FEDERAL WAY - The Sehome boys' swim team doesn't own the Class 2A state title, after all.

After hoarding the 2A championship trophy the first four years it was awarded, the Mariners had to give it up to an Archbishop Murphy squad that won five of 11 swimming events and set four meet records in the process on Saturday, Feb. 16, at the King County Aquatic Center.

"It's all right," Sehome senior Curran Wilbour said. "Sure we wanted to win, but we knew it was going to be tough. Really we were right there. It's their turn. We've had it the last four years. They're good guys and they deserve it. ... Having a couple of first places the last couple of years and a second place this year isn't all that bad, you know."

The fact that Sehome finished within 30 points of the Wildcats, 267-237, was quite an accomplishment in itself.

Archbishop pushed Sehome last year, and the Mariners had several big losses from that team.

"Coming into the year, we were hoping to finish in the top four," said Sehome senior Patrick Gregory, who was part of the Mariners' two event championships as a member of the Mariners' 200 medley relay team and won the 100 breaststroke. "To finish second to a team that has that many good swimmers is pretty good."

Anacortes, which was supposed to battle Sehome and ATM for the title, finished fourth, 40 points behind the Mariners.

The day might not have ended up the way the Mariners would have preferred, but it sure got off to a good start, as Sehome won the 200 medley relay for the third straight year.

Patrick Gregory's swim in the breaststroke got the Mariners back in the race after a strong start by Steilacoom, and Isaiah Grambo gave them the lead in the butterfly, before Isaac Day held off a furious Steilacoom rally to win by 14 hundredths of a second with a time of 1 minute, 41.91 seconds.

"I think it gives everyone a big psychological boost winning that first event," Grambo said. "We wanted to come out and set the tone early in that first relay."

Curran Wilbour then picked up some points for the Mariners, moving up two places from his preliminary finish to place third in the 200 freestyle in 1:48.10. He later placed fifth in the 500 freestyle.

"That 200, I thought I was going to puke near the end of it," Wilbour said. "I gave it everything I had, and I ended up finishing about where I wanted to in third."

Joshua Larson also did a good job of picking up points in the consolation final of the 50 freestyle, moving up from his 15th-place preliminary showing to finish ninth.

"I thought everybody was a part of this one," Sehome coach Don Helling said. "Everybody swam great. Guys like Josh Larson stepping up was great to see. I'm very happy with how we swam today."

But no matter how well they swam, the Mariners couldn't make up for Archbishop Murphy having three divers place in the top nine. Though Squalicum's Rylan Korby prevented them from winning with his score of 374.65, the Wildcats still got 41 points in the event. Richard Rantz finished 10th to score six points for Sehome, but it wasn't enough to keep Archbishop from assuming the lead.

Alec Barnard gave the Wildcats a little breathing room with his record-setting win in the 100 butterfly (50.24 seconds), and Stephen Boden followed up with a record-setting win in the 500 freestyle in 4:36.26. Barnard's record was actually his second of the day, as he also won the 50 freestyle in 21.45 seconds.

Despite Gregory's nearly two-second win in the 100 breaststroke in 59.12 seconds, Archbishop Murphy held a 20-point lead heading to the final event of the day - the 400 freestyle relay.

All the Wildcats needed was to finish the championship final without being disqualified, and they would wrestle the title away from Sehome. So, all Hunter Cosgrove, Boden, and Austin and Alec Barnard did was set yet another meet record with a time of 3:14.26.

"Of course we wanted to win, but finishing second to that team is pretty good," said Gregory, who also finished fourth in the 50 freestyle. "We worked really hard to get to this point, and I think we're all pretty pleased with how we swam. We had a lot of guys step up and swim faster than they did yesterday. Not everybody did, but it was good to see so many guys swim well."

Among them was Grambo, who finished seventh in the 50 freestyle (22.64 seconds) and eighth in the 100 (51.06 seconds), while Andy Small was fourth in the 100 backstroke (56.77 seconds).

Sehome also had a number of other solid swims in the consolation finals and placed second in the 200 freestyle relay and fourth in the 400 freestyle relay.

Thanks in part to Korby's diving win, Squalicum finished 10th overall. The Storm also placed sixth in the 200 freestyle relay in 1:36.49.

The Storm also got a 14th-place finish from Hans Kogan in the 50 freestyle and 14th-place showing from Andi DeKoster in the 500 freestyle, a 12th-place finish from Nathan Kamkoff in the 100 breaststroke and finished ninth in the 400 freestyle relay.

"I thought Neall Koetje did a really good job knocking some time off for our relays today," Storm coach Randy Elsner said. "Of course Rylan was big, but the best thing is he is the only senior I lose off the guys I brought to state."

Lynden wasn't far behind Squalicum, as the Lions tied with Selah for 12th overall.

Lynden's day was highlighted by a sixth-place finish by Jan Wolfisberg in the 100 breaststroke in 1:06.58.

"I wasn't that happy with my time," Wolfisberg said. "It wasn't even as fast as I swam at district. I was really hoping to improve, but I guess I'll take it."

Robby Knapp also finished 16th in the 100 butterfly, while the 200 medley relay finished ninth and the 400 freestyle relay was 14th.

"I think both our relays swam their best times of the season, and I know the 200 medley relay moved up from where they swam yesterday," Lynden coach Steve Gibb said. "We actually had the fifth fastest medley relay time today, but we were off yesterday. It's hard to keep a taper as long as we did, and we just came out a little flat yesterday, but I thought they really stepped it up today."

