Gig Harbor takes seventh in team standings at 4A state swim meet

A herniated disc wasn’t going to keep Gig Harbor High School junior Anna Furrer out of the Class 4A state swim meet.

While it’s prevented Furrer from participating in most of the meets during the fall season, she battled through the pain over the weekend, swimming in all three relays for Gig Harbor High, helping the Tides take seventh place in the team standings with 102 points. Skyline (293) won the 4A team title.

“I went to the doctor and he said it’s OK to swim,” Furrer said. “It’s probably going to hurt a lot but it’ll be OK. I just kind of push through the pain. I really want to swim at this state meet — it’s something I have to do. It’s been really frustrating. Wanting to do a sport I love so much and not being able to do it, it’s not fun.”

Furrer helped the Tides to a fifth-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1 minute, 50.71 seconds, a fourth-place finish in the 200 freestyle relay, 1:40.42; and a first-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay consolation final with a time of 3:41.63, in one of the most exciting races of the night. Junior Ursula Andren, who had just taken third place in the 100 breaststroke final, swam the final leg of the 400 relay.

Visibly exhausted and laboring, Andren managed to fight off a Richland swimmer in a sprint to the wall. The Bombers finished the relay just behind Gig Harbor, with a time of 3:41.71.

“I was beyond exhausted,” Andren said. “But a good friend of mine told me a quote that pushed me throughout the meet: ‘A moment of pain is worth the glory.’ That’s what I was thinking throughout the entire swim meet. Nothing was more rewarding than that.”

While Richland’s swimmer was gaining ground on Andren, she wasn’t going to concede the victory.

“I was watching her the whole time,” Andren said. “She wasn’t out of my sight for a second.”

Gig Harbor also got some help from freshman diver Kirsten Vorpahl, who found herself in the finals and took advantage, finishing 14th in her first high school state diving meet.

“I’m pretty excited,” Vorpahl said after she completed her dives. “I didn’t think I’d make it to finals. I thought I’d be out the first round. I didn’t think it could happen.”

Junior Alana Ponce, sophomore Gabrielle Martin, sophomore Katya Andren and freshman Tatum Benson also contributed to Gig Harbor’s relays.

“I’m so proud of my team,” Andren said. “Everyone has worked so hard over the entire season. When people were tired, we always had other teammates pushing each other. We were always there for each other.”

PENINSULA’S MUNDLE TAKES PODIUM SPOT

Peninsula High School senior Whitney Mundle took eighth in the 100 breast finals at the 3A meet on Saturday afternoon with a time of 1 minute, 8.59 seconds.

Peninsula also took 15th in the 200 medley relay (1:57.69).

As a team, Peninsula took 29th place overall with 14 points. Lakeside (Seattle) took first in the meet with 297 points, with Mercer Island coming in second, with 266 points.

This story was originally published November 18, 2015 at 9:58 AM with the headline "Gig Harbor takes seventh in team standings at 4A state swim meet."