Swimmers place second to Bellevue

Published 2:00 pm Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Isabel Williams wins her first ever state title in the 100 butterfly.

The Bainbridge girls swim and dive team needed a boost after what they felt was a disappointing start at the 3A state swimming meet Saturday at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.

They got one thanks to Julie Pendleton.

The sophomore came in second to Issaquah’s Helen Liu in the consolation final in the 200 individual medley by 2.43 seconds, but head coach Greg Colby said it was just what they needed.

“Julie had a great swim,” he said. “It really sparked us.”

Pendleton also came in fourth in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:10.33 – two seconds faster than her preliminary swim time.

Colby also had praise for Tessa Griffin, who took fifth in the 50 freestyle final with a time of 25.01.

She took fourth in the 100 butterfly consolation final with a time of 1.01:30.

“Tessa’s freestyle swim was just one-one hundredth slower than her prelim swim,” Colby said. “That also got us back on track and feeling positive.”

The big winner of the meet was Isabel Williams, who won her first state title in the 100 butterfly with a time of 57.49.

It’s the first time in school history that a Bainbridge girls swimmer has won a title in the 100 butterfly, and Williams’ time of 57.43 in the preliminaries was good enough to set a new school record.

“That was a real big boost for us and a feather in her cap,” Colby said. “She swam her lifetime best out there.

“I’m really proud of Isabel and how she handled the season,” he continued. “I’ve never had a individual fly leader, and now she holds the school record. Those are all big kudos.”

Williams took fifth in the 100 backstroke final with a time of 1:00.77.

India Wade finished sixth in the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:02.59 and won the 100 freestyle consolation final with a time of 54.90.

Keziah Beall finished seventh in the 200 freestyle final with a time of 1:57.38 and fourth in the 100 freestyle final with a time of 53.70.

“India moved up a place even though she went a little slower than in the prelim,” Colby said. “Keziah was only a tenth off of her best times.”

Kristine Valdez took seventh in the 100 backstroke consolation final with a time of 1:03.16.

The 200 medley relay team of Williams, Pendleton, Wade and Griffin took sixth in the finals with a time of 1:53.34.

The 200 freestyle relay team of Griffin, April Isa, Pendleton and Beall took third in the finals with a time of 1:40.88, while the 400 freestyle relay team of Wade, Valdez, Williams and Beall took third with a time of 3:39.44.

Colby said he was happy to see Isa get one last swim at state.

“April was sick and wasn’t able to swim at districts but she was well enough to swim at the state meet,” he said. “She made our relay a second faster. It’s just awesome.”

While the relay teams fell short of their goal, Colby felt they performed well at the meet.

“It was a great race and they swam their hearts out,” he said. The third place finish “secured our second place standing, because Kennedy was right there.”

As a team, the Spartans finished with 197 points.

They were just 19 points away from first place Bellevue, but eight points in front of Kennedy, who took third.

“I think everyone’s happy with it,” Colby said. “We were able to hold it (together) with our prelim swims. It was tight going into the finals.

“We were only a few points out, so anything can happen,” he continued. “The kids performed well. The (200 medley) relay team dropped two places but went faster. It felt like a disappointment but it wasn’t.”

He also hopes their finish can motivate the returners to come back in shape.

“I would love to make that a goal, but I’m not the one that gets in the water,” Colby said.