Squalicum sets school records, wins 3A district title

It was a district meet- and school-record-setting day for Squalicum as the Storm took home the Class 3A Northwest District title Saturday at the Snohomish Aquatic Center.

Squalicum won the team title with 320 points, edging Shorecrest with 314. Storm coach Randy Elsner said his team was battling Shorecrest all day but finally locked up the title in the 400 freestyle relay., Squalicum’s Sydney Wong, Sophie Booth, Tiana Varang and Yanran Le set a school and district record with a time of 3 minutes, 37.98 seconds to help secure the title.

“We had a fantastic meet, better than yesterday even,” Elsner said. “We improved in both time and place.”

Squalicum had four other events in which it finished first and qualified swimmers for state. Wong won the 200-yard freestyle (1:53.09) and the 100-yard freestyle (52.41), setting school records in both. Le took first in both the 200 individual medley (2:07.52), improving on her time from Friday by three seconds and setting a school record, and the 100-yard breaststroke (1:04.99).

Also advancing to state for the Storm were Tiana Varang in the 50 freestyle (second, 24.93) and 100 backstroke (second, 1:01.24), Helene Synnott in diving (third, 367.4), the Squalicum 200 medley relay (third, 1:55.71) and the Squalicum 200 freestyle relay (fourth, 1:45.18).

Ferndale’s Ellary Boyd qualified for state with a fourth-place finish in the 50 freestyle with a time of 25.36.

Class 2A

Sehome had six relay teams or individuals qualify for state Saturday, led by a second-place finish by Grace Kim in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:10.09.

Sarah Leung took fifth in the 100 breaststroke (1:14.10) alongside Kim and placed fourth in the 500 freestyle (5:41.62). Joyce Kim rounded out the last of the individual state invitations with a sixth-place finish in the 100 backstroke (1:05.13). Sehome’s 200 medley relay (fourth, 2:01.68) and 400 freestyle relay (third, 4:01.65) locked up state berths.

“We had a great meet,” coach Don Helling said. “We’re a young team, so we’re excited to get so many people into state.”

Three Bellingham swimmers qualified for state. Leading the way was Chloe Steinkamp with a third-place finish in the 200 IM (2:24.09). Also finishing third in her event was Emma Kenoyer, who qualified in diving with a 291.85. Finally, Avey Bathum took fourth in the 100 breaststroke with a 1:13.78.

This story was originally published November 5, 2016 at 10:34 PM with the headline "Squalicum sets school records, wins 3A district title."