Baker Boys Win Season Kickoff, Girls Place Third in City Meet

The Baker boys topped the team standings with 77 points, outpacing La Grande which scored 63, at the Baker Season Kickoff held Saturday at Sam O Swim Center in Baker City. The Baker girls placed third with 47 points, behind La Grande with 111 and Cove with 59. The meet produced several individual victories and two relay wins that underscored Baker boys depth and early season momentum.

Senior distance swimmer Jaxson Everson secured two individual titles, taking first in both the 200 meter and 500 meter freestyle events. Jarrin Bott added two wins for Baker by capturing the 200 meter individual medley and the 100 meter breaststroke. Caedmon Myers won the 100 meter backstroke. Everson, Myers, Bott and Evan Carroll combined to win both the 200 meter medley relay and the 400 meter freestyle relay for Baker, illustrating balanced strength across strokes and distances.

On the girls side Baker placed third in the 200 meter medley relay with a time of 2 minutes 26.33 seconds. The relay team for that event consisted of Kyra Cheren, Abby Cunningham, Cadell Mills and Marly Macy. Those performances, alongside individual swims across the lineup, provide measurable benchmarks for Baker coaches and swimmers as they tune race strategies and training regimens.

From a competitive standpoint the boys margin of victory was modest but clear, a 14 point lead over La Grande that reflects both individual event wins and relay depth. The girls results reveal a wider gap to the top, with Baker 64 points behind La Grande, signaling opportunities to convert individual improvements into more consistent scoring across events. Early season meets such as this serve as data points for coaches to assess where to allocate practice emphasis and for boosters and community supporters to gauge program trajectories.

For Baker County residents who follow high school athletics, the meet confirms the boys squad as an early contender regionally, and highlights swimmers to watch in upcoming dual meets and invitationals. The Sam O Swim Center offered a local stage for those performances, and the results will shape training focus and lineup decisions in the weeks ahead.