Fifth place. Fifth place. Fifth place.
A top-five showing in the state is a worthy accomplishment, but forgive Darya Samiee if she was a little sick of fifth place. That is where she finished as a freshman, as a sophomore, and then as a junior at the state swimming championships.
Perhaps that is why it meant so much to Samiee, a senior from Mountain View, to crack the top four in her final year of high school swimming.
“I was like speechless when I saw myself in fourth place,” Samiee said of her finish in the 200-yard freestyle at the Class 4A meet. “I looked at the board, looked at my place, and I didn’t even know what to do. I started crying I was so happy.”
Samiee also finished ninth in the 500 freestyle. With her performance at state, as well as throughout the season, Samiee is The Columbian’s All-Region girls swimmer of the year.
Another bonus for Samiee: She won her last high school race. That was in the consolation final of the 500 freestyle, earning her ninth-place in the state.
“I was in fourth until the last 100 of the race,” she recalled. “Something kicked in. ‘Darya, this is your last race of your high school career. You have to pick it up.’ It was like the Hunger Games whistle. That’s what I heard.”
It was a thrilling end to a season that started with a lot of questions and concerns.
Mountain View and Evergreen got a new head coach as the four schools from the district split into two different practice groups. The seniors were worried. But together with coach Mark McBride, the Thunder had a positive, memorable year.
Samiee said one of the benefits was having the whole program together. In the past, the varsity would practice at one time, while C-team members practiced at another. This season, they were one.
“It was very family oriented,” Samiee said.
And a fast family in the water, too. In the school’s first year back in the Class 4A Greater St. Helens League, the team finished second at the district meet.
Samiee said the ultimate goal was a second-place finish, but she and her teammates did not really think it was going to happen. So it was a special moment when the scores were announced, from one team to the next, from last place to first place.
“They called third place. ‘Oh my gosh. Where’s our name?’ When they said second place, we were all screaming. This is the best thing ever,” Samiee said.
The team accomplished its goal at district, then Samiee made some personal history at state. A top-five finish is pretty cool, but a top-four finish was so much better for Darya Samiee.
The rest of the All-Region team
• Livi Cox, jr., Union
• Keiko Inouye, sr., Prairie
• Kara Noftsker, fr., Columbia River
• Anna Panebianco, sr., Camas
• Jamie Rogers, sr., Battle Ground
• Colleen Woods, so., Heritage
