Senior Owen Hucke won’t be able to achieve his goal of reaching the state swim meet all four of his years at Ridgeview High School — narrowly missing out as a junior prevented that. But he is more focused than ever to get back this year.

He qualified for state as a freshman and sophomore but missed making it in 2015 by five-hundredths of a second in the 200-yard freestyle after suffering from an illness.

“Last year, I had some issues with my back,” Owen said. “My muscles were really tight; I had some bad knots. I basically self-destructed.”

Not only is Owen trying to get back to state his senior year, but he also has competition in his own family. His brother, Ben Hucke, a sophomore at Ridgeview, is trying to reach state in the same events as Owen — the 50 and 100 freestyles.

“This year I’m back and better than ever,” Owen said. “I’m getting best times.”

The Huckes and the rest of the Ravens will take on Redmond and other teams at the district meet Friday and Saturday at Juniper Swim and Fitness Center in Bend. They are trying to reach the Feb. 19-20 state Class 5A meet in Gresham.

Owen was encouraged by his fifth-place finishes in both the 50 and 100 freestyles at the Jan. 16 Rumbaugh Invite in Corvallis, which he called the state’s biggest regular-season meet.

Ben missed that meet because of illness but feels good about his chances to make his first state meet.

“If I keep up the hard work I’ve been doing so far, I feel like I have a good chance as long as I stay healthy,” he said.

Ben has benefited from having a top swimmer in his own house, he said.

“I definitely say he’s a role model,” he said of Owen. “I’ve watched him swim since I was little. When I’ve had trouble with a stroke, I’ll watch him and see what he does.”

The brotherly competition has been good for both Ben and Owen, said Ridgeview coach Jeff Vallie.

“They kind of feed off each other,” he said. “With Ben being the younger brother, he tries to keep up with his older brother, and it pushes him harder in practice. And it pushes Owen harder because he doesn’t want to lose to his younger brother.”

The brothers have a good chance to make state individually, either by qualifying or receiving a wild-card spot, but they can also make it as part of a freestyle relay team with juniors Tate Lighthall and Reed Pozzi, Vallie said.

The brothers performed well at their final tuneup before the district meet, at the Feb. 4 R-Town Rivalry meet against Redmond. Owen won the 100 freestyle, as well as the 200 individual medley, while the 200 and 400 freestyle relay teams also won.

The relay victories are particularly sweet for Owen, whose freshman year was Ridgeview’s first year of existence. Back then, they didn’t have enough boy swimmers to compete in relays.

“We were all really fast, and if we had one more guy we would have been competitive,” he recalled.

Now Owen is preparing for life after high school. He hopes to attend either the United States Air Force or Naval academies. He has been nominated by Rep. Greg Walden, R-Hood River.

Owen has advice for Ben for after he leaves.

“Keep the team going strong,” Owen said. “Keep everyone motivated. Keep the fire going that I’ve had all four of my years here.”

But first, they have unfinished business in Gresham.

— Reporter: 541-548-2186, gfolsom@redmondspokesman.com