SHORELINE — Shorewood solidified its position at the top of the Western Conference South Division girls swimming scene with a convincing 114-71 dual-meet victory over Kamiak Thursday afternoon at Shoreline Pool.
The Thunderbirds, with an undefeated 6-0 league record, swam sans senior Laurin Williams who was unable to perform due to a fever and respiratory trouble.
Williams, a senior who has committed to Ohio University, was on-hand to support the Thunderbirds, but admittedly wasn’t having any fun sitting on the sideline.
However, for Shorewood, it was no Williams, no problem as the team showcased superior depth while out-swimming a solid Kamiak squad.
“They’re (Shorewood) always big,” Kamiak head coach Chris Erickson said referencing Shorewood’s depth. “We’re just not big right now.”
Shorewood’s Dana Michaels earned wins in the 200-yard freestyle and 100 butterfly, capturing state-qualifying times in both races. Michaels swam 1 minute, 57.59 seconds in the 200 freestyle and 1:00.98 in the 100 butterfly.
“We had a lot of kids swim well,” Shorewood head coach Susie McDowell said. “ … Laurin (Williams) was out today, so I had to set my lineup a little different than I would have, but I knew we would be OK.”
Kamiak’s Louise Moores grabbed wins in the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle races. Moores, one of the state’s best freestyle swimmers, won with state-qualifying times of 24.87 seconds in the 50 freestyle and 54.38 seconds in the 100 freestyle.
Anni Hecker of Shorewood gave Moores a scare in the 100 freestyle with a state-qualifying time of 54.58 seconds.
“Anni Hecker had a great 100 free even though she got second place,” McDowell said.
Junior Fiona Weeks put on a show in the 1-meter diving competition for Kamiak.
Weeks, a seasoned gymnast, displayed pin-point control and form while earning 211.7 total points.
“She’s got good, strong body awareness and good body form,” Erickson said. “She’s put in a lot of time (practicing).”
Amber Armstrong turned in a solid performance in the 500 freestyle, replacing Williams for Shorewood. Armstrong won the event with a time of 5:33.59.
McDowell said that she switched up some relay lineups and positioned a few swimmers differently partly due to Williams absence from the relay teams and the 500 freestyle.
The shuffle paid off and Shorewood finds itself in a favorable position heading into the 4A District 1 meet in Marysville in a few weeks.
The Thunderbirds will have to contend with Kamiak in the South division and Oak Harbor, Marysville-Pilchuck and Jackson from the North division, but McDowell felt confident after Thursday’s strong swim.
“I think we have a very realistic chance (to win the district),” McDowell said. “We’re going to have to swim really well, but I’m not as well-versed in the North teams as I am in the South.”
Kamiak’s Erickson also feels Shorewood has a strong chance at capturing the district title.
“I think so,” Erickson said when asked if Shorewood was a district-title team.
At Shoreline Pool
200 medley relay—Kamiak 2:02.50; 200 freestyle—Dana Michaels (S) 1:57.59*; 200 individual medley—Bethany Gehrke (S) 2:21.12; 50 freestyle—Louise Moores (K) 24.87*; Diving—Fiona Weeks (K) 211.7; 100 butterfly—Dana Michaels (S) 1:00.98*; 100 freestyle—Louise Moores (K) 54.38*; 500 freestyle—Amber Armstrong (S) 5:33.59; 200 freestyle relay—Shorewood 1:46.84; 100 backstroke—Annika Stenfjord (S) 1:05.44; 100 breaststroke—Leonardi (S) 1:19.89; 400 freestyle relay—Shorewood 3:57.66. Records—Kamiak 5-1 league. Shorewood 6-0.
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