Swimmer of the Year

COLIN FLYNN

School: Sehome

Events: 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle

Year: Senior

What he did: Back-to-back medalist in the 50 and 100 yard freestyles at the Class 3A/2A State Meet ... Finished fourth in the 50 in 21.90 seconds and sixth in the 100 in 48.14 seconds as a senior ... Won both events at Northwest District meet ... Team captain ... Four year letterman and unbeaten all four years in all but state meet ... Had top time in the county in the 50 and 100 ... Swam on the Mariners’ 200 freestyle relay that finished fourth at state and the 400 freestyle relay that finished seventh — both teams were district champions.

Coach’s quote: “It’s just been a tremendous four years. Colin is a smart team-oriented swimmer. If the conversation ever came around to him, he was the first to want to talk about the team. He was a great kid to have as role model for younger kids. He was very smart when it came to competition. He was a very thoughtful competitor and just a great kid to coach.” — Sehome coach Don Helling

Coach of the Year

STEVE GIBB

School: Lynden

What he did: Qualified 15 of the team’s 16 swimmers to the Class 3A/2A Northwest District Meet ... Lions qualified two swimmers to the finals and scored 82.5 points to finish seventh as a team, which was Lynden’s best showing at the district meet ... Was selected coach of the year at the district meet, an award selected by the coaches ... Turned a inexperienced squad that hasn’t had much success in recent memory into a promising team with a bright future.

Coach’s quote: “He did an amazing job with the Lynden group this year. He took them from basically last place last year and moved them up quite a bit in the standings and made them a competitive group.” — Bellingham coach Todd Edison

EDDIE MYERS

School: Squalicum

Event: 200 freestyle

Year: Senior

What he did: Team captain ... Swam personal bests at the Class 3A/2A State Meet in the 200 and 500 freestyles, setting school records in the process ... He placed eighth in each event, swimming the 200 in 1:46.69 and the 500 in 4:54.40 in the finals ... Swam breaststroke on the Storm’s medley relay, which placed eighth at state and was on the 11th-place 200 freestyle relay team ... Northwest Conference champion in the 200 and 500 free.

Coach’s quote: “Eddie is a coach’s dream. He made a goal to be a champion as a freshmen, and over the course of his high school career through his dedication his dream was achieved.” — Squalicum coach Paul Hanson

AUSTIN FISH

School: Sehome

Event: 200 individual medley

Year: Freshman

What he did: Finished ninth in the 200 IM at the Class 3A/2A State Meet with a time of 2:02.47 ... Was second at the Northwest District Meet in the event and owns the seventh—fastest time in Sehome history ... Was also third at the district meet in the 100 butterfly and 20th at state (56.38 seconds) and is 10th all—time in the school rankings ... Posted a time of 1:05.03 in the breaststroke during a dual meet in the regular season that wound up as the top time in the county ... Swam on the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays that won state medals.

Coach’s quote: “Just a swimmer who has a great work ethic. When he trains he always trains hard. He’s very competitive and has tons of potential for the future.” — Sehome coach Don Helling

KYLE KELLER

School: Squalicum

Event: 50 freestyle

Year: Senior

What he did: Took second place at the Northwest District Meet and finished 12th at the Class 3A/2A State Meet in the 50 freestyle with a time of 22.80 seconds ... Swam the butterfly leg as a member of 200 medley relay team that placed eighth at state and also finished as Northwest District champs ... Swam on the 200 freestyle relay team that placed 11th at state ... Helped Squalicum to a 13th place finish at the state meet.

Coach’s quote: “Kyle will be missed. He has been an exceptional swimmer each year at Squalicum High School.” – Squalicum coach Paul Hanson

NICK HUTCHINSON

School: Sehome

Event: Diving

Year: Freshman

What he did: Placed third at the Class 3A/2A Northwest District Meet with a score of 258.85 and was the top local finisher by more than 30 points ... A first-year diver who came in with a background in gymnastics and turned into the county’s top participant in the event.

Coach’s quote: “He is a quick study and rapidly moved from a beginning competitive diver to an athlete with state-qualifying potential. Nick is committed to diving in the off season, has tremendous natural athletic ability and is in a great position to follow in the footsteps of 2006 grad Cameron Berg to a top state finals diving performance.” — Sehome coach Don Helling

BRIAN PARINE

School: Sehome

Event: 100 freestyle

Year: Senior

What he did: Team captain and four-year letterman ... Qualified for state in the 100 freestyle and 200 individual medley ... Was fifth at district in the 100 freestyle and 24th at the Class 3A/2A State Meet with a time of 51.23 seconds and finished fourth at district in the 200 IM and 20th at state with a time of 2:07.36 ... Posted the county’s second fastest 100 freestyle time this season ... Also swam on the 200 and 400 freestyle relay teams that finished fourth and seventh at state.

