MARYSVILLE — It sure feels good to beat the state champs.
Just ask Marysville-Pilchuck’s Trevor LeValley.
“It’s awesome. We’ve been planning for a really long time,” the junior said. “I really wanted it. In my mind I told myself we were going to get it, but it was up in the air.”
The Tomahawks got the victory they wanted, winning 99-87 in the dual meet against two-time defending Class 4A state champion Snohomish Thursday at Marysville-Pilchuck High School.
LeValley was the only Tomahawk to record multiple victories, but in high school swimming, only the top five placers in each six-man varsity race earn points. Marysville-Pilchuck picked up a slew of second- through fifth-place finishes and that’s what ultimately made the difference.
“Our second and third guys did real well and really avoided staying out of the sixth place spots,” M-P coach Scott Knowles said. “Every point you earn is a two-point swing in a meet and that’s why every placing is really important.”
M-P finished with just four sixth-place finishes to Snohomish’s eight, proving that swimming is indeed a team sport.
“It was a real team thing,” LeValley said. “It was all about the sixth places and we didn’t get many of those this meet and that’s what won it for us.”
LeValley won the 200 (1:47.93) and 500-yard freestyle races (4:55.10), each in state-qualifying times, as all but three varsity races yielded at least one state-qualifying mark. Snohomish’s Logan Goodman also qualified for state, finishing second to LeValley in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:50.54.
Snohomish’s Garren Riechel recorded state-qualifying times in winning the 200 individual medley (1:59.15) and the 100 breaststroke (57.92). Riechel is the defending 4A state champ in the latter race, which also saw Snohomish’s Nick Hryciuk (1:02.90) and M-P’s Spencer Girard (1:03.54) record state-qualifying times.
Snohomish’s Eric Pedack won the 100 backstroke and the 100 butterly, the latter in a state-qualifying time of 54.67. The Panthers also recorded state-qualifying times in the 200 medley and the 400 freestyle relays.
The Tomahawks mustered just five overall wins to the Panthers’ seven, reiterating the importance of not finishing sixth.
“The kids came through when they had to today. We just got some terrific swims — some of the swims we didn’t have the other day against Kamiak,” Knowles said, referring to Tuesday’s 103-83 loss. “We’ve still got to get better … We still have a long way to go. But today was a nice reward for the work we put in.”
Snohomish coach Rob Serviss was disappointed, but said there was much his team could learn from the loss.
“I think we need to learn to stay upbeat and stay positive and keep believing in ourselves and just keep momentum going the whole meet,” he said. “But I don’t want to take anything away from M-P. They had a great meet today and they knew what they had to do to beat us and they pulled it off.”
M-P’s 200 freestyle relay team also qualified for state with a time of 1:33.36.
At M-P Pool
200 medley relay—Snohomish (Pedack, Harvey, Riechel, Coxen), 1:40.42; 200 freestyle—LeValley (MP), 1:47.93; 200 individual medley—Riechel (S), 1:59.15; 50 freestyle—Goff (MP), 23:08; Diving—Gibson (MP), 205.40; 100 butterfly—Pedack (S), 54.67; 100 freestyle—Hryciuk (S), 50.43; 500 freestyle—LeValley (MP), 4:55.10; 200 freestyle relay—M-P (Lopez, Coleman, Goff, LeValley), 1:33.36; 100 backstroke—Pedack (S) 58.87; 100 breaststroke—Riechel (S), 57.92; 400 freestyle relay—Snohomish (Goodman, Riechel, Hryciuk, Pedack), 3:19.24. Records—Snohomish 1-1 league, 1-1 overall. M-P 2-0, 3-1.
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