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closeGH locks in two relays, finishes 10th
Marques Hunter
of the Gateway
FEDERAL WAY The Gig Harbor Tides girls swimming and diving team set expectations to win the Narrows League and West Central District championships and place in the top 10 at the Class 4A state meet at the King County Aquatic Center.
The first two already had been accomplished. But with a disqualification in the 200-yard medley relay at the district meet this year, claiming a top 10 status for the fourth straight year was going to be a challenge.
Consider it accomplished.
Nearly every Tides swimmer landed a personal-best time last Friday and Saturday, vaulting Gig Harbor to 10th with 91 points.
Skyline of Issaquah won the state meet in dominating fashion, capturing two of the three relay events and winning two individual races to tally 234 points. Jefferson was the runner up with 140.
For Gig Harbor, it came down to the final race. The Tides’ 400-yard relay team needed a seventh-place finish to bump into the top 10.
Junior Yasi Fardi, senior Danielle Ellis, senior Taylor Indahl and sophomore Colleen Sullivan shaved 0.79 seconds to hurdle Ballard and Eastlake, who tied for 11th with 90 points.
The Tides earned two more points by finishing one place higher than their qualifying time during prelims in 3:42.63.
It made all the difference.
“Without a doubt, not having a third relay presented a huge challenge of being in the top 10,” Gig Harbor coach Mike Kelly said. “They all really just tapped into their potential. I don’t know if you could’ve gotten better swims out of them.”
Nearly all of the Tides earned personal bests during the two-day event. Sullivan set the tempo in the 200 free on Friday by shaving more than 2 1/2 seconds. She qualified for Saturday’s finals with a lifetime-best 1:54.73.
Sullivan was the first to take the podium on Saturday with a sixth-place medal in 1:55.21.
“I dropped a lot of time in prelims, and it felt really good,” said Sullivan, who added that experiencing the state meet for the second consecutive year helped to mentally prepare her.
“I just think my attitude was better,” she said. “I knew what I was getting into. Last year, it was a little scary to me; a freshman with all these swimmers.”
In the 500 free consolation finals, Sullivan dropped nearly four seconds off her preliminary time and finished 10th with a lifetime-best 5:08.70. She out-touched Eastlake’s Kara Beauchamp by 0.19 seconds.
Sullivan provided a spark for senior teammate Taylor Indahl, who gave a peak performance in the 200 individual medley preliminary race.
Indahl broke the school record with an All-America consideration time of 2:07.43. Krissy Forelli set the previous mark in 2004.
Indahl took a small dip in the finals with a seventh-place finish (2:09.05), but she placed sixth in the 100 breast after she broke her own school record with another All-America consideration time (1:05.65) during preliminary action.
“It’s not exactly what I wanted, but it was OK,” Indahl said about her 200 IM performance. “My prelim time was much better.”
The biggest improvement, though, may have been the Tides’ performance in the 200 free relay. Gig Harbor was seeded 16th and had the seventh-fastest preliminary time, qualifying for the championship race.
The Tides held par in the 200 free relay in 1:42.39 to earn 22 points for an eighth-place finish.
Gig Harbor junior Brianne Lind, who competed at state for the first time, said the experience was a lot of fun.
“We all did well, so it was a good experience,” Lind said.
Gig Harbor results
Senior Taylor Indahl: Sixth in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1 minute, 6.54 seconds; seventh in the 200 individual medley (2:09.05).
Sophomore Colleen Sullivan: Sixth in the 200-yard freestyle (1:55.21); 10th in the 500 free (5:08.70).
200 free relay: Junior Yasi Fardi, junior Brianne Lind, senior Danielle Ellis and senior Ashley Streich, eighth (1:42.39).
400 free relay: Fardi Ellis, Indahl and Sullivan, seventh (3:42.63).