For the first time since 2007, two teams tied for the Class 4A (big schools) state title as Richland and Jackson each finished with 169 points. Just a single point from making it a three-way tie was Newport, which took third at 168.
Jackson High won the first and last individual events along with the 400 free relay to claim a share of the team trophy. It was sophomore Madison Pressler who got the first win, taking the 200 free in 1:54.46, just beating out Issaquah’s Jenifer Matsuda.
Another sophomore won the final individual event as Nicole Limberg went 1:04.07 to win the 100 breast. Jackson also won the 400 free relay, with Limberg and Pressler combining to make up the back half of the relay. Freshman Chloe Limargo was a quick 53.55 leading off. Limberg, coming right off the breaststroke, split 54.07, and Pressler closed in 52.76 as the team went 3:37.98 to take the win.
Richland didn’t win an event, but still had the depth to claim half the state title. Freshman Claire Schaef was the top Richland finisher, taking second in the 500 free behind Mariner’s Brianna Lucien. Lucien defended her 2013 state title, going 5:03.69 to Schaef’s 5:04.01. Schaef was also 5th in the 200 free, and she came right off the 500 to help Richland take third in the 200 free relay.
That relay went to Puyallup in 1:40.16. Lindsey Muiznieks split 24.33 on the end to close the half-second win over Wenatchee.
Newport fell one point short of joining the state title tie, but did get a pair of event wins. The 200 medley relay of Maddie Rainey, Jenny Huo, Elisa Fang and Kennedy Elhajj went 1:48.58, getting a speedy 25.29 from Fang on butterfly. Fang, a junior, also won the 100 free later on, going 51.78.
Laura Williams of Kent Lake picked up the 200 IM win in 2:05.72, beating out Jackson’s Limberg, the 100 breast champ. Williams nearly kept up with Limberg on the breaststroke leg, and had big advantages in back and free.
In one of the closer races of the meet, the 50 free, Emerald Ridge’s Alana Pries went 23.80 to just top the 23.84 from Mount Vernon freshman Emma Carlton. Newport’s Fang was just a tenth back of them.
Carlton was also second in the 100 fly – that event went to Wenatchee’s Jessica Wierzbicki in 56.19, and the freshman Carlton was 56.38 for second.
Other wins went to Monroe senior Cathryn Armstrong in the 100 back (56.93) and East Lake senior Kaela Call in 1-meter diving (425.90 points).
Top 5 Teams
- Richland – 169
- Jackson – 169
- Newport – 168
- Wenatchee – 164
- Gig Harbor – 121
It certainly was an exciting finish at 4A. Too bad that you didn’t mention Wenatchee disqualification in the 200 MR, resulting in a loss of about 34 points and yet they were still able to finish in 4th a slender 5 points from the title. With no graduates the WHS Panthers will certainly be a team to watch for the title in 2015.
genie – I imagine had we mentioned it, someone would’ve thought it was too bad that we brought up a DQ at a high school meet that cost a team a state title. Sometimes, you can’t win with swim parents.