WIAA state high school girls swimming primer
Friday-Saturday, King Aquatic Center, Federal Way
2014 team champions: 4A — Richland and Jackson, 3A — Lakeside of Seattle, 2A — Liberty of Issaquah
Returning individual champions: 4A — Madison Pressler, Jackson, jr. (200 freestyle); Jessica Wierzbicki, Wenatchee, jr. (100 butterfly); Elisa Fang, Newport of Bellevue, sr. (100 freestyle); Nicole Limberg, Jackson, jr. (100 backstroke).
3A — Marley Cross, Garfield, jr. (50 freestyle, 100 freestyle); Sophia Chien, Holy Names Academy, jr. (100 butterfly); Sabrina Kwan, Mercer Island, sr. (100 butterfly); Cameron Smith, Seattle Prep, jr. (500 freestyle); Emily Prentice, Lakeside of Seattle, sr. (100 backstroke).
2A — Taylor McCoy, Pullman, jr. (200 IM, 100 Backstroke); Reilly Krueger, Archbishop Murphy, sr. (Diving); Makenzie Norman, Cheney, jr. (100 freestyle); Ellie Hohensinner, Liberty of Issaquah, sr. (500 freestyle); Danielle Booth, Archbishop Murphy, jr. (100 breaststroke).
Schedule: Friday — 2A preliminaries start at 9:45 a.m.; 3A preliminaries at 2 p.m.; 4A preliminaries at 6:30 p.m. Saturday —2A finals start at 9:30 a.m.; 3A finals start 2:15 a.m.; 4A finals at 7 p.m.
Skinny: 4A — Richland and Jackson tied for the state team title last year, a first in state history. Timberline’s Hannah Barker, a sophomore, enters the state tournament seeded second in the 100 backstroke and third in the 500 freestyle after winning district titles in both events. … Mount Vernon’s Emma Carlton finished second in the 50 freestyle last year, and this year the sophomore enters as the top seed. If she can drop 1.02 seconds off her time of 23.93 seconds, she’d set a state meet record in a race that also includes returning state champ Elisa Fang of Newport and South Kitsap’s Aspen Monkhouse. … Mackenzie Mergel and Lindsey Muiznieks helped Puyallup win the state 200 freestyle relay title last season and take second in the 400 freestyle relay. They’re back, but not Amy Kiuchi and Olivia Wood this year. Instead, Mergel and Muiznieks will compete with Maddie Joy and Kacey Kiuchi in the 400 freestyle relay and Gabi Dunyaski and Kacey Kiuchi in the 200 medley relay.
3A — North Thurston’s Maya Lawson-Rivera might be seeded fourth in the 200 IM, but the junior is less than a second off Kennedy Catholic’s Angela Gagliardo’s top seed time of 2:10.61, setting up what could be a fantastic race for first place between four swimmers. … Last year, Mercer Island’s Sabrina Kwan and Holy Names Academy’s Sophia Chien tied for first in the 100 yard butterfly. Both are back, but freshman Isabel Chien of Lakeside in Seattle could steal the show as the top seed. … Sumner’s Mikalea Miele qualified for the sixth seed in the 200 freestyle and as the fifth seed in the 500 freestyle events. … Wilson’s Maddie Dodge will compete in the 100 freestyle and the 200 IM. She placed seventh in the 200 free last year and sixth in the 100 free.
2A — Pullman’s Taylor McCoy is a junior, but is working on a legacy of being one the state’s most decorated swimmers. She’s won the 200 IM and 100 backstroke state titles each of the past two years and she is the top seed in both events again this year. … CeCe Pennella is looking to take home the state diving championship for Black Hills. The sophomore enters the championships as the top seed and the only diver to crack 400 points, but she’ll likely be fending off Sammamish’s McKenna Troje and Steilacoom’s Sarah Burlingame, who placed fifth as a junior last season. … Tumwater’s Kylie Otton enters the state tournament as the 19th seed in the 50 free style and 11th seed in the 100 butterfly.
Tickets: Single-day passes are $10 for adults, $7 for seniors and students. All-tournament passes are $16 for adults, $10 for seniors and students.
This story was originally published November 12, 2015 at 10:57 PM with the headline "WIAA state high school girls swimming primer."