Coach’s quote: “Coaching him for four years, he was just a versatile strong swimmer who got better every season and finished up just as a solid team competitor.” — Sehome coach Don Helling

DONOVAN BROGAN

School: Bellingham

Event: 100 butterfly

Year: Sophomore

What he did: Was the only swimmer from Bellingham to qualify for the Class 3A/2A State Meet ... Swam a season-best time of 56.19 seconds in the 100 butterfly at state ... Placed fourth in the butterfly at the Northwest District meet and also finished fifth in the 200 individual medley ... A solid all-around swimmer who competed in every event for the Mariners during the regular season.

Coach’s quote: “I really enjoyed working with Donovan, because he was excited about facing challenges and working really hard. As a coach it was fun for me to come up with some real challenging sets, and he was ready and willing to face all of them.” — Bellingham coach Todd Edison

JORDAN FISH

School: Sehome

Event: 500 freestyle

Year: Sophomore

What he did: Qualified for the Class 3A/2A State Meet in the 500 freestyle and 100 backstroke ... Placed 16th at state in the 500 with a time of 5:13.61 after taking third at the Northwest District Meet and was seventh at state in the backstroke with a time of 56.87 after a second-place performance at the district meet ... He is currently owns the fifth-fastest time in the backstroke in Sehome history.

Coach’s quote: “Jordan just made a huge step up this year in his maturity as an athlete, and you never you know from year to year how kids are going to change and improve and mature, and this was a very pleasant surprise to see him come out and perform how he did.” — Sehome coach Don Helling

EVAN SCHMIDT

School: Sehome

Event: 100 backstroke

Year: Junior

What he did: Two-year state qualifier ... Went to the Class 3A/2A State Meet in the 100 backstroke ... Placed 12th in the backstroke at state with a time of 57.10 seconds after finishing fifth at the Northwest District Meet and currently owns the sixth-fastest time in the event in Sehome history ... Also one of the team’s top breastrokers and freestylers ... Was a member of the 200 medley relay team and the 400 freestyle relay team that finished 11th and seventh at state ... Voted as a team captain for next year’s squad.

Coach’s quote: “A smart swimmer who is very thoughtful about how he approaches training and his races and I always like to coach smart kids and I was fortunate to be able to coach a lot of them this year and Evan was definitely one.” — Sehome coach Don Helling

SKY BAX

School: Sehome

Event: 100 breaststroke

Year: Senior

What he did: Qualified for the Class 3A/2A State Meet in the 100 breaststroke for the second consecutive year ... Finished second at the Northwest District Meet and 22nd at state with a time of 1:06.99 ... Also a strong freestyle sprinter and placed seventh in the 100 at the district meet ... A member of the 200 freestyle relay that finished fourth at state and swam on the 200 medley relay that finished 11th ... His breaststroke time of 1:05.89 in the district finals was the second-best time of season among county swimmers.

Coach’s quote: “He was someone I could always count on for fast swims in the relays and as an individual, and he was a very hard worker.” — Sehome coach Don Helling

TYLER VANDOOREN

School: Sehome

Event: Relays

Year: Junior

What he did: Anchored the 200 freestyle relay team that finished fourth at the Class 3A/2A State Meet and swam on the 200 medley relay team that finished 11th ... Qualified for state in the 50 freestyle and finished 18th with a time of 23.21 after a third-place finish at the Northwest District Meet ... Was sixth in the 100 freestyle at the district meet ... Also one of the team’s top breaststrokers.

Coach’s quote: “Tyler has a positive attitude and also a great work ethic, and he was voted in as a team captain for next year, and I expect that he will carry on the tradition of great team captains.” — Sehome coach Don Helling

THOMAS ABBOTT

School: Squalicum

Event: Relays

Year: Junior

What he did: Placed third at Northwest District Meet in the 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke ... Qualified for state in both of the events, finishing 21st in the freestyle with a time of 50.95 and 19th in the backstroke in 58.84 ... A member of two relays that set school records ... He swam the backstroke in the 200 medley relay that finished eighth at the Class 3A/2A state meet and swam on the 200 freestyle relay that placed 11th.

Coach’s quote: “This year Thomas grew from a solid swimmer to a top-level, state-level swimmer. He is a natural leader with a great work ethic and attitude.” — Squalicum coach Paul Hanson