Bellevue continues postseason success, wins SeaKing district crown | Prep boys swim and dive

Two down, one to go.

A week after dominating the competition at the KingCo championships, the Bellevue boys swim and dive team claimed the top spot at the 3A SeaKing district II championships, which wrapped up Saturday at Mary Wayte Pool.

Bellevue won the district meet with a top score of 305 points. Bainbridge Island was second with 254 and Mercer Island placed third with 180.

During Saturday’s performance, the two-time defending 3A state champion Wolverines looked every bit the part of a team poised for a third-straight state title.

“I’m seeing a lot of people who are interested in competing,” Bellevue coach Andy Hay said of his team. “It’s real easy during the regular season when you have dual meets to get complacent and these guys have woken up in a big way. The training that they’ve done throughout the entire year is clearly paying off and we have momentum in our favor going into state, which makes me extremely happy. I honestly thought this meet was gonna be a dogfight, and these guys just stepped up and got the job done and more.”

Bellevue won district titles in six of Saturday’s 12 events, including all three relays.

The team of Mitchell Eggenberger, Andrew Lee, Sebastian Steen and Nathan Shao kicked off the meet winning the 200 yard medley relay in a record-setting time of 1:35. The finishing mark was two seconds better than the previous record set by Bellevue last year.

The group of Steen, Andrew Boden, Lee and Nick Kenny won the 200 free relay at 1:26.72. Shao, Jackson Dudley, Kenny and Boden won the 400 free relay with a time of 3:11.23 and were about a second off from the meet record set by Mercer Island in 2014.

Boden won a district title for Bellevue in the 200 free, winning with a time of 1:45.99. He said that the team dynamic among the Wolverines has played a vital role in Bellevue’s success.

“We have done a really great job of pumping each other up,” Boden said. “One of the best parts of our team is just our dynamics with each other. We’re really great at getting each other to swim fast, more than just [for] ourselves.”

Shao won the 100 free with a time of 47.87 and also placed third in the 50 free at 21.88. He echoed Boden’s sentiment and said what’s impressed him most about his team this season is the camaraderie the swimmers have created.

“There’s been a really great team atmosphere,” Shao said. “We’ve all been there for each other, everybody’s been dropping great times. It’s looking really good going into the state meet.”

Dudley was also an event winner for the Wolverines in the 500 free, winning with a time of 4:46.46, and was runner-up in the 200 free at 1:47.11. Steen was runner-up in both the 50 free (21.74) and the 100 fly (51.61).

Thomas Eggenberger was second in the 100 back (52.52) and third in the 100 fly (52.52). Mitchell Eggenberger was second in the 200 IM (1:59.24) and fourth in the 100 back (55.46).

Kenny place third in the 100 free (48.93) and fourth in the 50 free (22.23). Lee was third in the 100 breast (1:00.23) and sixth in the 200 IM (2:04.33). Boden placed fifth in the 500 free at 4:58.88.

Interlake sixth at district meet

The Interlake Saints placed sixth overall at the SeaKing district championships.

Grant Chen placed in the top six in two events for the Saints. Chen was fifth in both the 100 free (50.34) and the 200 free (1:49.73).

Interlake’s team of Todor Dimitrov, Richard Liu, Ethan Ling and Isaac Wong placed sixth in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:42.83.

The group of Liu, Raymond Wang, Carter Blunden and Chen finished sixth in the 200 free relay at 1:33.35.

State qualifiers will move on to the 2017 boys 3A swim and dive state championships, which will take place Feb. 17-18 at King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.

Bellevue’s Jackson Dudley competes in the 200 free Saturday at Mary Wayte Pool. Dudley was second to teammate Andrew Boden, finishing with a time of 1:47.11 (Joe Livarchik/staff photo).