FEDERAL WAY — No one can accuse the Bainbridge Spartans of flying in under the radar.

From Bainbridge’s terrific takeoff in their first preliminary race Friday at the 3A Boys’ Swimming and Diving Championships — where the 200-yard medley relay team of Garrett Waite, Kevin Houseman, Makai Ingalls and Jude Wenker placed first with a state-record setting time of 1:33.11 — the Spartans soared from start to finish.

The state meet marked a historic high for Bainbridge: The Spartans won their first-ever state 3A team title in swimming, snatching the crown from Bellevue, the two-time defending state champs.

“It’s just amazing and overwhelming,” said Spartan Coach Karen Segerson.

“It was such a hard-fought meet that I can just hardly believe that it happened in the end,” she said.

Bainbridge and Bellevue battled to Saturday’s climatic finish in the King County Aquatic Center.

BHS took the early lead in overall points, but the Wolverines moved into first after two top-eight finishes in the second race, the 200-yard freestyle.

The teams exchanged the lead several times Saturday night, with Bellevue in front, 300-279, after the 100-yard backstroke.

The Spartans, however, had three swimmers in the finals for the second-to-last race, the 100-yard breaststroke, and another swimmer in the B finals (Houseman, Aidan Wagner, Carter Hall and Maxwell Eyrich).

“Our breaststrokers — we knew we had the ace in the hole with those four,” Coach Segerson said.

Even so, it’s state, and anything can happen — especially with the 100 breaststroke that featured three BHS sophomores and one freshman.

And in the final race, the 400-yard freestyle relay, the Spartans were again pinning their hopes on mostly young swimmers; two 10th-graders, a freshman and a senior.

The nail-biting finish had the Spartan faithful in the crowd on their feet — with their screams, shouts and whoops echoing through the air — for those last two races.

“Nonetheless, when the score looks like that, it’s just very stressful because you know they all have to perform,” Segerson said. “And they absolutely did. They did exactly what we needed them to do.”

Bainbridge claimed first, fourth, seventh and 14th places in the 100 breaststroke.

And in the 400 free relay, the race that clinched the title, the fantastic four of Ingalls, Jude Wenker, Parker Bushey and Waite won first in 3:05.57, almost four seconds faster than second-place Bellevue (3:09.07).

The Spartans finished with 369 points to Bellevue’s 351.

Ingalls was also named “Swimmer of the Meet,” the first sophomore in 10 years to win the honor.

“It is surprising that they can handle so much pressure, being so young, particularly our freshman, not just the breaststrokers,” Segerson said of her team.

“Guys like Jude, who anchored that medley relay and had to jump in, in such a tight race and hold on to that — that’s just amazing. But also kids like Andrew Witty. We asked him for a really tough double, between the 200 free relay and the backstroke, and he held up just beautifully.”

Some teams break under pressure, others become hardened. But in the championship finals, it was that second part, that tough stuff, that made Bainbridge truly Spartan-strong.

Bainbridge placed first in the 200-yard medley relay, with an All American time of 1:32.64, breaking the record they set in the preliminaries (which was also a new state record, besting the record of 1:34.09 set by Bellevue in 2014). The Spartans’ top time was also the fastest boys 15-16 year-old 200 medley relay (short course yards) time in the country this season.

Houseman said the 200 relay team knew Bellevue would be the ones to beat in the finals.

“We knew they would step it up, just like we would,” he said. “We also knew that in order for us to win, we had to go even faster than we did in prelims.

“We just kept it calm and open. No trash talk, we made sure of that,” Houseman said.

The race was a barnburner, with Bellevue taking an early lead but Bainbridge pouring it on in the final legs to win. The finals pool was filled with the froth of white water, and looked like an overloaded washing machine that had its top blown off just before the spin cycle.

“They knew exactly what they needed to do and they did really well,” he said of his Spartan teammates.

“It went well,” he said, then laughed at his understatement.

He also said he hoped the new 200 medley relay record wouldn’t stand.

“We’re definitely going to be breaking that next year,” Houseman said.

In the 200-yard freestyle, Bushey, a senior, claimed third place in 1:43.77. Teammate Tristan Maas, also a senior, was 16th (1:54.92).

In the 200-yard individual medley, Waite won the state title with a first-place finish of 1:50.98, a mark good enough for All American consideration.

Two other Spartans placed in the finals; Houseman was third (1:56.63), and Andrew Witty, a freshman, eighth (2:00.40).

