ATHLETE – Haines High School 1986
Sarah Olerud Swinton – 1986 honors graduate of Haines High School – While playing basketball for Haines High School in the mid 1980’s, Sarah Olerud Swinton was arguably one of the best prep basketball players in Alaska. During each of her four seasons as a Glacier Bear, Swinton averaged double figures in both scoring and rebounding, and during her senior year averaged over 24 points per game with 14 rebounds. As a measure of her effectiveness on the court, after scoring 25 points against Seward in the quarter-final game of the 1985 3A State Championship, she racked up 38 points against Delta Junction in the semi-final. The Haines team went on to win the state championship the next evening against Wrangell in triple overtime. The team was state runner-up in 1986. Noteworthy among the many honors bestowed upon Swinton was being named to the 1985 Anchorage Times Class AAA All-State Team and receiving the United States Army Reserve-National Scholar Athlete Award. Swinton continued her athletic career at Western Oregon State College where she averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds per game during her three seasons of play. After receiving her degree, she returned to Haines where she lives with her husband and four children, while managing a retail business, coaching youth, and serving on the local school board.
