Competing at the King County Aquatic Center was a thrill the Shorecrest girls swim team won’t soon forget and would like to repeat a month from now.
As soon as they arrived at the Federal Way facility for last weekend’s Mukilteo Invitational, the Scots headed straight to the massive window overlooking the shimmering pool that hosts the high school state championships.
Then came the gasps.
“When people walked in they were like, ‘Oh my gosh. What kind of place is this?’” freshman Aydan Sarikaya said.
In a field of 24 teams from across the state the Scots finished 12th and more importantly got a taste of the type of top-notch competition they’ll be up against during the postseason.
“The whole point was to give them an opportunity to swim in a first-class facility and get the experience of swimming in that type of atmosphere,” Shorecrest coach Bill Murray said. “Every time I bring a team down there, the kids just swim really well.”
The Scots registered numerous personal-best times at the invitational and Sarikaya clocked the team’s first state-qualifying mark of the season.
After coming up a half-second shy of the 3A/2A standard with a time of 2:03.51 in the 200-yard freestyle, Sarikaya swam a qualifying time of 5:27.74 in the 500 freestyle. She placed fourth in both races.
“I was ready,” Sarikaya said. “I love that pool so much. Just being there makes me faster.”
Sarikaya has posted faster times in both freestyle events for her year-round club team.
“I keep on dropping (time) each meet, so it’s all right,” she said. “My 500 is still 10 seconds off my best and my 200 is like five seconds off.”
Wins by Sarikaya in those same two races helped Shorecrest squeak by Edmonds-Woodway 91-83 in a Western Conference South Division dual meet Tuesday at Lynnwood Pool.
E-W clung to a six-point edge through four events before the Scots charged ahead for good when Lisa Magnusson, Clem Chalal and Whitney Seferos finished 1-2-3 in the 100 freestyle.
“This was the first meet on the schedule where we knew is was going to be a good matchup all the way through,” Murray said. “I wish we could swim these guys more often.”
Shorecrest (2-2 league, 2-3 overall) took its largest lead at 62-48 after Sarikaya edged E-W senior Mary Beth Spillman in the 500 freestyle by less than a second in the closest race of the meet.
“Usually you pull away at the 200 point in the 500 free,” Sarikaya said. “I was hoping she wouldn’t start pulling away and when she didn’t I knew I had it.”
The Warriors (1-3, 3-3) swept the top three places in the 100 backstroke to close the gap to four points with two events remaining. But Jessica Hale won the 100 breaststroke for Shorecrest to all but seal the win.
Also for the Scots, Shannon Goss took first in the 100 butterfly and Magnusson, Hale, Angie Miller and Sarikaya won the 200 freestyle relay.
Halfway through the regular season, Murray is adjusting Shorecrest’s training regimen. Sprinting is now more of a priority at practice.
“I’m starting to see the transition in their times,” he said. “They’re looking like they’ve got a little more power in their strokes and they’re looking stronger in their swims. Hopefully that will continue.”
With the emergence of a talented freshman class it remains unclear who will receive the team’s limited postseason spots.
“Our district lineup is up for grabs,” Murray said. “It’s really going to be the kids who take it serious and train for it and swim hard.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
