BACK ON THE MEDAL STAND: Spartans win third place at state championships

Published 9:43 am Thursday, November 27, 2014

Bad timing, but good luck.

Ani Duni has no other way to describe it.

She was on her way to school Monday to take a test, she recalled, when another driver ran a stop sign and broadsided her.

Her first thoughts weren’t about the air bags going off or her car being totaled.

“The first thing I thought was: ‘State is this weekend. Why does this have to happen? Oh my gosh, I can’t believe this is happening. Of all the times…’”

Duni, a junior on the Spartans girls swim team, had been looking forward to Friday and the start of the 3A State Championships in Federal Way, where she would compete in the 200-yard medley relay, the 200-yard freestyle relay and the 100-yard breaststroke.

Then came the crash.

Though she walked away without a scratch, she had whiplash.

“My entire neck seized up and my shoulders. I tried to get into the water Monday after the accident and I wasn’t really able to swim at all,” she recalled. “So I kind of had to learn to swim this week again.”

Talk about a fast learner, though.

Duni rebounded in magnificent fashion, coming back after sitting out a few relay events during the preliminaries Friday to race during the finals Saturday.

She swam the second leg in the 200-yard medley relay for BHS and the team claimed fourth place. Duni then helped the Spartan 200-yard freestyle relay team take the second-place medal at state.

And she followed that race with a stellar individual performance in the 100-yard breaststroke, where she finished fourth in the state with a time of 1:05.94 – a new school record.

“It was awesome; the medley relay and leading off that 200 free relay and going under 25 (seconds), and then breaking a school record in the 100 breast,” said Coach Greg Colby.

Colby recalled how they kept her out of the relay races on Friday, but put her back in after Friday’s impressive prelim time of 1:06.68 in the 100 breaststroke.

“I wasn’t sure that there was a whole lot left in the tank for Saturday,” Colby said of Duni after her performance Friday.

“But it was enough to break the school record, which she’d been eyeing for a while,” he added with a laugh. “I’m real happy for her.”

With Duni back in the lineup, remarkable races by the Spartan relay teams, and two top-six finishes by divers Cammie Rouser and Zora Opalka, Bainbridge rocketed to the top of the leader board and took the third place team trophy at the 3A Girls State Swim & Dive Championships Saturday.

The Spartans came in just behind rival Mercer Island, the defending champs who were defeated by Lakeside for the team title.

Bainbridge took a team of 17 to the state meet, and the coach said there were many to praise, starting with his relay racers and junior Melinda Carr and freshman Erin Miller, two alternates who swam on Friday when Duni couldn’t and help the Spartans crack the top eight and advance to the finals.

“They did an awesome job,” Colby said.

“We wanted to make sure both of those relays stayed in the top eight for the next day. They swam out of their heads and helped those teams do that,” he said.

In the finals, Allison Murphy, Duni, Amanda Comeau and Samantha Caro placed fourth with a time of 1:51.69 and made it to the medals stand.

In the 200-yard freestyle, Mikelle Ackerley medaled and finished sixth with a time of 1:57.25. Teammate Carina Laukaitis, a sophomore, finished 14th in the consolation race with a time of 2:02.34.

Caro, a freshman, placed 11th in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 25.58.

“She just loves to race,” Colby said. “She’s a heck of a competitor and she works super hard in practice.”

“She’s a really good all-around swimmer,” he added, which bodes well for next year’s team. “She could have swum just about every event. And I think before she graduates she’ll definitely be an iron woman; she’s a candidate to be able to qualify for every event.”

Bainbridge’s divers were also impressive.

Rouser and Opalka, both sophomores, medaled with fourth- and sixth-place finishes, respectively. Rose Bandrowski, a freshman, also made it to state with the Spartans and competed on Friday.

“All season long, our divers have really kind of been our stars,” Colby said.

“To have two sophomores place in the top six, and then to have a freshman that made it to the meet, what does that mean for the next two or three years?” Colby wondered.

Opalka struggled with her first dives, and it was hard for her to hide her disappointment. But she battled back into the top 10 Saturday.

“She was not pleased about that,” Colby said of her first dives. “But she dug herself out of that hole and dove better and didn’t give up, and moved up. She definitely helped the team.”

Mikelle Ackerley, a senior who made a return trip to state with her sister, Natalie, claimed third place in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 53.62.

Other highlights included a dramatic win in the 500-yard freestyle consolation race by Laukaitis; the second-place medal in the 200-yard free by Duni, Natalie Ackerley, Comeau and Miller (1:39.93); and a fourth-place win in the 100-yard backstroke by Allison Murphy. There was also Duni’s fourth-place win in 1:05.94 in the 100-yard breaststroke, and the fourth place by the 400-yard freestyle relay team of Caro, Natalie Ackerley, Murphy and Mikelle Ackerley.

“For the most part, I’m real pleased with both days,” Colby said of the championship meet.

“I’m just really pleased with the relays. Those 400 free relay kids were so tired at the end of the meet. But they sucked it up and won a season best,” he said.

It was a competitive race, to be sure.

“When you go 3:40 in the 400 free relay at district and get fourth?” Colby asked, and recalled how District 2 became even tougher with realignment and teams dropping down from 4A to 3A.

“It’s always been the fastest district in the state. It was even more competitive,” he said.

Comeau said this meet was special because she got to swim with the relay team she always envisioned; one made up with her good friends Duni, and Mikelle Ackerley and Natalie Ackerley.

“We’ve been wanting to have that relay together for years and they were graduating this year. I was just really happy because I was like, oh my gosh, this is state, we’ve been training for this all year,” she said.

The best part, she added, was at the end when the team gathered on the stand to claim its team trophy: “Walking up to the podium, holding hands with the rest of my teammates, that was the most special moment for me.”

Natalie Ackerley said this year’s team was something special.

Competing for the last time as a Spartan was also bittersweet.

“It’s kind of mixed feelings. I’m glad that it’s over, because it’s hard and really challenging, but it’s sad,” she said. “It’ll be my favorite team forever.”