FEDERAL WAY — Prior to this season, most of Kelly Morgan’s extended family had never before seen her swim.
The Meadowdale senior had been living with her immediate family in Virginia, where her father, an MHS alum, was serving in the U.S. Coast Guard.
But after his retirement, the Morgans moved home to the Meadowdale area, which has given their extended family a chance to watch Kelly compete.
And in the ultimate homecoming, she gave her fans two special treats Saturday night.
With numerous family members in attendance, Morgan won state titles in the 200-yard freestyle and the 100-yard butterfly during the Class 3A swimming and diving championships at the King County Aquatic Center.
“My aunts, uncles, grandparents — they’re all here,” Morgan said after winning the second title. “They had never seen me swim before. It was so cool. It’s surreal. I’m so glad that everyone could come and watch me. There’s no words to describe how excited I am.”
Morgan, who recently signed a letter of intent to swim at Washington State University, had never won a state title before.
Her best performance in Virginia’s Class 6A state championships came last year, when she placed seventh in both the 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly.
Morgan was beyond thrilled to win her first — and second — state titles on Saturday.
“I wasn’t really expecting to win both,” she said. “I’m just really excited. It’s amazing.”
Morgan began by claiming the 200 freestyle title with a winning time of 1:51.07, edging defending champion Cameron Smith of Seattle Prep by 0.41 seconds.
Later in the meet, she won the 100 butterfly title in 56.06 seconds, beating second-place Isabel Chien of Lakeside by 0.43 seconds.
“I expected her to win one,” Meadowdale coach Nolan Welfringer said. “I think she knew she had the (butterfly) in her. She was surprised by the 200 (freestyle). I think it helped because she ended up swimming a pretty incredible lifetime (personal record) for that fly race. She definitely came to play today, and I knew she would. She’s a gamer — that’s what she does. But I didn’t expect her to do it like that.”
Stanwood senior Karlie Rimat took second place in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:06.72, finishing about three seconds behind champion Mandolin Nguyen of Franklin.
Rimat also placed seventh in the 500 freestyle (5:07.15) to earn a pair of podium finishes. Stanwood freshman Jetlynn Hau finished third in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.73).
Oak Harbor junior Olivia Tungate took fourth place in the 100 backstroke with a time of 57.93 seconds, and junior teammate Jillian Pape placed sixth in the 50 freestyle (24.59).
The Wildcats’ relay team of Tungate, Taliah Black, senior Molly Vagt and Pape finished sixth in the 200 medley relay (1:51.87).
Edmonds-Woodway junior Morgan Broadhead placed fifth in the 100 freestyle with a time of 53.64 seconds.
Snohomish senior Emma Brenchley led all local divers with a sixth-place finish (339.30 points).
Archbishop Murphy junior Caroline Kowalchuk was the lone local swimmer to earn a podium finish in the 2A meet. Kowalchuk placed sixth in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:30.33.
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