Spartan swimmers break top eight in Washington 3A Championships

Published 9:41 pm Friday, February 20, 2015

CJ Waite took first place for the Spartans in the preliminary heats for the 100-yard breaststroke Friday at the Washington State 3A Boys Swim/Dive Championships.

The Bainbridge High senior finished in 58.44 and will race for the state title Saturday.

Dean Nguyen of Franklin was second (58.77); Andrew Lee of Bellevue was third (59.44); and Nick Reeves of Lake Washington was fourth (59.94).

Other Spartan swimmers also advanced to the finals and the second day of the state meet at the King County Aquatics Center in Federal Way.

The Spartan relay team in the 200-yard medley relay — Sam Alpaugh, Waite, Jem Bullock and Andy Yalung — placed fourth.

They finished in 1:39.59.

Bellevue was first in 1:37.93, followed by Hazen (1:39.50) and Kennedy (1:39.54).

Alpaugh may also find himself on the medal stand Saturday in the 100-yard backstroke.

Alpaugh was fourth in the 100-yard backstroke, and there wasn’t many bubbles between the top finishers in Friday’s three heats for the event.

Tommy Thach of JFK had a first-place time of 52.08, followed by Marco Stanci (Bellevue, 53.12), AJ Rossman (Bellevue, 53.24), then Alpaugh (BHS, 53.51).

Bullock also competed in the 100-yard backstroke, and swam next to Alpaugh in the event’s third heat.

He finished in 57.31, and 14th, and will advance to the consolation race Saturday.

Parker Bushey claimed 11th place in the 200-yard freestyle and will race again in the consolation heat Saturday.

Bushey finished in 1:49.12.

Fellow Spartan Henry Bacon placed 18th. The sophomore swimmer had a time of 1:52.35.

Tommy Thach of JFK placed first with an All-American consideration time of 1:40.50.

Bushey also placed ninth for Bainbridge in the 100-yard freestyle and will return in Saturday’s consolation heat.

He had a time of 49.26 in his preliminary heat Friday.

Mercer Island’s Ian Caldwell won the 100 free, and finished in 45.63.

Alpaugh also swam to eighth place in the 500-yard freestyle Friday, and finished in 4:53.62. (His seed time was 4:57.95.)

Bullock was 11th in 4.57.12.

The Spartans’ 400-yard freestyle has also advanced out of the preliminaries and into the finals after the foursome of Bushey, Bullock, Alpaugh and Waite placed fifth.

Bainbridge, racing in the third heat, had a time of 3:19.07.

Mercer Island was first in 3:11.57.

In 1-meter diving, Bainbridge’s Gabe Emert was in 16th place after the preliminaries, with a score of 205.65.

Fellow BHS diver Dylan Garthwaite was in the 17th spot, with 203.50.

The Spartan relay team in the 200-yard freestyle — Yalung, Arthur Bacon, David Jenkins and Bushey — placed 14th in Friday’s preliminaries.

Bellevue’s relay team was first in 1:27.38.

Jenkins also saw competition in the 100-yard butterfly, where he was 20th with a time of 56.72.