Bainbridge boasted another state champ in the 50-yard freestyle.

Ingalls, a sophomore, won the title in 21.06, with the slimmest of finishes over Nathan Shao of Bellevue (21.18).

Wenker was third in 21.53.

In 1-meter diving, freshman Kiernan Liberman advanced to the finals and claimed eighth place with 311.25 points.

It was an exceptional finish for Liberman, who started diving in the summer.

“He was a level 8 gymnast, so he started with a number of skills needed to become a successful diver,” noted Spartan diving coach Patti Peterson.

“He was very consistent over the season, qualifying for state in all of the dive qualifier meets held this season (a score of 350 points or higher),” she said. “Kiernan has a great future ahead of him as a diver.”

The Spartans claimed the top spot on the medals stands in a number of other races, as well.

In the 100-yard butterfly, Ingalls won the state title with an All American consideration time of 49.94.

Sebastian Steen of Bellevue was second in 50.13, followed closely by Ivan Graham of Redmond in 50.65.

Jude Wenker won the state title in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 46.96.

Bushey was third in 47.13.

In the 500-yard freestyle, Waite also medaled with a fourth-place finish in 4:42.21.

Sam Chapman claimed ninth place for BHS in 4:48.73.

In the 200-yard freestyle relay, the team of Witty, Wagner, Houseman and Bushey placed third in 1:27.97.

In the 100-yard backstroke, Witty was eighth in 54.46 and Bainbridge’s

John Velisaris took 10th place in 54.06.

Kevin Houseman won the state title in the 100-yard breaststroke, with an All American time of 55.22.

Wagner was fourth (57.69); Hall finished seventh (59.61); and Eyrich, 14th (1:01.84).

And in the 400-yard freestyle relay, the foursome of Ingalls, Wenker, Bushey and Waite won the title with an All American time — and new 3A state record‚ of 3:05.57.

“You always wonder if it’s going to happen on that given day. We certainly knew that we had the pieces, but I don’t think anybody could have expected it would go as well as it did,” Segerson said. “It really was the perfect meet for us.”

The coach recalled another famously tight team, the 1936 U.S. men’s Olympic eight-oar rowing team and the one depicted in the Daniel James Brown’s bestseller.

“The way that this team, to quote the ‘Boys in the Boat,’ this team has swing. They’ve been like brothers since they were little kids and you just can’t break them,” she said.

For Bainbridge, the pool was deep — with Spartan talent.

“We stacked that relay,” Waite said.

He said he also knew the race would be another close one with the Wolverines.

“I just kind of had a sense of what was going to happen going into the meet, and it played out pretty close to that,” he said.

Waite said it was gratifying to have that first-place finish, especially for Bushey, the senior on the relay team.

“It was his last meet. It was just exciting to have his last race in the high school season be such a success,” Waite said.

One thing he won’t forget, he added, was the look on teammate Henry Bacon’s face when the points total was announced, and Bainbridge made team history with its first state 3A title.

Waite laughed at the sight: Bacon with his jaw dropped, hands on head, as screams filled the air.

“Just looking over to see the rest of the team in shock — we won,” he said.

The next worry for the Spartans was the trophy itself. So big, and so heavy. How to lift the massive monument for the team photo?

Spartan Athletic Director Kaycee Taylor, who stepped aside as coach two years ago as his cancer treatments began, sat at the edge of the competition pool after it was all over with his own worry.

That joke he’d been making for years — about having to enlarge the trophy case at BHS — well, that was a real thing, now.

After Bainbridge and Bellevue, rounding out the top 10 were Mercer Island in third, Shorewood (fourth), Seattle’s Lakeside (fifth), Bishop Blanchet (sixth), O’Dea and Roosevelt (both tied for seventh), Wilson (ninth) and Garfield (10th).

The meet capped a remarkable season for Bainbridge.

The Spartans set nine school records and four new pool records. There were three All-American times (200 medley relay, 400 free relay and 100 breast – Kevin Houseman, 55.22) and two All-American consideration Swims (200 IM – Garrett Waite, 1:50.98; 100 fly – Makai Ingalls, 49.94).

Of the four pool records that were broken, the new record by Ingalls for the 100 butterfly broke the one set in 1976, the first year of the Spartans boys swim team. Houseman shattered the record for the 100 breast, which was set in 1996.

“We just needed to give it our all — and that happened,” Houseman said.