Wilson High’s Madeleine Dodge posts 3A state-qualifying time in 100-yard freestyle in team loss to North Thurston

Madeleine Dodge is getting state qualifying times out of the way early.

The senior from Wilson High School cruised to a 55.59-second finish in the 100-yard freestyle in Tuesday’s narrow, 96-84 Class 3A Narrows League loss to North Thurston. The Class 3A state standard is 55.9.

“I was pretty confident I could get the time,” Dodge said. “I just went in there trying to sprint my heart out, and that’s what I did. And it went really well.”

Really well, indeed.

This is the earliest in Dodge’s career at Wilson she has posted a state-qualifying time. Wilson coach Danielle Gunns said it speaks volumes about Dodge’s training.

“She’s very driven, so she can do things like make her time standard clear and early, and not have to wait until the last minute,” Gunns said.

Dodge — who took sixth in the event at the 3A state meet last year at 54.39 — led from the blocks. She said the only pressure she felt from adjoining lanes was at the beginning of the race.

“I have this thing where I try to get ahead as much as I can, and that usually pushes me more,” Dodge said.

North Thurston’s Arielle Howell — who finished eighth at the state meet in the event in 2014 — picked up some speed at the 50-yard turn, but couldn’t catch Dodge.

Dodge won by three strokes as Howell posted a 57.18.

“She’s always been a rival, but she’s a bit faster,” Howell said. “She’s stayed consistent with her times since last season, and I’ve gained. So, hopefully I can drop back down.”

North Thurston increased its current undefeated dual meet streak to 54-0 with the win.

“It’s definitely been a goal of ours to match them,” Gunns said. “We know that they’ve got a great record, and this year is definitely the year I felt we had the best potential to do so.”

Wilson never led the meet but came within striking distance several times — including cutting the lead to four following Kelly Tran’s first-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly in 1:05.35.

“We came close, we didn’t quite get there,” Gunns said.

Wilson split first-place finishes with North Thurston at six apiece, and went 1-2-3 in 1-meter diving to claim all 13 points in the event.

Tran picked up another win in the 100-yard backstroke in 1:06.03. Tran and Dodge also swam as legs of the 400-yard freestyle relay. Carmen Parra and Karli Stevenson rounded out the relay team, which beat North Thurston by more than four seconds and finished at 4:05.44.

Dodge also won the 200-yard freestyle at 2:01.16 — she swam to a seventh-place state finish last season at 1:57.48.

This year, Dodge said she hopes to qualify for state in nearly all eight individual swimming events.

“I’m trying to iron man it,” she said.

Well, one down.

This story was originally published September 15, 2015 at 9:02 PM with the headline "Wilson High’s Madeleine Dodge posts 3A state-qualifying time in 100-yard freestyle in team loss to North Thurston."