Kamiak's Sosinsky, 400 free relay win state titles

FEDERAL WAY -- The Kamiak boys swimming team didn't repeat as state champions Saturday, but don't think for a second that the Knights went home unhappy with what they accomplished.

Kamiak finished third behind Stadium and Issaquah in the Class 4A State Swimming and Diving Championshipo at the King County Aquatics Center, but considering how much senior depth the Knights lost from last year's championship team, third place was no small feat.

"A lot of people had us pointed out to fourth, so we moved up," said Kamiak coach Chris Erickson, referring the practice of trying to predict the final score based off of Friday's preliminaries. "We had a really good preliminaries, we really positioned ourselves well for today. . . We had a great finish. It was awesome."

Indeed the Knights did finish strong to put an exclamation point on the weekend. In the final individual event, junior Liam Sosinsky won the 100-yard breaststroke, edging Eastlake senior Zach Alleva, the defending champion in the event. Following Sosinsky's win, a senior-led team gave Kamiak a win in the 400 freestyle relay to end the meet.

That win was especially rewarding, Erickson said, because it was anchored by senior Trent Roberts, who Erickson considered pulling off of the relay team after a poor showing earlier in the day. In the 100 free, Roberts swam a disappointing 51.29, more than a full second off of his preliminary time. A couple hours later, he anchored Kamiak's winning relay by swimming that same distance in 48.98 seconds.

"That was so exciting," Erickson said. "You saw the results of the 100 free, Trent Roberts swam a 51. As a coach, do you replace a 51, or do you stay with your senior that you can do it? That was a tough decision, it was extremely tough. Then he came out for the 200 free relay and his attitude was positive, I could see it in his eyes, and that was when that thought ended, 'Boom, you're the man.' And he's the guy that pulled it off."

The rest of the winning relay team consisted of junior John Stupey, senior Tyler Cheung and senior Kyle Kusuda. Stupey also enjoyed a strong showing in his individual events, finishing second in the 100 butterfly and fourth in the 100 backstroke.

For Sosinsky, the win in the breaststroke was particularly rewarding because he was able to beat Alleva, who held off Sosinsky last year at state by .08 seconds. This year's rematch went down to the wire as well, but Sosinsky was able to pull ahead and win with a time of 57.45 seconds.

"I did not want to lose to him for a second year in a row," said Sosinsky, who also finished fourth in the 200-yard individual medley. "I woke up this morning and said, 'I've got to win this race.'"

Cascade junior Asahel Jenkins also had a strong outing, finishing third in the 100 butterfly and fifth in the 200 freestyle.

At King County Aquatic Center
Class 4A
Team Rankings: 3. Kamiak 189, 13. Stanwood 67, 15. Marysville Pilchuck 56, 18. Cascade 44, 22. Jackson 31, 35. Lake Stevens, 39. Snohomish 1.
200 medley relay--4. Kamiak (John Stupey, Liam Sosinsky, Kyle Kusuda, Tyler Chueng) 1:38.37, Stanwood (Justin Murrell, Cole Farnsworth, David Escobar, Jacob Land) 1:41.45, 12. Marysville Pilchuck (Andrew Winquist, Jon Ell, Colin Willis, Jacob Blomberg) 1:43.65; 200 freestyle--5. A.J. Jenkins (C) 1:45.34, 7. Winquist (MP) 1:46.48; 200 individual medley--Sosinsky (K) 1:56.65, 16. Grant Reimers (LS); 50 freestyle--6. Conne McGinnis (J) 22.28, 8. Trent Roberts (K) 22.50, 10. Tanner Hoidal (C) 22.41, 11.Escobar (S) 22.46; Diving--17. Chase Reid (LS) 179.05, Sean Mulvihill (K) 178.10, 21. Derric Collier (M) 99.45; 100 butterfly--2. Stupey (K) 51.68, 3. Jenkins (C) 51.96, 13. Willis (MP) 54.56; 100 freestyle--9. Escobar (S) 48.82, 10. Hoidal 48.91, 13. Chueng (K) 49.84, 16. Roberts (K) 51.29; 500 freestyle--11. Andre Winquist (MP) 4:57.40, 16. Easton Lemos (SN); 200 freestyle relay--3. Kamiak (Trent Roberts, Kyle Kusuda, Eben Schumannm, Tyler Chueng) 1:30.16, 6. Stanwood (Justin Murrell, Jacob Land, Cole Farnsworth, David Escobar) 1:31.57, 7. Marysville Pilchuck (Colin Willis, Jon Ell, Jacob Blomberg, Andrew Winquist) 1:32.14; 100 backstroke--4. Stupey (K) 52.81, 7. Colin McGinnis (J) 54.82, 15. Murrell (S) 56.24; 100 breaststroke--1. Sosinsky (K) 57.45, 11. Grant Reimers (LS) 1:02.42, 13. Kusuda (K) 1:02.99; 400 freestyle relay--1. Kamiak (John Stupey, Tyler Chueng, Kyle Kusuda, Trent Roberts) 3:14.47.
Class 3A
Team Rankings: 13. Shorewood 66, 16. Shorecrest 41, 17. Oak Harbor 40.5.
200 freestyle—7. Jacob Jepsen (OH) 1:46.52; Diving—1. Eddie Young (SW) 442.80, 4. Aaron Moss (SC) 360.15; 500 freestyle—13. Anders Blomso (SW) 4:59.18, 14. Cam Wunderlich 4:59.41;
200 freestyle relay—9. Shorewood (Jonah Hoverson, Davis Harford, Galen Kintner, Andrew Garrison) 1:30.67, 11. Shorecrest (Michael Doquilo, Axel Wickstrom, Josh Dyck, Carter Osbourne) 1:31.94, 12. Oak Harbor (Josh Jepsen, Jacob Jepsen, Caley Powers, Kevin Levy) 1:32.26; 100 breaststroke—12. Josh Jepsen (OH) 1:02.50; 400 freestyle relay—14. Shorewood (Jonah Hoverson, Hunter Nelson, Anders Blomso, Galen Kintner) 3:26.50, 15. Shorecrest (Russel Groves, Michael Doquilo, Axel Wickstrom, Carter Osbourne) 3:26.96.