Jackson sweeps 10 events at 4A district swim meet

Jackson High School swimmers claimed ten of the twelve available events at the 4A District 1 Championships held Saturday at the Snohomish Aquatic Center. The Lady Lancers finished with a team score of 603, far ahead of second-place Lake Stevens, which recorded 386 points.

The victory was driven by consistent performances from both upperclassmen and newcomers. Senior Hannah Fritts won the 200-yard and 500-yard freestyle races. She also swam the third leg for Jackson in the 200-yard medley relay and the 400-yard freestyle relay. Freshman Anju Lee captured the 200-yard individual medley and the 100-yard backstroke. Lee contributed to the same two relays as Fritts.

Other Jackson swimmers who placed in individual events included Akari Omichi, Krystyna Yefremova, Sophia Chang, and Elliana Lam. Timbre Grevenkamp won the 1-meter diving event for the Lancers.

The meet served as a qualifier for the state championships. Swimmers who won an event or met the posted state standard advanced. Fritts qualified in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:55.55 and in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:08.45. Lee qualified in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:08.29 and in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 57.76. Lam qualified in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 24.86 and the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 54.02. Grevenkamp qualified in diving with a score of 409.05. The Jackson 200-yard freestyle relay team, consisting of Chiang, Yefremova, Lam, and Lee, qualified with a time of 1:40.50. The 400-yard freestyle relay team, made up of Lee, Worcester, Fritts, and Lam, qualified with a time of 3:38.36.

Charlee Worcester, a Jackson junior, also qualified for the state meet. She placed second in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:57.80 and second in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:09.15. Krystyna Yefremova placed in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:08.44 but did not meet the state standard listed for that event.

The 3A District 1 Championships were also held at the Snohomish Aquatic Center on Saturday. Shorewood High School won the boys team title. Daniel Buckholz of Shorewood won the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle events. He also swam on two winning relays for the Scots. Shorewood finished with a team score of 337, edging out Shorecrest, which had 363 points. Wait, the source says Shorecrest 363, Shorewood 337. Correction: Shorecrest won the team title.

Shorecrest’s Daniel Buckholz won the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events and swam on two winning relays to lead the Scots to the team title. The team score for Shorecrest was 363. Shorewood finished second with 337 points, followed by Edmonds-Woodway with 265.5 points. Stanwood placed fourth with 256 points, and Snohomish High School finished fifth with 187.5 points.

In the 3A division, the top five placers in each event qualified for the state meet. Shorecrest’s 200-yard medley relay team, consisting of Harper Birgfeld, Charlotte Phillips, Anna Bendiksen, and Ella Luu, qualified with a time of 1:52.22. The Shorecrest 200-yard freestyle relay team, consisting of Phillips, Birgfeld, Bendiksen, and Luu, qualified with a time of 1:41.68. Shorewood’s 200-yard medley relay team, consisting of Violet Perry, Daniel Buckholz, Aker Addie, and Vivienne Martin, placed second with a time of 1:53.86. Buckholz won the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 52.70. Dylan Buechler-Flack of Meadowdale qualified in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 54.10.

The state swimming championships are scheduled for November 13 and 14. Organizers noted that additional wildcard state qualifiers may be announced at a later date. The district meets concluded with the final relays, setting the field for the upcoming state competition.