Bellingham coach Jeff Anderson also was pleased by what he saw out of the Red Raiders, who finished 25th.

Freshman Martin Sloley was 10th in the 200 freestyle and the 11th in the 500 freestyle - both improvements over his swims in the preliminaries.

"He works so hard and has so much enthusiasm," Anderson said. "I think that's why you saw him swim well today, and we're excited about his future."

Gabe Travers also moved up to finish 14th in the 100 breaststroke for Bellingham.

Reach David Rasbach at david.rasbach@bellinghamherald.com or 360-715-2286.

CLASS 2A STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

At King County Aquatic Center, Federal Way

Team points: 1. Archbishop Murphy 267, 2. Sehome 237, 3. Anacortes 197, 4. Steilacoom 179, 5. Hockinson 156, 6. Aberdeen 127, 7. Lake Washington 114, 8. Pullman 106, 9. Spokane West Valley 101, 10. Squalicum 79, 12. (tie) Lynden 66, 25. Bellingham 16.

200 medley relay: Sehome (Andy Small, Patrick Gregory, Isaiah Grambo, Isaac Day) 1:41.91. 200 feestyle: Ian Schleh (Anacortes) 1:51.43. 200 individual medley: Stephen Boden (Archbishop Murphy) 1:56.38. 50 freestyle: Alec Barnard (Archbishop Murphy) 21.45. Diving: Rylan Korby (Squalicum) 374.65. 100 butterfly: Alec Barnard (Archbishop Murphy) 50.24. 100 freestyle: Benjamin Scott (Steilacoom) 48.25. 500 freestyle: Stephen Boden (Archbishop Murphy) 4:36.26. 200 freestyle relay: Stephen Boden (Archbishop Murphy) 4:36.26. 100 backstroke: Bejnamin Scott (Steilacoom) 51.46. 100 breaststroke: Patrick Gregory (Sehome) 59.12. 400 freestyle relay: Archbishop Murphy (Hunter Cosgrove, Stephen Boden, Austin Barnard, Alec Barnard) 3:14.26.

WHATCOM COUNTY STATE 2A STATE FINAL RESULTS

Results from the finals and consolation finals on Saturday, Feb, 16

200 MEDLEY RELAY

Pl. School Swimmers Time

1. Sehome Andy Small 1:41.91

Patrick Gregory

Isaiah Grambo

Isaac Day

9. Lynden Jeffrey Propersi 1:49.30

Jan Wolfisberg

Lorenzo Perez

Robby Knapp

15. Squalicum Ryan Harris 1:56.99

Jonathan Hegeberg

Bobby Iverson

Bobby Bruce

200 FREESTYLE

Pl. Swimmer School Time

3. Curran Wilbour Sehome 1:48.10

10. Martin Sloley Bellingham 1:57.21

14. William Hutchinson Sehome 1:58.78

16. Colin Hakeman Sehome 1:59.82

50 FREESTYLE

Pl. Swimmer School Time

4. Patrick Gregory Sehome 22.42

7. Isaiah Grambo Sehome 22.64

9. Joshua Larson Sehome 23.24

14. Hans Kogan Squalicum 23.70

DIVING

Pl. Swimmer School Score

1. Rylan Korby Squalicum 374.65

10. Richard Rantz Sehome 258.75

100 BUTTERFLY

Pl. Swimmer School Time

16. Robby Knapp Lynden 102.66

100 FREESTYLE

Pl. Swimmer School Time

8. Isaiah Grambo Sehome 50.51

14. Joshua Larson Sehome 52.36

500 FREESTYLE

Pl. Swimmer School Time

5. Curran Wilbour Sehome 5:00.45

11. Martin Sloley Bellingham 5:20.44

12. Colin Hakeman Sehome 5:22.52

14. Andi DeKoster Squalicum 5:25.27

200 FREESTYLE RELAY

Pl. School Swimmers Time

2. Sehome Patrick Gregory 1:31.73

Isaac Day

Joshua Larson

Curran Wilbour

5. Lynden Robby Knapp 1:36.43

Jan Wolfisberg

Lorenzo Perez

Jeffrey Propersi

6. Squalicum Hans Kogan 1:36.49

Bobby Bruce

Lucas Roberts

Neall Koetje

100 BACKSTROKE

Pl. Swimmer School Time

4. Andy Small Sehome 56.77

14. William Hutchinson Sehome 1:01.21

100 BREASTSTROKE

Pl. Swimmer School Time

1. Patrick Gregory Sehome 59.12

6. Jan Wolfisberg Lynden 1:06.58

12. Nathan Kamkoff Squalicum 1:08.44

14. Gabe Travers Bellingham 1:10.04

400 FREESTYLE RELAY

Pl. School Swimmers Time

4. Sehome Isaiah Grambo 3:22.74

Joshua Larson

Curran Wilbour

Andy Small

9. Squalicum Neall Koetje 3:35.11

Hans Kogan

Lucas Roberts

Andi DeKoster

14. Lynden Jonathan VanWindgerden 3:42.64

Giovanni Galarza

Brian Anker

Jeffrey Propersi

SOURCE: WIAA.COM

Reach DAVID RASBACH at david.rasbach@bellinghamherald.com or call 715-2271.