Shorecrest’s Colton Stoecker wins Heat 2 of the 500 Yard Freestyle during the 3A District 1 swim and dive championships at Snohomish Aquatic Center, in Snohomish, Washington on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023. (Annie Barker / The Herald)

Shorecrest’s Colton Stoecker wins Heat 2 of the 500 Yard Freestyle during the 3A District 1 swim and dive championships at Snohomish Aquatic Center, in Snohomish, Washington on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023. (Annie Barker / The Herald)

Shorecrest boys continue reign with 3A district swim crown

The Scots notch six first-place finishes en route to their third 3A boys district swim and dive title in as many years.

SNOHOMISH — Labeling one or even multiple performers as reasons why the Shorecrest boys swim and dive team came out on top in the Class 3A District 1 championship meet on Saturday evening would be a tough task to handle.

After notching six first-place finishes at the Snohomish Aquatic Center, the Scots prevailed and stamped their third district title in as many years.

Shorecrest head coach Scott Kelley, who was announced as the Wesco coach of the year at the meet, found it challenging to credit the win to anything but a complete team effort.

Shorecrest outproduced league rival and second-place Shorewood 475 to 386.5, topping a Stormrays team which could have been considered another favorite to win the event.

“It’s really hard to pick out one guy on this team,” Kelley said. “I would say that Sean Neils is one of our top swimmers going into state, Colton Stoecker had a great meet. … We had a couple guys who didn’t rest because they already had state times, so the fact that they performed so well here, (it) points to some hopeful drops at state next weekend.”

Neils, a senior, certainly helped the cause for Shorecrest, logging individual wins in 100-yard freestyle (47.20 seconds) and the 50 free (21.54) to go along with two more-first place finishes in the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays.

Stoecker, a sophomore, took home the 500 freestyle with a time of 4 minutes, 43.30 seconds. He also assisted the all-sophomore 400 freestyle relay group, which included Ian Reece, Kason Kirkpatrick (2nd in the 50 free with a time of 22.45) and Tristan Serrano (4th in individual 100 free with a time of 48.78).

“We had veteran seniors and just-coming-into-their-own sophomores,” Kelley said. “A few nice freshman showings too.”

Freshman Zander Muilenburg earned a trip to state competition, which starts next week, by placing fourth in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:07.62. His brother and senior Liam Muilenburg also booked a trip to Federal Way, placing second with a time of 4:53.71.

“We wanna get as high up as we can and find that ladder,” Kelley said of the Shorecrest depth heading into state-level competition. “It’s kinda the perfect storm for us with this senior and sophomore group that we have right now. They’re both pretty elite classes.”

A second-place finish in the 200 freestyle relay for Shorewood, as well as senior Ben Allen’s victory in the 100 backstroke (54.06), kept the Stormrays solidly in second place.

Cascade senior Noah Henderson was key for the Bruins as they stayed towards the top of the pack, finishing fifth with 173 points. With wins in the 200 individual medley (1:57.55) and the 100 breaststroke (58.77), Henderson broke personal bests.

CARLTON BREAKS OWN RECORD

As one of the strongest swimmers in the pool on Saturday, Mount Vernon senior Wyatt Carlton put on an impressive display as the Bulldogs held onto fourth place.

After previously holding the district meet record of 49.68 in the 100-yard butterfly in 2022, he beat the clock for the second year in a row, sifting his way past his own mark with a time of 49.23 to set a new meet record.

In addition, Carlton was the anchor that helped Mount Vernon take third in the 400 freestyle relay, good enough to punch a ticket to state.

“I was really happy with the performance overall,” Carlton said. “I was impressed with mainly Aidan (Hanson) and Will (Johnson), they brought it home in that relay. They went fast and we got a team record off that. We were excited about it.”

The bonus prize was getting a little extra breathing room on his butterfly record.

“I was definitely thinking about it the entire time,” Carlton said. “Since last year I’ve dropped a second off that time, so just really going for that record again, seeing if I could lower it a bit more and I was excited to get that time.”

Talk to us

More in Sports

Monroe junior receiver Aaron Clifton checks for defenders while taking a long reception to the house against Mountlake Terrace on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, at Monroe High School in Monroe, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Prep football power rankings after Week 5

Here are our top 8 local teams after all the action from Thursday and Friday.

X
Vote for The Herald’s Prep Athlete of the Week for Sept. 25-30

The Athlete of the Week nominees for Sept. 25-30. Voting closes at… Continue reading

X
Silvertips name leadership group, but no captain yet

Everett lists Ty Gibson, Kaden Hammell, Ben Hemmerling and Austin Roest as alternate captains, but will wait to assign the “C”.

Fall prep sports roundup.
Prep roundup for Monday, Oct. 2

Prep roundup for Monday, Oct. 2: (Not for coaches/scorekeepers: To report results… Continue reading

Monroe’s Mason Davis (1) celebrates with Trent Bublitz (11) after Bublitz’s touchdown reception against Edmonds-Woodway on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022, at Edmonds School District Stadium in Edmonds, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Reader poll: Make your picks for Week 6 prep football games

Do you think you can beat the experts in our weekly high… Continue reading

X
Who’s that frog? A local high school tennis player, that’s who

Arlington tennis player Robbie Balderas worked as AquaSox mascot Webbly this season, and the busy junior also runs a landscaping business.

Mountlake Terrace’s Zaveon Jones is pulled to the ground by a diving Nicholas Mouser of Monroe on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, at Monroe High School in Monroe, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Swarming Monroe defense keys win over Terrace in Wesco 3A South showdown

The Bearcats slow down the Hawks’ potent ground game, and quarterback Blake Springer tosses three TDs in a 35-10 victory.

Arlington players lift the Stilly Cup in the air after beating Stanwood on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023 in Stanwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Arlington reclaims Stilly Cup after short hiatus, routs Stanwood 42-7

Leyton Martin registers 277 yards, 4 TDs as Eagles notch fifth straight game with at least six TDs.

Marysville Pilchuck’s Christian Van Natta lifts the ball in the air to celebrate a turnover during the game against Marysville Getchell on Friday, Sept. 16, 2022 in Marysville, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Prep football roundup for Friday, Sept. 29

Prep football roundup for Friday, Sept. 29: (Note for coaches/scorekeepers: To report… Continue reading

Most Read