FEDERAL WAY – Sumner senior Connor Powers-Hubbard has had one goal since he was a freshman: To break the one-minute mark in the 100-yard breaststroke.

He checked it off in his final swim for the Spartans.

Powers-Hubbard finished third the event in 59.64 seconds, one of two top-eight medals he hauled in on Saturday during the Class 2A state swimming and diving championships at the King County Aquatic Center.

“That hurt,” he said, still out of breath. “That’s all I could wish for. Just me and the clock.”

Powers-Hubbard also placed fifth in the 100 freestyle to lead the Spartans, who finished 15^th in the team standings. Sehome held off Archbishop Murphy 117-86 to take the overall title, the fourth straight championship for the Mariners.

A year after they lost their top three swimmers to graduation, including Powers-Hubbard’s cousin, Trent Powers, the Spartans sent a few younger participants to the biggest high school meet of the season.

Sumner’s 200 medley relay finished 12th on Friday night in 1:48.80, a personal best. Powers-Hubbard combined with junior Severn Anderson, junior Sam Parks and senior Reid Selmer in the event.

Sophomore diver David Kakuk added a 14th-place finish with 105.10 points.

Selmer had a different experience on Saturday: He got to sing the national anthem prior to the 2A finals.

And then the team’s attention turned to Powers-Hubbard, whose mom, Dana Powers, is the team’s head coach.

“It can be interesting at times,” Connor said about their relationship.

Dana grinned when she told the story about how Connor got his start in the sport when he was 12.

“He’s just a fighter,” she said. “He knows how to work hard. He grew up around the water and loves it.”

Connor gave up all the other sports he loved – quad racing and football among them – to concentrate on swimming for his senior year.

And he even convinced his coach – rather, his mom – to let him swim the backstroke leg of the 200 medley relay.

“Aside from the fly, his backstroke is his worst stroke,” Dana said.

Connor’s concern was recovery time. He planned to swim the 100 free, the 200 free relay and the 100 breast, three events that are fairly close to one another during the course of a championship meet.

“It was just not enough time between events,” he said.

His proposal was to give up his portion of the 200 free relay and swim in the medley instead. Another breaststroker, Anderson, could turn 50 yards in about 30 seconds, so Powers-Hubbard could lead off with the backstroke.

The Spartans made that switch at the district meet, and it worked. They didn’t reach the automatic qualifying time but earned their way in with a top-three allocation.

“Out of the blue, we took a relay to state that was very questionable,” Powers-Hubbard said.

In the breaststroke, his signature event, he was both pleased and disappointed with his turns.

“The first 50 (yards) felt really good,” he said. “Then my turns weren’t that great. After the second turn, I got a good pull and saw them a little ahead of me.”

Patrick Gregory, a junior from Sehome, set a 2A record in 58.69, and Squalicum junior Gus Evans placed second in 59.27.

Powers-Hubbard also was pleased with his time in the 100 free. His 49.16 was a personal best and nearly a half-second faster than the 49.58 he posted during the prelims.

With his season complete, Powers-Hubbard will turn his attention to next fall. He still hopes he can get a swimming scholarship. If it doesn’t work out, he said he may join the U.S. Coast Guard and become a rescue diver.

“I was a little disappointed to see the place I got,” he said of the breaststroke, “but it was more of a high to see I got a 59. I couldn’t ask for anything better.”

Editor Brian McLean can be reached at 253-841-2481, ext. 310, or by email at brian.mclean@puyallupherald.com.