Shorecrest rides depth to 3A district swim title

SNOHOMISH — Edmonds-Woodway and Shorewood made the most trips to the front step of the podium, combining to win nine of the 12 events at the Class 3A Northwest District boys swim and dive championships.

But it was Shorecrest that came away with the biggest prize.

The Scots rode their depth to the district crown Saturday at Snohomish Aquatic Center, claiming the team title with 430 points. Shorecrest won just two events, but totaled 19 top-eight finishes in the eight individual swimming races.

Defending district champion Edmonds-Woodway placed second with 351.5 points. Shorewood took third with 325 points.

“It’s pretty sweet,” Shorecrest coach Scott Kelley said. “(It was) depth, really. Edmonds-Woodway won a lot of the races. We just had more numbers in the consolation heats than they had, and that added up to more points.”

The lone individual winner for the Scots was Andrew Harness, who claimed the 200-yard individual medley title. Shorecrest also took first place in the 400 freestyle relay after would-be winner Edmonds-Woodway was disqualified.

The meet’s biggest individual performance belonged to Shorewood senior Isaac Poole, who shattered a 29-year meet record to win the diving competition with 586.85 points.

Poole, a back-to-back state runner-up diver, nearly broke the record last year, when he came within 0.9 points of the 499.25 points amassed by Marysville Pilchuck’s Travis Niemeyer in 1991. This time, Poole soared past the record en route to his third consecutive district title.

“It was awesome,” Shorewood coach Jeremy Hunter said. “He’s just an incredible competitor. … We suspected good things were coming, but 586? That’s pretty elite, so we’re really proud of him. It’s special. It’s a testament to how hard he works and the time that he puts in on the board.”

Shorewood senior Ryan Reid won a pair of individual races, taking first place in both the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle.

Despite being the meet’s longest race, the 500 freestyle produced the closest finish. Reid finished in 4 minutes, 51.93 seconds, touching the wall just 0.07 seconds ahead of Snohomish’s Noah Clarke.

“Ryan really came today ready to race,” Hunter said. “He’s a great competitor, a great athlete, and he really rose (to the occasion). … He had a phenomenal 200 free. He was very smart about his approach to that race. And in the 500, he went out and he had just enough to hang on. It was gutsy down the stretch there.”

Edmonds-Woodway senior Anton Teplouhov also was a two-event individual champion. Teplouhov beat Shorewood standout Cole Nouwens by just 0.16 seconds to win the 50 freestyle and also took first place in the 100 freestyle.

Edmonds-Woodway won two of the three relay races, claiming titles in the 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay.

Jeff Plum also took first place in the 100 backstroke for the Warriors, who won five of the meet’s 12 events.

“We swam some really good races today,” Edmonds-Woodway coach Nolan Welfringer said. “We overperformed in every single event.”

Lynnwood senior Zachary Bevans cruised to the 100 butterfly title in a scorching 50.32 seconds, finishing more than three seconds ahead of the next-closest swimmer.

Nouwens, who tied for a sixth-place state medal in the 100 breaststroke last season, took first place in the event at district for the second time in three years.