MUKILTEO — The Kamiak girls swimming team sent its seniors off on a high note with a Wesco South title-clinching 100-86 victory over Jackson on Thursday.
It was another hard fought battle between perennial league title contenders that have combined to win Wesco South championships in each of the last six seasons.
“It’s kind of the tale of the tape over the last however many years,” Timberwolves coach Drew Whorley said. “The thing for us is we really look forward to come and compete, and that brings out the best in both teams. We put up some fast (times) today, and we’re happy with our performance.”
Kamiak (11-1 overall, 9-0 league) took control of the meet early by winning the first five events while earning one-two finishes in the 200-yard freestyle and diving events.
Jackson (9-1, 8-1) was able to make up points down the stretch with five first-place finishes in the final seven events, but the Knights’ quick start was too much to overcome.
“There were places in the lineup that I knew we were going to have to battle out of, and we perservered in some of those spots,” Whorley said. “There were some other spots where they did that and kind of took advantage of some situations that I would say kind of surprised me a bit, but that’s the case with them.
“They’re a very good team that’s coached very well and they stepped up and swam very well. I think that was the case on both sides. I saw some things from our girls that I haven’t seen before. That’s the beauty of a close meet.”
Knights coach Chris Erickson declined to comment.
Top Performers
Elli Straume, Kamiak
The Kamiak junior won the the 200 yard freestyle and 500 freestyle and was part of Kamiak’s first-place 200 medley and 200 freestyle relay teams.
Song-Nhi Vo, Kamiak
In the final dual meet of her high school career, the Knights’ senior won the 50 freestyle and helped the team’s 200 medley and 200 freestyle teams to first-place finishes.
Mia Chang, Jackson
The Timberwolves’ sophomore took home top finishes in the 100 butterfly and 100 breaststroke and anchored Jackson’s first-place 400 freestyle relay team.
Knights bring home another title
Cue the DJ Khaled soundclip, because that’s “another one” for Kamiak.
The Knights can call themselves league champions for the fifth time in the last six seasons, and they don’t look to be slowing down any time soon with a number of their key swimmers being underclassmen.
Kamiak-Jackson matchup ends with another close finish
It was another tightly contested battle between the two Wesco South powers.
Thursday’s meet marked the fourth straight time that a meeting between Jackson and Kamiak was decided by 20 points or less. Both teams have averaged to beat conference opponents by 50 points per meet during that span.
“The beauty of this meet is that our girls typically swim their fastest,” Whorley said. “It’s not because it’s the end of the season. It’s just because they rise to the occasion.”
Opening relay sets the tone
The meet opened with a close battle between both squads’ top relay teams, which Kamiak won by .87 seconds.
The race was a big win to open the meet for the Knights, and it was one of three races decided by 1.4 seconds or less.
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