Seniors Maddie Thornton and Emma Bronson have been the catalysts for Bend returning to the top of 5A girls swimming, leading the Lava Bears to their third consecutive team championship last year.
Now, as Thornton and Bronson prepare to start their college careers at Georgia and Alabama, respectively, they appear poised to rewrite the state record books.
Their performances in the Speedo Winter Junior Championships West meet in December show that they are on track. Thornton recorded personal bests in the 200-yard individual medley and 100 backstroke and Bronson set a PR in the 100 butterfly, all with times that would break the OSAA meet records.
“They are such amazing girls,” Bend coach Alexandra Winslow said. “They're inspirational to those around them. They're so committed. They put the work in and it shows. They know what they want and they know what it takes to get there.”
Thornton, a three-time state champion in the 100 backstroke and two-time champion in the 200 IM, was on top of her game at the Winter Junior Championship meet. She swam the 100 backstroke in 53.19 seconds and the 200 IM in 1:56.97, times that are faster than the OSAA meet records of 53.71 (Emily Cook, Jesuit, 2017) and 1:58.95 (Keaton Blovad, Lakeridge, 2016).
“I know Maddie really wants to get that 200 IM record,” Winslow said. “I think she'll get it this year for sure. Last year at state, she was aiming for it, but got sick.”
Bronson, who is going for a third consecutive 5A title in the 100 butterfly, swam the event in 52.60 at the Winter Junior Championships. That would beat the OSAA meet record of 53.13 (Michelle Cefal, Westview, 2013).
In 2024, Thornton and Bronson combined with Hadley Hayes and Kamryn Meskill to set an OSAA meet record in the 200 medley relay, clocking 1:41.91. They won the event again last year, teaming with Hayes and Rowan Long to finish in 1:44.68.
Thornton, Bronson and Long – now a sophomore – could make a run at resetting the record this year. Sophomore Ella McGonigal, who placed fourth in the breaststroke at state last season, is a likely candidate to take over Hayes' breaststroke leg in the relay.
Winslow believes that the Lava Bears could take down the OSAA meet record in the 200 freestyle relay (1:34.54, Sunset, 2018). Last year's team, which won the event in 1:37.53, returns intact with Thornton, Bronson, Long and junior Ayla Vodak.
“Our goal is to break those relay records as much as possible,” said Winslow, whose team has swept the relays in the last two state meets. “It would be fun to do that this year, especially with it being Maddie and Emma's last year.”
Beyond Thornton and Bronson, the Lava Bears are loaded with returning state placers in Long (second-100 freetstyle, third-50 freestyle), McGonigal (fourth-200 IM, fourth-100 breaststroke), Vodak (third-200 IM, fourth-500 freestyle) and juniors Rebekah Williams (third-200 freestyle, third-500 freestyle), Ellie Goldblatt (fourth-200 freestyle, fifth-500 freestyle) and Charlotte Macauley (second-100 backstroke, sixth-100 freestyle).
Bend also added a promising freshman to the lineup in Kaiya Wilder, who has a good chance to make state in a freestyle event, according to Winslow.
The returning swimmers are in position to improve their places at state, which would result in the Lava Bears breaking their own 5A record for points in the meet. They scored 119 points in 2024 and 121 points last year, when they tripled the total of runner-up Redmond (40).
Winslow, who was a senior on the Bend 2015 team that ended a 16-year title drought, marvels at the team's depth of talent, much of which has been fine-tuned at Bend Swim Club.
“It's amazing. Just the sheer amount of dedication they have to the sport and improving themselves,” Winslow said. “They have two to three practices a day, dry-land training. It's all they do. It's their whole life. They know their goals and they are set to get those.”
jerryu@osaa.org
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