FEDERAL WAY — The Port Angeles girls swim team left the best for last, getting its top finish of the weekend at the state 2A swim meet in the final event of the championships, to leapfrog four other teams into the top 10 in the state.
The Roughriders finished fifth in the 4×400 team relay to jump from 12th in the state up to eighth to give the Riders yet another top 10 finish.
The team of Lynzee Reid, Amayah Nelson, Brooke St. Luise and Danika Asgeirsson finished in a time of 4 minutes, 2.72 second, missing out on a top-3 finish by just 1.5 seconds. It was the Riders’ top finish of the meet, though they had several placements in individual and relay races.
Going in to that race, the Riders were sitting in 12th with 58 points. That finish netted them 28 points to jump them to 86 past three other teams.
The Olympic League dominated the state 1A/2A meet with Bainbridge winning the state championship with 316 points and North Kitsap a solid second at an even 200 points. Port Angeles was eighth, Bremerton 16th, Sequim 21st (26 points) and Olympic 23rd. East Jefferson, going up against mostly 2A schools, finished 31st out of 40 schools with 14 points.
Reid got the Riders off to a good start with a top-10 finish in the diving Thursday, coming in 10th with 194.4 points.
On Saturday, Nelson started off hot for the Riders, picking up an individual seventh in the 200 freestyle, finishing in 2:08.85. She collected points again in the 500 freestyle, coming in eighth in a time of 5:53.84. Individually, she earned 23 points for the Riders.
The Riders’ 200 freestyle relay team of Lizzy Shaw, Asgeirsson, St. Luise and Reid came in seventh with a time of 1:51.44.
St. Luise and Asgeirsson picked up a few points in the 100 backstroke by finishing 14th (1:06.78) and 16th (1:08.87), respectively.
Shaw was 21st in the in the 50 freestyle in 27.88.
Port Angeles has an impressive streak of 12 straight years finishing in the top 10 at state. The Riders have finished second (2016), third (2017), fourth (2023), fifth (2022), sixth three times (2019, 2015 and 2013), eighth four times (2024, 2018, 2014 and 2012) and ninth (2021).
Sequim, East Jefferson
Both teams from Sequim and East Jefferson had swimmers and relay teams that placed.
The Wolves’ Ava Shinkle had an outstanding meet, coming in seventh in the 200 individual medley in a time of 2:21.69, shaving an impressive 1.3 seconds off her preliminary time.
Shinkle followed with an 11th-place finish in the 100 butterfly in a time of 1:05.25. Individually, she collected 18 points for Sequim.
Annie Ellefson was 15th in the 100 breaststroke in a time of 1:18.51 gaining points for the Wolves.
The Wolves’ 400 freestyle relay team of Shinkle, Keira Morey, Melia Nelson and Ellefson) finished in the points with a 14th-place finish in 4:17.91. The Sequim 200 individual medley team (Melia Nelson, Ellefson, Shinkle and Morey) finished just out of the finals, coming in 17th in a time of 2:10.06.
East Jefferson’s Akeyla Behrenfeld had a solid meet, too, coming in 13th in the 100 freestyle in a time of 1:00.05.
The East Jefferson 200 freestyle relay team (Serena Hanby-Perless, Ursla Schmidt, Bella Ferland, Behrenfeld) picked up points with a 14th-place finish in a time of 1:54.8 and the Rivals’ 400 freestyle relay team with Hanby-Perless, Schmidt, Stella Bosley and Behrenfeld) was 15th in a time of 4:22.89.
The Sequim girls swim team placed 21st at the state 1A/2A championship. From left, are head coach Sarah Thorson, Ava Shinkle, Melia Nelson, Annie Ellefson, Keira Morey and coach Cherise Feser. (Sequim swimming)
Sequim swimming The Sequim girls swim team placed 21st at the state 1A/2A championship. From left, are head coach Sarah Thorson, Ava Shinkle, Melia Nelson, Annie Ellefson, Keira Morey and coach Cherise Feser.
