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Plateau swimmers clean up

November 17, 2009

By Christopher Huber

Skyline girls take state title

By Christopher Huber
First-year girls swim and dive head coach Susan Simpkins said she was still smiling more than a day later as she talked about her team’s remarkable performance at the state 4A meet Nov. 14.
Skyline won its first ever state swim and dive team championship after beating Garfield 234-176 at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.
“Everybody, they were just so excited,” Simpkins said in a phone interview Nov. 15. “It was just the perfect ending to a fabulous season.”
The win came thanks to record-breaking swims from senior Andie Taylor in the 200- and 500-yard freestyle events, Skyline’s winning times in the 200- and 400-yard relays and freshman Maria Volodkevich’s 100-yard breaststroke win.
Taylor is state champ in the 200-yard freestyle after breaking her own state record with a time of 1 minute, 46.55 seconds.
“I had done an OK time at districts, but thought I could go a little bit faster,” she said about preparing for the race. “I thought it was a good race. I needed to get out fast and got out faster than I’m used to.”
She also won the 500 freestyle in 4:45.47, automatically earning All-American status in the event.
Taylor set another record. For the third time in four years, she earned “Swimmer of the Meet” from the Washington Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association.
“It’s definitely quite an honor and something I’ll definitely remember,” Taylor said over the phone after the meet.
Volodkevich is state champion in the 100-yard breaststroke after beating Redmond’s Heather Harper by .02 seconds in 1:04.25, an All-American time.
“Everybody was just fast,” Simpkins said. “They keep getting faster.”
Simpkins said she was simply amazed with the girls’ focus and determination at state. The Lady Spartans had never won a relay at state, but managed to win the 200 freestyle relay (Nina Zook, Meghan O’Keefe, Volodkevich and Taylor) in 1:38.71 and the 400 freestyle relay (Zook, O’Keefe, Volodkevich and Taylor) in 3:33.85.
The key was “the depth. We had somebody in all the team events,” Simpkins said. “Everybody just stepped up and just swam really, really well.”
Diver Kelsey Kosenkranius placed 12th with 309.5 points. Volodkevich also took fifth (2:07.76) and Nina Zook took eighth (2:11.50) in the 200-yard individual medley. O’Keefe finished fourth in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 57.95 seconds.
Skyline went 8-0 in the regular season and won the Sea-King District 2 title.
Kinnear an All-American
Eastlake’s Katie Kinnear also came out victorious at the state meet. The standout sophomore is state champ in the 100-yard butterfly after swimming in state-record time — 53.10 seconds. That’s a whopping two seconds faster than her preliminary time and good enough for an All-American time.
“I wasn’t really going for it in the first place. I was just going for a best time,” Kinnear said over the phone Nov. 15.
In addition, Kinnear won the 200 individual medley in 2:02.53, good enough for All-American status.
“She is the rarest of all talents,” said head coach Andy Hay. “Our team’s blessed to have her.”
Hay said Kinnear’s key to winning the individual medley and butterfly has been a quick start and getting ahead in the first 25 yards.
“She kills people in that first 25 (yards). She takes it to another level,” Hay said. “If she’s ahead of you, she’s gonna stay ahead of you.”
Eastlake, as a team, tied with Ballard for 11th with 90 points. Despite being disqualified and losing an opportunity for points in the 200-yard medley relay, Hay was thrilled with his team’s performance, as well as the outlook for next season.
“I’m a happy, happy guy,” Hay said after the meet. “I couldn’t be more proud the way we swam at this meet.”
The Lady Wolves (Kinnear, Laurel Schy, Becca Fabian and Kara Beauchamp) took second place to Skyline in the 200 freestyle relay, finishing just over a second behind in 1:39.98.
The time was a nearly two-second drop from its preliminary time.
“They all stepped up and swam ridiculous splits,” Hay said. “We gave (Skyline) a good race.”
Beauchamp helped Eastlake’s cause with an 11th place finish in the 500-yard freestyle in 5:08.89.
Mackenzie Rands placed 14th in the diving competition with a score of 278.2.
“The new talent that stepped up this year made all the difference,” Hay said. “We’re going to be top five next year and top three the next year.”
Reporter Christopher Huber can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com. Comment on this story at www.sammamishreview.com.

