State boys swimming and diving preview: Locals to watch

With state swimming and diving championships beginning Thursday, and running through Saturday at the King County Aquatic Center, there is a strong batch of area swimmers competing across multiple events.

Here’s a look at some of the top local swimmers and divers to watch:

3A SWIMMERS AND DIVERS TO WATCH

Sean Neils, sr., Shorecrest

Neils will compete in the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle as well as with the Scots’ 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay teams. He comes in as the No. 2 seed in the 100 free with a time of 47.20 seconds. Neils placed 11th in the 100 free at the state championships in 2022.

Colton Stoecker, soph., Shorecrest

Stoecker will swim in the 500 free as the No. 4 seed and will assist in the 400 free relay alongside Ian Reece, Kason Kirkpatrick and Tristan Serrano, all sophomores. Stoecker swam the 500 free in 4 minutes, 43.30 seconds at districts last Saturday, taking 1st place. He placed 11th in the 500 free at state last winter.

Noah Henderson, sr., Cascade

Henderson is one of five area swimmers who will compete in the 200 individual medley race on Saturday, coming in as the top seed among them at No. 5 with a qualifying time of 1:57.55. He’ll also take part in the 100 breaststroke, an event which he placed ninth at state in 2022. Henderson also took 13th in the 200 IM the same year.

Torsten Hokanson, soph., Snohomish

Hokanson comes in as the No.6 seed in both the 200 and 100 freestyles. The sophomore swam the 200 free in 1:45.94, and finished the 100 at last week’s district meet with a time of 47.20 seconds.

Nate Huh-Orrantia, sr., Marysville Getchell

Huh-Orrantia is the highest-seeded local diver taking part in the 3A state championships Thursday in Federal Way (No. 4), holding an 11-dive score of 375.50. He scored 273.65 at the state meet last season, which earned him fifth place.

Issac Bingay, sr., Cascade

Bingay boasts an 11-dive score of 356.80, just below Huh-Orrantia’s 375.50 as he’ll operate as the fifth seed. He earned 12th place at state last season, tallying a score of 249.1.

4A SWIMMERS TO WATCH

Camden Blevins-Mohr, soph., Lake Stevens

Blevins-Mohr secured 16th place in the 100 butterfly at the state championships in 2022, completing the swim in 54.99 seconds, and he’ll be back in that event on Saturday as the No. 8 seed. The sophomore is slotted as the third seed for the 50 free, completing the swim in 21.69 seconds at districts to finish in first. In addition, he’ll join the Vikings’ ninth-seeded 200 free relay team with Coren Coe (sophomore), Sam Lamb (freshman), and Laird Marlatt (senior).

Garrett Chesley, sr., Lake Stevens

Chesley won two medals at the state championships in 2022, earning sixth place in the 100 backstroke (53.50 seconds) and eighth in the 100 butterfly (53.54 seconds). He’ll compete in both again on Saturday. He’s the sixth seed in the butterfly and seventh in the backstroke.

Kaiu Taylor, jr., Glacier Peak

Taylor took second place at the district championships last weekend in the 50 free, finishing a hair behind Blevins-Mohr in a tight race. He still qualified as the No.4 seed, finishing in 51.53 seconds. He’ll also swim as the 10th seed in the 100 backstroke. He took eighth at the 4A state championships in 2022 for the 50 free, and placed 13th in the backstroke.

Ethan Georgiev, jr., Jackson

Georgiev will represent Jackson in the 200 free and 100 free, he holds a top-five seed in each event. He took home 11th place at state in the 100 last season, swimming the race 49.33 seconds. He’s also a part of the Timberwolves’ 200 medley relay team, along with standout teammate Ethan Chen-Parks.

2A SWIMMER TO WATCH

Evan Wold, soph., Archbishop Murphy

Wold comes in as the No.4 seed in the breaststroke for the 2A state championships, qualifying with a time of 1:02.29. He swam the breaststroke at state last season, finishing in 1:04.01 and placing 13th. He also placed seventh in the 100 butterfly. This year, he’ll be in the 200 IM as the sixth seed.