The North Thurston girls swimming team capped off a 6-4 regular season with a 101-63 victory at home against Capital on Monday, Oct. 19.
All four of the Rams’ competitors in the 200-yard individual medley scored personal records, led by junior Luna Kresha’s first-place swim of 3:02.54. Interrupting the Rams’ PRs in second place was Capital’s Masha Olson, who came in second at 3:06.16. North Thurston sophomore Ruth Cheney (third at 3:21.82), junior Lilli Brandes (fourth at 3:29.98) and junior Halana Tanabe (exhibition at 3:31.37) also secured PRs.
North Thurston senior Michelle Ewig put forth another PR in the 100-yard freestyle at 1:01.01 to win the event, and junior Chelsea Watson’s PR of 1:08.58 was good enough for second place. Ewig also triumphed in the 100-yard breaststroke by over 12 seconds, recording a time of 1:24.28.
Watson clinched a first-place finish in a close 200-yard freestyle, swimming a time of 2:39.71 while Capital freshman Julia Oestreich set a personal record of 2:41.14 in second place.
Both North Thurston and Capital improved on their 200-yard medley relay times, with the Rams winning at 2:21.07 and the Cougars taking second at 2:37.21. North Thurston also won the 200-yard freestyle relay at 2:02.93 and the 400-yard freestyle relay at 5:07.68.
Oestreich took first in the 500-yard freestyle with a new PR of 7:13.05. Rams senior Kamarah Thayer slashed her time down by over 20 seconds in the event to finish in third at 8:39.52.
Capital junior Tessa Nielsen sailed to a 50-yard freestyle victory at 30.11 seconds, and she claimed the top spot in the 100-yard butterfly at 1:19.06. Capital senior Amanda Tang, the lone competitor in the 1-meter dive, recorded a final score of 100.05 to give her team six points.
Olson earned a 100-yard backstroke win at 1:28.98.
“This win was a great way to close out our dual meet season. Our strong depth helped us prevail, even though we didn’t see as many PRs tonight as in previous meets,” North Thurston head coach Christy Bermensolo said. “I’m excited to see what we can do after our taper for the league championships on Saturday.”
The Puget Sound League championship meet will be held on Saturday, Oct. 24 at Mount Tahoma High School.