First-year girls swim and dive head coach Susan Simpkins said she was still smiling more than a day later as she talked about her team’s remarkable performance at the state 4A meet Nov. 14.

Skyline won its first ever state swim and dive team championship after beating Garfield 234-176 at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.

Eastlake’s Katie Kinnear won a state title in the 100-yard butterfly and set a state record in the process. Photo by Greg Farrar

Eastlake’s Katie Kinnear won a state title in the 100-yard butterfly and set a state record in the process. Photo by Greg Farrar

“Everybody, they were just so excited,” Simpkins said in a phone interview Nov. 15. “It was just the perfect ending to a fabulous season.”

The win came thanks to record-breaking swims from senior Andie Taylor in the 200- and 500-yard freestyle events, Skyline’s winning times in the 200- and 400-yard relays and freshman Maria Volodkevich’s 100-yard breaststroke win.

Taylor is state champ in the 200-yard freestyle after breaking her own state record with a time of 1 minute, 46.55 seconds.

“I had done an OK time at districts, but thought I could go a little bit faster,” she said about preparing for the race. “I thought it was a good race. I needed to get out fast and got out faster than I’m used to.”

She also won the 500 freestyle in 4:45.47, automatically earning All-American status in the event.

Taylor set another record. For the third time in four years, she earned “Swimmer of the Meet” from the Washington Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association.

“It’s definitely quite an honor and something I’ll definitely remember,” Taylor said over the phone after the meet.

Volodkevich is state champion in the 100-yard breaststroke after beating Redmond’s Heather Harper by .02 seconds in 1:04.25, an All-American time.

“Everybody was just fast,” Simpkins said. “They keep getting faster.”

Simpkins said she was simply amazed with the girls’ focus and determination at state. The Lady Spartans had never won a relay at state, but managed to win the 200 freestyle relay (Nina Zook, Meghan O’Keefe, Volodkevich and Taylor) in 1:38.71 and the 400 freestyle relay (Zook, O’Keefe, Volodkevich and Taylor) in 3:33.85.

The key was “the depth. We had somebody in all the team events,” Simpkins said. “Everybody just stepped up and just swam really, really well.”

Diver Kelsey Kosenkranius placed 12th with 309.5 points. Volodkevich also took fifth (2:07.76) and Nina Zook took eighth (2:11.50) in the 200-yard individual medley. O’Keefe finished fourth in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 57.95 seconds.

Skyline went 8-0 in the regular season and won the Sea-King District 2 title.

Kinnear an All-American

Eastlake’s Katie Kinnear also came out victorious at the state meet. The standout sophomore is state champ in the 100-yard butterfly after swimming in state-record time — 53.10 seconds. That’s a whopping two seconds faster than her preliminary time and good enough for an All-American time.

“I wasn’t really going for it in the first place. I was just going for a best time,” Kinnear said over the phone Nov. 15.

In addition, Kinnear won the 200 individual medley in 2:02.53, good enough for All-American status.

“She is the rarest of all talents,” said head coach Andy Hay. “Our team’s blessed to have her.”

Hay said Kinnear’s key to winning the individual medley and butterfly has been a quick start and getting ahead in the first 25 yards.

“She kills people in that first 25 (yards). She takes it to another level,” Hay said. “If she’s ahead of you, she’s gonna stay ahead of you.”

Eastlake, as a team, tied with Ballard for 11th with 90 points. Despite being disqualified and losing an opportunity for points in the 200-yard medley relay, Hay was thrilled with his team’s performance, as well as the outlook for next season.

“I’m a happy, happy guy,” Hay said after the meet. “I couldn’t be more proud the way we swam at this meet.”

The Lady Wolves (Kinnear, Laurel Schy, Becca Fabian and Kara Beauchamp) took second place to Skyline in the 200 freestyle relay, finishing just over a second behind in 1:39.98.

The time was a nearly two-second drop from its preliminary time.

“They all stepped up and swam ridiculous splits,” Hay said. “We gave (Skyline) a good race.”

Beauchamp helped Eastlake’s cause with an 11th place finish in the 500-yard freestyle in 5:08.89.

Mackenzie Rands placed 14th in the diving competition with a score of 278.2.

“The new talent that stepped up this year made all the difference,” Hay said. “We’re going to be top five next year and top three the next year.”

Reporter Christopher Huber can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com.

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Written by Christopher Huber · Filed Under Sports 

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