LA GRANDE — Competition was stiff at the 4A/3A/2A/1A Special District 1 district swim meet in La Grande on Saturday, with just the top finisher automatically qualifying for the state championships.

“Our team swam amazing this weekend,” Pendleton coach Tony Nelson said. “We have an extremely fast district. I couldn’t be prouder of how these athletes overcome obstacles to compete at such a high level.”

The state meet is Feb. 20-21 at the Tualatin Hills Aquatic Center in Beaverton.

Pendleton did not have any individual or relay champions,  but they are awaiting the rest of the state’s district results to see if they pick up any wild-card spots.

There are four districts, with the champion in each event advancing. The remaining eight spots are determined by times throughout the state.

The Bucks finished third in the boys team standings out of 13 teams with 130 points. Molalla won the team title with 224 points, while The Dalles was second with 189.

“I was really ecstatic with their placing,” Nelson said.

Pendleton’s 200 medley relay team of Levi Bonzani, Autry Robinson, Jared Pace and Khoda Brown was third with a time of 2:06.33.

Pace also was sixth in the 50 free (24.41) and sixth in the 100 butterfly (1:02.14). Robinson was fourth in the 100 breaststroke (1:16.24), and Bonzani was fifth in the 100 free (58.28).

The team of Bonzani, Brown, Cameron Burt and Pace was fourth in the 200 free relay (1:46.56).

In the 400 free relay, Pendleton’s Farley Hill, Burt, Robinson and Logan Sewell were fifth (4:25.99).

The Pendleton girls were fourth with 155 points. La Grande won the team title with 210 points, with The Dalles second (173) and Corbett third (164).

The Bucks got a good chunk of points in the 400 free relay as the team of Avery Pitner, Elizabeth Currin, Maryn Broker and Sophie Nelson finished second with a time of 4:14.93.

Nelson was the top individual finisher for the Bucks, placing fifth in the 50 free with a time of 27.16, fifth in the 100 butterfly (1:12.17), and fifth in the 100 free (1:02.93). 

Pitner was seventh in the 50 free (28.22), and Broker was eighth in the 100 butterfly (1:16.89).

Broker (2:19.92) and Maddy Gunter (2:27.61) finished seventh and eighth in the 200 free, while Ella Holtz was seventh in the 200 IM (3:02.80).

Pitner, Currin, Broker and Nelson teamed to finish fifth in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:54.32. The team of Jules Gunter, Ava Jackson, Holtz and Maddy Gunter was sixth in the 200 medley relay with a time of 2:23.03.