Cats' swimmers grab four district wins

A speedy one-two punch led the way for the Oak Harbor girls swim team at the 4A District 1 meet last weekend.

Led by junior Kyla Meuer and freshman Missy McIntyre, the Wildcats won four out of 11 events and qualified in two more, finishing in fourth place among 15 teams.

The defending state champions Snohomish Panthers captured the team title with 479 points. Kamiak (371 points) and Shorewood (268.5) took second and third ahead of the Wildcats who earned 220 points.

Meuer, who swam at State last year, captured the 50 freestyle with a time of 24.58. She also qualified for the 100 Freestyle with a time of 54.54, finishing second behind defending state champion Erica Chandler of Snohomish.

McIntyre, who will be competing in her first State Championship meet, set two Oak Harbor school records on her way to district titles in the 200 Individual Medley and the 100 Breaststroke. McIntrye edged out Kamiak’s Rikka Brunner and Cascade’s Rachel MacNeill in the 200 with a time of 2:10.51. She had an easier time in the 100 Breaststroke winning by over a second (1:06.86).

"We are looking forward to seeing more (time) drops at state,” said Wildcats head coach Carla Edge. “They just dropped huge amounts at districts."

Meuer and McIntrye teamed up with seniors Lora Burge and Brandy Rupert to outdistance Snohomish and take the 200 Freestyle Relay crown. The quartet’s time of 1:41.79 was over four seconds better than the state qualifying time.

The Cats’ 200 Medley Relay team, comprised of Meuer, McIntyre, Rupert, and senior Kate Waller, also made it to state, placing second behind Kamiak with a time of 1:56.83.

Besides opposing swimmers, the Wildcats had to compete with a unique setup for the district tourney. Oak Harbor, a member of the WesCo 4A North Division, competed with the other seven division teams at Marysville-Pilchuck High School in the North Sectional. At the same time the eight schools in the WesCo 4A South Division swam at Kamiak High in the South Sectional. Times from each event were then combined from the two meets, deciding who made it to state.

“It was kind of frustrating because the results were not there in front of you,” said Edge about the format. “Also, Kamiak is a faster pool than Marysville and we could have had better times if everyone was in one place. It would have been nice to get a faster pool."

The State meet begins this Friday at the King County Aquatics Center in Federal Way. Edge believes that her squad will be right in the thick of the competition.

"There's a lot of potential to do well at Federal Way,” she said. “The Aquatic Center is a fast pool and there's an opportunity for Missy and Kyla to drop huge amounts in both their events."

4A District 1 Girls Swimming Results

Team Results: Snohomish (479), Kamiak (371), Shorewood (268.5), Oak Harbor (220), Jackson (205), Edmonds-Woodway (193.5), Marysville-Pilchuck (177), Lake Stevens (122), Cascade (108), Shorecrest (107), Everett (102), Mountlake Terrace (81), Mount Vernon (70), Mariner (46) and Stanwood (44)

Individual results:

Event (State Qualifying Time)

50 Freestyle (25.85) – Meuer (Oak Harbor) 24.58

100 Freestyle (56.50) – Chandler (Snohomish) 52.22; Meuer (Oak Harbor) 54.54

200 Freestyle (2:02.30) – Chandler (Snohomish) 1:51.63; Aasland (Jackson) 1:57.87; Spillman (Edmonds-Woodway) 2:00.22; Laverty (Kamiak) 2.00.88; Moorman (Shorewood) 2:01.42

500 Freestyle (5:26.70) – Spillman (Edmonds-Woodway) 5:12.98; Van Gerpen (Kamiak) 5:17.24; Moorman (Shorewood) 5:25.54

100 Butterfly (1:02.00) – Van Gerpen (Kamiak) 59.67

100 Breaststroke (1:11.60) – McIntyre (Oak Harbor) 1:06.86; MacNeill (Cascade) 1:08.18; Best (Kamiak) 1:09.27; Benson (Shorewood) 1:09.59; Spencer (Kamiak) 1:09.83; Rogers (Jackson) 1:10.75; Richmond (Snohomish) 1:10.88

100 Backstroke (1:03.50) – Brunner (Kamiak) 1:00.16; Rima (Marysville-Pilchuck) 1:02.75; Laverty (Kamiak) 1:03.12; Thompson (Kamiak) 1:03.27

200 Individual Medley (2:17.60) – McIntyre (Oak Harbor) 2:10.51; Brunner (Kamiak) 2:10.92; MacNeill (Cascade) 2:11.20; Best (Kamiak) 2:12.54; Benson (Shorewood) 2:16.73; Young (Snohomish) 2:17.58

200 Medley Relay (1:58.40) – Kamiak 1:54.93; Oak Harbor (Meuer, McIntyre, Waller, Rupert) 1:56.83; Shorewood 1:56.77

200 Freestyle Relay (1:46.10) – Oak Harbor (Meuer, Burge, Rupert, McIntyre) 1:41.79; Snohomish 1:43.17; Kamiak 1:44.82; Edmonds-Woodway 1:45.47; Jackson 1:45.65

400 Freestyle Relay (3:51.90) – Kamiak 3:42.24; Snohomish 3:45.93

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