Caldera’s Campbell McKean breaks two OSAA records at state swim meet

Published 4:45 pm Monday, February 19, 2024

BEAVERTON — Sometimes, a swimmer produces such fast times that they are shocked when they look up at the clock after touching the wall.

That was the case for Caldera’s Campbell McKean as he broke not just one, but two OSAA records with a dazzling performance in the 200-yard individual medley and the 100 breaststroke at the Class 5A state swimming championships Saturday evening at the Tualatin Hills Aquatic Center.

“I surprised myself in the 200 IM,” said McKean, a USC swimming commit. “I did not expect to go that fast. When I touched the wall it surprised me. I was surprised by the (100 breaststroke) because I had never swam that fast before.”

His time of 1 minute, 44.54 seconds in the 200 IM beat the previous state record set by Jesuit’s Diego Nosack (1:46.91) in 2023, and his time of 53.36 shattered Brian Frazier’s 100 breaststroke record of 55.40, set in 2016.

Still just a junior, McKean has added to his already impressive resume at state meets. He’s tallied four individual titles in three different events. He repeated as the individual medley champion this year. He won the 100 backstroke last year and added the 100 breaststroke this year.

McKean was also part of the two third-place Caldera relay teams. McKean, sophomore Reed Lokan, senior Laken Hollingsworth and sophomore Ian Waters finished third in both the 200 freestyle relay (1:31.19) and the 400 freestyle relay (3:24.00) to help the Wolfpack finish fourth in the team standings with 22 points.

“I’m really proud of my teammates,” McKean said. “I think it is amazing to add to the trophy case and hopefully next year we can take third.”

After winning a state title last year, Summit finished third with 39 points behind West Albany (70) and Crescent Valley (47).

“They swam the meet really well,” said Summit coach Nolan Morrell. “I scored the meet beforehand and they moved up on the first- and second-place team to make it closer than it should have been. They really outperformed expectations.”

Summit sophomore Brecken Egeland was the team’s lone individual champion, winning the 100 butterfly (52.48) for his first individual state title.

“I’ve been working hard so it is a great feeling to see all the hard work pay off,” Egeland said. “I didn’t know what my times were going to be, but I was looking forward to it and I was ready. Now I know how all the champions feel.”

In the 200 and 500 freestyles, Parkrose’s Thomas Olsen has had those events locked down the past two years, winning both in the 2022 and 2023 state meets. But the senior was pushed by Summit junior Landon Egeland in both events.

Egeland went stroke for stroke in the 200 freestyle to finish in 1:40.03, just behind Olsen’s 1:39.65. Then, in the 500, he had to comeback in the final two laps to overtake Egeland to claim the title. Olsen finished in 4:28.21 and Egeland finished in 4:30.23.

“I just went out and gave it everything that I had,” Landon Egeland said. “I’ve been racing against him for a long time. This is definitely the closest I’ve been to him. It’s always fun racing against him.”

The Storm’s 400 freestyle relay team of Brecken Egeland, Landon Egeland, junior Holden Short and senior Hunter McGrane capped the meet with a winning time of 3:15.04.

Marketplace