Shorecrest senior Sean Neils begins his dive for the anchor leg of the 200 yard freestyle relay final at the 3A WIAA Boys High School Swim and Dive Championships on Friday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
FEDERAL WAY — Sean Neils ended his high school swimming career in style, taking home four top-seven medals at the 3A boys swim and dive state championships on Saturday and other area swimmers had something to offer as well.
The Scots brought over a healthy dose of swimmers to the King County Aquatic Center to vie for top placements, with the 200 and 400 freestyle relay teams featuring Neils coming up big for Shorecrest.
The Scots finished the 200 in 1 minute, 28.57 seconds to secure fourth place, setting a new team record and grabbing sixth in the 400 with a time of 3:16.12.
In the 200, fellow senior Finn Corbin along with sophomores Tristan Serrano and Kason Kirkpatrick joined Neils. Other sophomores Ian Reece and Colton Stoecker teamed up with Neils and Serrano for the 400.
“We did great,” Shorecrest coach Scott Kelley said. “We were pretty happy with how everyone performed today. … Sean had the meet of his life at the prelims, backed it up tonight as well and ended up holding his spot, did really well.”
“Hopefully it left them a little hungry,” Kelley said of his sophomore corps. “They’ve got two more years of competing at this level, and they’re already here. So, the future is really bright for some of those guys.”
Neils also provided the Scots two individual medals, taking fourth in the 100 free in 46.69 seconds and racing the 50 free in 21.27 seconds.
“It was a great day for me,” Neils said. “I’ve come so far from my freshman year, I didn’t even know how to do a flip turn. But now, placing at state, it’s amazing. Being on the podium for all four of my races, my teammates have been so supportive. We broke the relay record together and that was a such great feeling.”
Shorecrest finished eighth overall with 120 points, just three points shy of sixth-place O’Dea and two points off Eastside Catholic.
“I’ve been excited all year and loved being captain,” Neils said. “I’ve loved being able to be someone people can look up to on this team. It’s an amazing opportunity. … I’ve loved having that mark on people.”
Jackson’s junior duo shines
As Jackson juniors Ethan Georgiev and Ethan Chen-Parks helped lead the Timberwolves to an 11th place team finish in the 4A meet, they both seemed poised in the water as each earned two seventh-place medals. Georgiev mixed in a fourth-place finish in the 200 free for good measure.
Georgiev swam the 100 freestyle in 47.65 seconds, shaving off 0.51 seconds from Friday’s preliminary round. He also bested his prelim time in the 200, going 0.3 seconds faster than his 1:45.76 mark the day before.
“I think we all put our best work in,” Georgiev said. “Our relays went well (and) even though we lost some good swims, we still put up good work and we placed high, so many finals. I think we did good this year.”
Chen-Parks finished seventh in the 50 free (22 seconds) and joined Georgiev, senior Nathaniel Nguyen and Jaelen Oh, a junior, in the 200 freestyle relay, which the Timberwolves also earned seventh (1:30.56).
Archbishop Murphy’s Wold shows upside
Archbishop Murphy sophomore Evan Wold was the only tenth-grader in the pool for his 2A finals swims in the 100 breaststroke and 200 individual medley, and he certainly didn’t show his youth when it came to finishing off his races with improvement.
Wold broke his prelim times in both events, with his time of 2:01.42 in the IM coming a whole 1.45 seconds faster than his previous go-around as he took seventh. He took 0.27 seconds off his breaststroke time as well, racing it in 59.80 seconds to take third.
“I’d say I did everything decently,” Wold said of his finals performance. “I hit all my walls, so that felt pretty good. I think I could have done a bit more, but overall pretty good.”
Lake Stevens relay team rallies for top-eight spot
Much like Jackson, Lake Stevens trotted out a long list from their roster to Federal Way over the weekend. The Vikings didn’t fare as well in the points column as the Wolves did, coming in 16th place (50 points) in 4A, but the 200 free relay group of Laird Marlatt, Camden Blevins-Mohr, Sam Lamb and Coren Coe rallied to garner sixth place for Lake Stevens’ lone medal.
The relay team completed its run in 1 minute, 29.85 seconds as Lake Stevens underclassmen got some valuable state experience.
Marlatt was the only Lake Stevens senior who got to compete in a final as he placed 16th in the 100 free (50.14). Lamb is a freshman, and Coe and Blevins-Mohr are sophomores.
“This was a weird meet, but a good weird,” Lake Stevens coach Brady Dykgraaf said. “It’s the biggest meet most of these swimmers will ever be in, so the opportunity for these guys to have this experience early and come back next year and say that the job isn’t done … That’s gonna take them far.”
