Gebhart, Molisee win events at Junior Olympics

Nineteen local swimmers competed in the long-course competition July 24-28 in USA Swimming’s Junior Olympic Summer Championships at Mission Viejo, Calif.

The swimmers competed under the Boulder City-Henderson Heatwave swim club banner.

Joey Gebhart, 17, grabbed first in the boys 100-meter backstroke in 59.89 seconds, and Cori Molisee, 17, took first in the girls 100 freestyle (59.12) seconds.

Gebhart touched the wall 0.88 seconds ahead of the field, while Molisee hit the wall a mere 0.12 seconds ahead.

The five-day swim meet at the Marguerite Aquatic Complex brought together the best age-group swimmers from Southern California, Nevada and other top amateur clubs in the region.

The Heatwave girls finished the competition fourth overall, and the boys grabbed fifth. The combined team finished fourth out of 33 teams.

Gebhart, who will be a senior at Boulder City, also took third in the 100 butterfly, and 100 and 200 freestyles, fourth in the 50 freestyle, and competed in the 400 freestyle.

Also for the boys, 17-year-old Adam Peterson finished second in the 400 individual medley (two seconds back) and the 1,500 freestyle (nearly nine seconds behind), third in the 800 freestyle and fourth in the 400 freestyle.

Peterson also competed in the finals of the 200 butterfly and 200 freestyle.

Evan Klouse, 17, competed in the 100 and 200 backstroke; 50, 100 and 200 freestyle; and 200 individual medley.

Joren Selinger, 15, swam the 400 individual medley.

Braden Klouse, 14, competed in the 100 freestyle in the 13-14 age group.

Among the younger swimmers, Joseph Purdy, 10, reached the finals of the 10 and under 100 and 200 freestyle, 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke. He also competed in the 100 butterfly and 50 freestyle.

Martin Thompson, 9, swam in the 50 and 200 freestyle, 200 individual medley, and 100 breaststroke. Fellow 9-year-old Elijah Wyett competed in the 50 and 100 backstroke, 50 breaststroke, 50 and 100 freestyle, and the 50 butterfly.

Mason Romantic, 12, competed in the 50 and 100 breaststroke in the 11-12 age group.

For the girls, Molisee, who graduated from Boulder City in May, added to her first place finish in 15 and over by grabbing second in 200 freestyle (less than a second back), third in the 50 freestyle, and 10th in the 400 freestyle.

Rachael Grothe, 17, finished second in the 100 butterfly in 1:03.73, less than half a second behind the winner. The Boulder City junior grabbed fifth in the 100 backstroke and 200 butterfly, and reached the finals of the 50 freestyle. Grothe also competed in the 100 and 200 freestyle.

Jessica Purdy, 16, finished seventh in the 100 and 200 butterfly, and competed in the 50 and 200 freestyle. Mckenzie Cummings, 15, reached the finals in the 1,500 freestyle. Aubrey Klouse, 16, competed in the 100 backstroke.

Abby Sauerbrei, 14, finished third in the 800 freestyle in the 13-14 group. Sauerbrei, who goes to school in Boulder City but lives in Henderson, grabbed ninth in the 200 butterfly and 400 freestyle, and made the finals of the 400 individual medley and 1,500 freestyle. She also competed in the 100 butterfly.

Mandy Gebhart, 14, finished eighth in the 400 freestyle, and reached the finals in the 200 freestyle. She also competed in the 100 and 200 backstroke, 400 individual medley and 50 freestyle.

Three 10-year-old girls from Boulder City also competed in the Junior Olympics: Daphne Thompson, Tana Higley and Katie Gray all swam in the 10 and under 50 backstroke. Gray also competed in the 100 backstroke.

The next event for local youth swimmers, which starts Monday and runs through next Friday, is the USA Swimming Junior Nationals in Irvine, Calif.