SNOHOMISH — Shorecrest is back on top.
For the third time in the past five postseasons, the Scots are district champions.
The Shorecrest High School girls swim and dive team outlasted crosstown rival Shorewood to capture the Class 3A District 1 team title Saturday at Snohomish Aquatic Center.
The Scots took first place in the team standings with 388 points, finishing 26.5 points ahead of the second-place Stormrays. The two Shoreline schools dominated the 16-team meet, with the next-closest team being third-place Snohomish at 228 points.
Shorecrest took first place in five of the meet’s 12 events. The Scots won two of the three relay races and three individual events, including a pair of individual titles by sophomore Aila Howson.
“I’m super proud of them,” Shorecrest coach Bill Murray said. “I knew going into it that Shorewood and Snohomish were extremely strong teams, and so I definitely didn’t walk into it this situation thinking we had it wrapped up. And in fact, I kind of thought we were an underdog going into it.
“So I was really proud of the way they swam, especially Friday night at their prelims. They did everything they needed to position themselves to give them a shot. And then they swam hard and made it happen.”
The biggest highlight for Shorecrest came from its 200-yard medley relay team, which claimed the district title in a meet-record time of 1:50.48.
Junior Owan Fralick, Howson, sophomore Quinn Whorley and junior Miranda Thompson broke the 200 medley relay record with a time of 1:50.74 in Friday’s prelims. And then in Saturday’s finals, they bettered that time by 0.26 seconds.
“I think it kind of shocked even them on Friday night doing that,” Murray said. “… But I think being the first race of the meet and the group of girls that I have, they just really got pumped for the situation. And they were also kind of relaxed going into it, and that helped them swim even faster times.”
Shorecrest also cruised to victory in the 200 freestyle relay. The team of Thompson, senior Elle Howson, Fralick and Whorley swam a winning time of 1:42.55.
Aila Howson claimed the 200 individual medley title in 2:12.72 and the 100 breaststroke crown in 1:06.18. Whorley added a title in the 500 freestyle, with a winning time of 5:14.31.
The Scots also captured 3A District 1 team titles in 2017 and 2019. And they came close in 2016, 2018 and 2021 — finishing just a combined 23 points behind the district champion in those three meets.
Murray said his team aims to build on its district success at the upcoming 3A state championships.
“We’re trying to set up for that same mindset going into (state) that we did with districts,” he said. “So just trying to keep them from getting just too nervous about it and too tight, and staying a little loose and having fun.
“And if we can do that, I definitely think we still haven’t seen the best times they can do.”
SNOHOMISH STATE CHAMP REPEATS IN PAIR OF EVENTS
Mary Clarke didn’t quite replicate her spectacular district performance from last year, when she broke a pair of meet records in the freestyle sprints.
But it was still another dominant showing for the Snohomish junior standout.
Clarke, the defending 3A state champion in the 50 freestyle and reigning 3A state runner-up in the 100 freestyle, cruised to repeat district titles in both events.
She repeated as district champion in the 50 freestyle with a scorching time of 23.83 seconds, which was within just 0.12 seconds of her district meet record from last year. She won the race by more than a second.
And later on, Clarke repeated as the 100 freestyle district champion with a winning time of 52.24. She beat the rest of the field by 3.4 seconds.
Clarke also anchored the Panthers to the 400 freestyle relay crown. Junior Grace Andrews, senior Kimi Nakamura-Doudt and freshman Olivia Huber teamed with Clarke to post a winning time of 3:42.04.
SHOREWOOD STANDOUT WINS PAIR OF TITLES
Shorewood senior Grace Lindberg cruised to the 100 butterfly title in a speedy 56.39 seconds and to the 200 freestyle crown in 1:52.89. Her winning 100 butterfly time came within just 0.22 seconds of the district meet record, which has stood for more than two decades.
OTHER DISTRICT CHAMPIONS
— Cascade senior Saige Anderson, who placed sixth in last year’s 3A state diving competition, soared to her second consecutive district diving title with a score of 376.15 points.
— Edmonds-Woodway sophomore Simone Bennett won the 100 backstroke in 59.30 seconds, edging Mountlake Terrace sophomore Madeline Van Hooser by just 0.33 seconds.
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