Jackson junior Ethan Chen-Parks dives in as the second swimmer for his team during the 200 yard freestyle relay final at the 4A WIAA Boys High School Swim and Dive Championships on Friday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Kamiak junior Bryan Wong competes in the 500 yard freestyle consolation at the 4A WIAA Boys High School Swim and Dive Championships on Friday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Glacier Peak junior Kaiu Taylor competes in the 100 yard backstroke consolation race at the 4A WIAA Boys High School Swim and Dive Championships on Friday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Woodinville senior Alex Popov swims below the surface after taking a turn in the 200 yard independent medley consolation race at the 4A WIAA Boys High School Swim and Dive Championships on Friday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Lake Stevens senior Laird Marlatt prepares to dive in before the 100 yard freestyle consolation race at the 4A WIAA Boys High School Swim and Dive Championships on Friday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Lake Stevens sophomore Camden Blevins-Mohr swims in the consolation race for the 100 yard butterfly at the 4A WIAA Boys High School Swim and Dive Championships on Friday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Woodinville freshman Nik Brusilovski heads for an 11th-place finish overall in the 500 yard freestyle at the 4A WIAA Boys High School Swim and Dive Championships on Friday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Woodinville senior Levi Major shouts about missing a time by .01 seconds after finishing the 100 yard freestyle consolation race at the 4A WIAA Boys High School Swim and Dive Championships on Friday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Lake Stevens freshman Sam Lamb dives in for his team during the 400 yard freestyle relay consolation at the 4A WIAA Boys High School Swim and Dive Championships on Friday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Glacier Peak junior Brendan Gaffney swims in the 200 yard freestyle consolation race at the 4A WIAA Boys High School Swim and Dive Championships on Friday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Woodinville senior Alex Popov takes the final turn in the 100 yard breaststroke consolation at the 4A WIAA Boys High School Swim and Dive Championships on Friday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Jackson junior Ethan Chen-Parks races to a 7th-place finish in the 50 yard freestyle final at the 4A WIAA Boys High School Swim and Dive Championships on Friday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Woodinville junior Carter Johnson dives in as teammate Alex Popov finishes his leg during the 200 yard freestyle relay consolation race at the 4A WIAA Boys High School Swim and Dive Championships on Friday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Jackson junior Ethan Georgiev races to a 4th-place finish in the 200 yard freestyle final at the 4A WIAA Boys High School Swim and Dive Championships on Friday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Glacier Peak’s Kaiu Taylor pumps his fist after finishing the 50 yard freestyle consolation race at the 4A WIAA Boys High School Swim and Dive Championships on Friday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Shorecrest sophomore Tristan Serrano yells out to his teammate as he prepares to dive into the water during the 200 yard freestyle relay final at the 3A WIAA Boys High School Swim and Dive Championships on Friday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Shorecrest sophomore Colton Stoecker swims in the 500 yard freestyle final at the 3A WIAA Boys High School Swim and Dive Championships on Friday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Shorecrest senior Sean Neils swims in the 100 yard freestyle final at the 3A WIAA Boys High School Swim and Dive Championships on Friday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Shorecrest senior Finn Corbin swims in the 100 yard breast stroke consolation at the 3A WIAA Boys High School Swim and Dive Championships on Friday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
A swimmer waits for the 200 yard medley relay final at the 3A WIAA Boys High School Swim and Dive Championships on Friday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Cascade senior Noah Henderson swims in the 200 yard individual medley consolation at the 3A WIAA Boys High School Swim and Dive Championships on Friday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Snohomish sophomore Torsten Hokanson swims in the 100 yard freestyle consolation at the 3A WIAA Boys High School Swim and Dive Championships on Friday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
A Shorewood swimmer dives in in during the 200 yard freestyle relay consolation at the 3A WIAA Boys High School Swim and Dive Championships on Friday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Shorewood junior Ben Allen leads off his team in the 200 yard medley relay consolation at the 3A WIAA Boys High School Swim and Dive Championships on Friday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Shorecrest senior Liam Muilenburg swims in the 500 yard freestyle consolation at the 3A WIAA Boys High School Swim and Dive Championships on Friday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Snohomish sophomore Noah Collins looks over at his opponents during the 200 yard individual medley consolation race at the 3A WIAA Boys High School Swim and Dive Championships on Friday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Shorecrest sophomore Colton Stoecker swims in the 200 yard freestyle consolation race at the 3A WIAA Boys High School Swim and Dive Championships on Friday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Snohomish sophomore Connor Colloton adjusts his goggles prior to the 400 yard freestyle relay consolation race at the 3A WIAA Boys High School Swim and Dive Championships on Friday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
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