FEDERAL WAY — Relying on a combination of experienced seniors and a talented freshman, the Port Angeles swim and dive girls team placed again at state, finishing sixth at the 2A championship meet held at the King County Aquatic Center.
The Roughriders’ two best finishes came in a pair of relays — a third place in the 400 freestyle relay (3 minutes, 45.44 seconds) and a fourth place in the 200 medlay relay (in 1:55.32, edging out three other teams by less than 1 second).
Going in to the final race, the 400 freestyle relay, the Riders were 10th with 105 points. They picked up 32 points for their third-place finish to leapfrog four teams and finish sixth in the state with 137 team points. Liberty of Renton won the state championship with 268 points.
It’s an especially impressive feat by the Riders considering they did not have a home pool this year. The Port Angeles girls had to travel to Sequim all year for practice because the William Shore Pool is being refurbished.
It was the eighth-straight year that the Port Angeles girls finished in the top eight in the state. In five of those eight years, they’ve finished sixth or higher.
The same four Port Angeles girls swam in both relays — seniors Kenzie Johnson, Felicia Che and Emma Murray and freshman Mackenzie DuBois. The Riders collected 30 points for their fourth-place finish in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:55.32.
Individually, Che finished fifth in the state in the 200 IM (2:16.12) and 12th in the 100 freestyle (56.52), picking up 19 points. Johnson picked up a sixth place in the 100 backstroke (1:01.09) and an eighth place in the 100 freestyle (55.78), collecting 24 points.
DuBois finished ninth in the 200 freestyle (2:02.79) and 10th in the 100 freestyle (5:32.91) for 16 points.
Also picking up points for the Riders was the 200 freestyle relay team (Murray, Sage Hunter, Adriana McClain and Kiara Schmitt), which finished 11th with a time of 1:47.97, collecting 12 points.
Port Angeles diver Anne Edwards, who didn’t have a home diving board at all this year, still finished 13th in the state with 237.35 points, good for four points.
Schmitt also finished 21st in the 50 freestyle (26.98) and Murray was 23rd in the same event (27.09). Hunter was 24th in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:09.57.
For Sequim, Mia Coffman finished ninth in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:32.12 and 15th in the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:05.34, collecting 11 points for the Wolves.
The Sequim 400 relay team (Lauren Sundin, Natalie George, Francesca Bargis and Coffman) finished 16th with a time of 4:08.81, picking up two points. Overall, Sequim finished 24th in the state in points.
Port Townsend had a pair of relay teams at state. There is no 1A meet and the Redhawks compete at the 2A level for state.
The Redhawks’ 200 medley relay team of Emilia Nunn, Veda Dosey, Kaylee Barlow and Morgan Trail finished 20th with a time of 2:06.67.
The same four Port Townsend girls swimming in the 200 freestyle relay also finished 20th with a time of 1:52.88.
State 2A Swim and Dive Championships
King County Aquatic Center
Federal Way
Nov. 15-16 Team results — Liberty (Renton), first, 268; Sammamish, second, 264; Anacortes, third, 166; North Kitsap, fourth, 159; Aberdeen, fifth, 139; Port Angeles, sixth, 137; Lindbergh, seventh, 136; Cheney, seventh, 136; Pullman, ninth, 133; Steilacoom, 10th, 125; Sehome, 11th, 120; Fife, 12th, 99; La Center, 13th, 81; Black Hills, 14th, 49; Ellensburg, 15th, 42; Bellingham, 16th, 41; Lynden, 17th, 36; Bremerton, 18th, 34; Mountlake Terrace, 19th, 30; Highline, 20th, 24; Selah, 21st, 19; Cle Elum-Roslyn, 22nd, 16; Klahowya, 23rd, 15; Sequim, 24th, 13; Washougal, 24th, 13; Clover Park, 26th, 10; Tumwater, 27th, 8; Olympic, 28th, 6; West Valley (Spokane), 29th, 5; South Whidbey, 30th, 1.
