Newport won the 4A state swim and dive championship last season and will take a deep and talented field back to Federal Way Friday and Saturday with the hope of going back-to-back in the pool and capturing some individual accolades in the process.
The Knights are the top-seeded team in the 200 yard medley relay headed to state, just in front of second seed Gig Harbor.
Senior Maggie Pana and junior Kiera Watson are set to swim the 200 free, with Pana seeded seventh with a time of one minute, 57.49 seconds.
Sophomores Jenny Huo and Katie Groesbeck will swim the 200 IM and Huo looks like a contender to get on the podium and score valuable points for her team as the seventh seed in the event in 2:11.86. She is also seeded 11th in the 100 breaststroke.
Sophomore Elisa Fang will in the sprint 50 free for coach Eric Bartleson and owns the third fastest time in the field. She will be joined by seniors Lorea Gwo and Emily Waddell, with Gwo eighth and also after a spot in Saturday’s A final in the event.
Fang is seeded third in the 100 backstroke, with Maddie Rainey ninth and Kennedy Elhajj also in the field.
Gwo is the fifth seed in the 100 fly in 58.02 and will compete with a pair of familiar faces from Skyline in the event in Kathy Lin and Stephanie Munoz.
Rainey and Waddell are in the 100 free and Pana and Watson will swim the 500 free for the Knights, with Pana owning a top-10 time in that event.
Newport’s 200 free relay team posted a best time just more than a second off the state’s best thus far and sits fourth headed into Friday’s prelims. The 400 free relay team is seeded second, just fractions of a second behind Richland.
Bellevue’s Williams looking to add to three individual titles
Bellevue junior Kim Williams will try to add to her three individual state championships this weekend at King County Aquatic Center after taking a pair of Sea-King titles at least weekend’s district meet.
Williams owns the top seed in the 200 yard individual medley in an Automatic All-American time of 2:02.9, nearly four full seconds ahead of her closest competitor at state.
She will also be in the pool and the top seed for the 100 breaststroke, owning an All-American consideration time of 1:04.40 on the year.
Bellevue is seeded fifth in the 200 medley relay, with four Sea-King District competitors in front of them in Bainbridge, Mercer Island, Lakeside and Holy Names.
Interlake owns the 11th seed in the event and also has senior Brigid Mackey in the top-15 for the 200 free.
Junior Naomi Ngo and sophomore Linnea Uyeno will join Williams in the 200 IM and Ngo owns the fourth seed in the 100 fly. Uyeno will try to make the A final in the 500 free, where she is the 17th seed.
Hannah Walsh is the fifth seed in the diving competiton, with senior Ayane Roassano also in the field.
Bellevue will have a chance to get on the podium in the 200 free relay as well, where it owns the 10th seed time heading to state. Interlake is 16th in the event. The 400 free relay team is seeded fifth for the Wolverines, with Interlake also in the field.
Junior Christina McDermott will join Williams in the 100 breaststroke as the sixth seed and Interlake senior Anna Kimura will compete for the Saints in the vent as well, along with freshman Shannon Cassidy.
Williams took the 200 IM title last year at the 3A state meet in an automatic All-American time and meet record 2:01.20, and is the two-time defending state champion in the 100 breaststroke, winning an AAA time of 1:03.49 last year after capturing the title in 1:03.97 her freshman year.
The 3A state swim and dive meet preliminaries are scheduled for Nov. 15 at 6:15 p.m. with the finals the following day at 6:30 p.m. at King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way (650 SW Campus Drive Federal Way).
