points. Other notable performances included sophomore Delaney Glenn, who took 14th in the girls’ 100 freestyle, and freshman Elaina Kenshalo, who placed 14th in both the 500 freestyle and 1-meter diving.

With the state meet concluded, the focus shifts to off-season training and the graduation of the senior class. For the Bears, the primary objective will be to determine how to build on this year’s top-five diving successes while addressing the relay and team-depth issues that kept them from higher rankings.