Gig Harbor edges Olympia in 4A Narrows swimming clash

Olympia out-touched Gig Harbor in the final race, but the Tides swam away with the win.

The Tides — who took fifth at the 4A state meet last season — edged the Bears, 98-78, in a meet that hovered around a 10-point margin until the final three races when Gig Harbor pulled away.

With the win, Gig Harbor (3-0) delivered Olympia (3-1) its first loss of the season. It was the first meet for either team where the point separation was less than 40.

“I would have meets like this every time if I could,” Gig Harbor coach Mike Kelly said.

The Tides had eight first-place finishes, while Olympia had four.

Honour Middleton picked up two first-place finishes for the Bears, in the 100-yard butterfly and as the anchor in the 400-yard freestyle relay.

She said swimming against the Tides propelled her to a personal-best time in the 100 fly at 1 minute, 6.76 seconds.

“Since those two Gig Harbor girls were right next to me — I saw them underwater, and they were kicking faster than me — I thought, ‘I’ve got to pop up out of the water and start swimming,’ ” Middelton said.

Melissa Ward, Maya Hansen-Tilkens, Lacey Wright and Middleton posted a 5:29.41 in the 400 free relay to fend off a surging Gig Harbor team that chipped away at nearly a four-stroke Bears lead coming into the final turn.

“As I did that last turn at the 75, I saw her in my peripheral vision, and that was my cue to just leave it all out in the pool,” Middleton said.

Wright also edged Gig Harbor’s Tatum Benson in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:29.41 — which bested Tatum by 0.42 seconds.

“Just being able to compete against each other brings out the best swims in the athletes,” Kelly said.

Ursula Andren led Gig Harbor with four first-place finishes, including the 50-yard freestyle (26.08) and 100-yard breaststroke (1:08.38) — that time beat the 4A state-qualifying standard of 1:09.9. Andren also swam legs of the 200-yard medley relay (1:58.04) and 200-yard freestyle relay (1:48.43) for the Tides.

VOLLEYBALL

Auburn Riverside 3, Auburn Mountainview 1: Kasey Holand had 19 kills, four blocks and 11 digs, and Lauren Smith added 38 assists as the Ravens pulled out a 25-14, 25-27, 25-16, 25-21 victory over the host Lions.

Even without stars Carson Heilborn, Precious Atafua and five other seniors who graduated from last year’s 3A state title team, Auburn Riverside (4-0, 4-0 3A SPSL) still handled up-and-coming Auburn Mountainview (3-1, 3-1) to win their 26th consecutive match dating to last season’s undefeated run.

Auburn Mountainview’s second-set victory was the first time a team has taken a set from the Ravens this season.

Calley Heilborn had 13 kills, 12 digs and three blocks for Auburn Riverside. Kiana Drumheller added 14 kills, two blocks and 13 digs.

This story was originally published September 24, 2015 at 11:00 PM with the headline "Gig Harbor edges Olympia in 4A Narrows swimming clash."