Two Timberline relay teams and two North Thurston individuals are headed to the 3A state girls swim and dive meet after qualifying during the Class 3A District 3 Championships from Oct. 30 through Oct. 31.
Timberline’s 200-yard freestyle relay team — Layla Nau, Talia Larsen, Brenna Ganey and Kayla Lambiotte — is headed to state for the first time since 2018. The Blazers finished in fourth place in the finals at 1 minute, 51.48 seconds after taking fifth in the preliminary round at 1:51.63.
The Blazers’ 400-yard freestyle relay finals will also head to state for the second straight year thanks to a fifth-place finals swim of 4:02.16. Nau, Ganey and Lambiotte are also members of this relay, with Nevaeh Lewis as the fourth.
Nau also took eighth in the 100-yard freestyle finals at 1:00.08, and Lewis finished in 10th in the 100-yard freestyle finals at 1:00.64.
Timberline finished in seventh place out of 18 teams with 50 points.
“We had an excellent performance across the two days at districts. Despite a couple disqualifications, it did not discourage our girls from performing at their absolute best,” Timberline head coach Caleb Hegel-Linggi said. “I couldn’t be more proud of all the hard work these girls have put forth this season.”
North Thurston senior Michelle Ewig secured a state spot in the 50-yard freestyle as she qualified for the district finals and took eighth in the finals at 26.81 seconds. She swam the fifth-fastest time to punch her ticket to state. She also qualified for the finals in the 100-yard breaststroke but was scratched due to an injury suffered on the finish of her 50-yard freestyle preliminary race.
North Thurston’s Claire Emerson qualified for state in the 50-yard freestyle adaptive event and the 50-yard backstroke adaptive event, finishing first in both events at districts with personal-best times. Emerson swam the 50 free in 35.64 seconds and the 50 backstroke in 40.83 seconds.
All three of the Rams’ relay teams advanced to the district finals, led by the 200-yard medley relay team finishing in seventh at 2:16.78. Their prelim time of 2:16.73 was a personal record by 1.3 seconds. North Thurston’s 200-yard freestyle relay team placed ninth with a PR at 1:59.43, and its 400-yard freestyle relay team swam its two best times of the season at districts with a prelim time of 4:50.02 and a 12th-place finals time of 4:50.58.
North Thurston finished 13th out of 18 teams with 29 points.
“Our district meet was a great reflection of how hard this team has worked all season. Every one of our relays stepped up and swam great, and I couldn’t be prouder,” North Thurston head coach Christy Bermensolo said.
Capital’s Amanda Tang placed seventh in the 1-meter dive with a final score of 168.60, an improvement from 126.95 in prelims. The Cougars finished in 17th place with seven points.
River Ridge’s 200-yard freestyle relay team qualified for the finals and took 12th at 2:23.43. The Hawks relay swimmers recorded a time of 2:08.51 in prelims. River Ridge finished in 18th place with two points.
