MUKILTEO – It may have been warm and muggy outside, but Laurynn Evans wore a jacket Friday afternoon.

Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald Brianna Whitney smashes a water balloon over Erika Hansen’s head as Emily Harris (left) dodges the fray Friday during Kamiak High School’s attempt to set the world record for the biggest water balloon fight.

“I know my position, and I sensed my vulnerability,” she said.

Evans is assistant principal at Kamiak High School, and students at the Mukilteo campus were determined to get into the Guinness Book of Records with the world’s largest water balloon fight.

Sure enough, Evans got plenty wet. So did most of the 1,046 students who bombarded classmates with more than 10,900 water balloons in eight minutes of controlled mayhem.

Hundreds of balloon-wielding freshmen and seniors banded together, crossing the soccer field to meet an equally large contingent of sophomores and juniors midway.

“On a scale of 1 to 10, it was awesome,” said Steve Ulm, 17, a junior.

The idea came to Billy Johnson, a senior, around Christmas as he thumbed through a gift, the 2005 edition of the Guinness Book of Records. At the time, the record, which has since been eclipsed, was 490 people and 2,000 water balloons.

“Oh man, we can totally beat that,” Johnson remembered thinking.

In calling Guinness officials, Kamiak students learned that a new record had been set at Peace River Bible Institute in Alberta, Canada, with 993 people and 8,000 balloons.

“We still felt we could beat that,” said Johnson, who will attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the fall.

Unofficially, Kamiak has.

The school intends to submit its documentation and witness statements early next week. However, other schools in the Midwest and Canada are also out to break the record this month.

It wasn’t easy.

Students began filling water balloons early Thursday morning in sinks across the campus. They finished around noon Friday. More than 3,000 balloons burst in the process.

“Record or no record, we had a lot of fun doing this,” said Johnson, who at 6 feet 7 inches was an easy target. “It really brought the school together, and that’s what’s most important.”

Some students were skeptical when word first came out that the school was trying to have the world’s largest water balloon fight.

“I thought it was a senior prank,” said Lynsey Gagon, 17, a junior. “It will be a hard act to follow, but we will find a way.”

Andrea Varner, 17, a junior, absorbed more splats than she delivered, but that didn’t matter. “I had bad aim, but it was fun,” she said.

Junior Chris Leary, 17, wore shiny gold shorts and a Captain Underpants T-shirt for the occasion. He was hoping to track down one particular teacher. “She will remain anonymous,” he said with a smile.

Evans, the assistant principal, came out drier than she expected, but still was drenched.

“I didn’t get as pelted as I thought I would,” she said, grinning. “I survived.”

Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or stevick@heraldnet.com.

The great water balloon fight of 2005

Balloons: 10,950

Gallons of water: 900

Participants: 1,046

Cost of balloons: $250

Duration: 8 minutes