E-W moves Stoll, two relays on to state

MARYSVILLE — Edmonds-Woodway junior Nate Stoll had just missed the state cut in the 50-yard freestyle by only .07 seconds at the Northwest District 4A boys swimming championships.

But Stoll wasn’t through trying to qualify for state in the event.

Stoll swam the first leg of the 200 freestyle relay where he not only swam .2 seconds under the state time standard (22.54 seconds), but he also helped lead the Warriors to a second-place overall finish in the event and a state berth Feb. 11 at Marysville-Pilchuck High School.

The first swimmer of the relay can qualify for state since he is timed from a standing start. Stoll had previously had a state cut in the 100 backstroke.

“Going into the meet it was just me going to state,” Stoll said. “Now we’ve got another three guys. We’ve got four guys going to state.”

Joining Stoll on the 200 freestyle relay team are Bryant Shiu, Sean Maden and Rick Aaroe. The Edmonds-Woodway 200 medley relay team with the same four individuals finished fourth overall but earned a slot at the state meet by time with a 1:46.46.

Heading into Saturday’s finals, the Warriors knew that the relays were very close to making it to state.

“We all did really well,” Stoll said. “We pulled it out.”

Edmonds-Woodway coach Matt Delaney said he was confident about the relay team’s prospects. In crunching the numbers after Thursday’s preliminaries, he noticed that the cumulative time in the 200 freestyle was only .7 seconds off the state cut.

“After they made the first relay (200 medley) their confidence was really high and it really helped the second relay,” Delaney said. “My guys stepped up when they were supposed to.”

Stoll finished fifth in the 100 backstroke, an event he said he had little gas left after swimming the 50 freestyle and the two relays.

“My 100 back didn’t go so well because I was really tired because I had done all those three things before,” Stoll said. “I did really well in my 50 today. I just want to see if I can keep that up and go even faster, a couple of tenths faster (at state). The 100 backstroke … I never had anything left. So I’m more focusing on the 50.”

Meadowdale’s David Clobes also had a decent showing, finishing fifth in the 100 butterfly and swimming a state cut of 55.39. He also placed ninth in the 50 freestyle. Clobes already had surpassed the state time standard in the 100 butterfly.

“It (100 butterfly) was a bit slower than my best,” Clobes said. “It’s where I wanted to be. Right now the main goal for me is state.”

Clobes said he wasn’t quite warmed up enough for the 50 freestyle.

“I feel pretty good. I’m a little sore today,” Clobes said. “I was having a little trouble out there in the water. Next week I should be fairly tapered.”

Meadowdale coach Kati Girard expects Clobes to be ready to go for state.

“He was a little rusty today,” Girard said. “He got back in the 55 range. He should be primed for state. We expect that he’ll do a lot better there. He had a good swim. That’s a good thing. He got back to that state mode. That’s where we want him to be.”

A pair of Meadowdale freshmen also got their first taste of district competition. Sam Atkinson finished ninth in the 100 backstroke and 11th in the 500 freestyle. Michael Keane placed ninth in the 200 individual medley and the 100 breaststroke.

“We’re a pretty young team,” Girard said. “As far getting used to the first time (at districts) they did a good job.”

Edmonds-Woodway’s Aaroe finished in a tied for eighth place in the 100 freestyle and 12th in the 50 freestyle. Teammate Maden was 11th in the 100 butterfly.

Snohomish easily won the team title, finishing with 359 points to defeat second-place Marysville-Pilchuck, which had 168. Edmonds-Woodway placed ninth (76.5) and Meadowdale was 10th (56).

The Class 4A state swimming and diving championship start with the preliminaries at 5:30 p.m. tonight (Friday, Feb. 17) at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way. Finals are set for 5:30 p.m. tomorrow (Saturday, Feb. 18).