Alyssa Manlow, in her fourth season as Columbia River’s boys swim coach, describes her swimmers’ approach to races as relaxed.
Competitive still, no doubt, said Manlow, an accomplished prep swimmer at Heritage who won 100 and 200 freestyle state titles in 2005 and ’06, but added “they’re very calm and confident when they swim.”
“It makes it fun,” she said.
All 10 swimmers on the Chieftains’ small-but-mighty squad, including four-year swimming veteran Bryan Ross (50 free, 50 back in the adaptive swim) will be at Federal Way’s King County Aquatic Center for this weekend’s state swimming championships.
Friday’s preliminaries begin at 9:45 a.m. for 4A, 2 p.m. for 2A and the day wraps up with 3A, locally featuring seven Mountain View swimmers plus three relays, at 6 p.m.
The Chieftains could challenge two-time defending 2A state champion Anacortes in the team race. While River doesn’t have the team depth as the Seahawks, it does have two swimmers with the meet’s top times in four events.
Josh Bottelberghe (100 breaststroke, 200 freestyle) and Rob Mead (100 backstroke, 100 free) have 2A’s top-seeded times in their two events after each setting district-meet records at last weekend’s 2A Southwest District meet in Longview. Bottelberghe is the defending 3A champion in the 100 breast and should win in Class 2A, he’ll join older sisters Jessica and Monica with multiple state titles.
But getting all three relays of the Chieftains’ relays to state was a big accomplishment, too, Manlow added.
The 400 free relay was the last of the team’s trio of relays to qualify for state, and it came in Longview, where the quartet of Sean Wozniak, Isaac Wooten, Anthony Jenkins and Sam Walker swam a 3:56.00 to finish runner-up in the event to Mark Morris.
“They worked incredibly hard all year,” Manlow said. “I’m really proud to have that third relay up there.
“I think we’ll have a good showing up there.”
IS THIS CAMAS’ YEAR? With four top-seeded times in Class 4A and five more in the top three after dominating the 4A District meet last weekend, Camas might be in line to win its first state title in boys swimming. Junior Mark Kim is the defending 4A state champion in the 200 and 500 freestyles and also anchors the team’s 200 and 400 free relays that set meet and facility records in Kelso. Camas’ biggest challenger the past few seasons is three-time defending champion Newport of Bellevue. The Papermakers were fourth last year, and second in 2015.
GOING FOR MORE, GOING FOR FIRSTS: Clark County has three swimmers — Heritage’s Max Dolbinin (4A 50 free), Kim of Camas (4A 200, 500 freestyle) and Bottelberghe of River (3A 100 breaststroke) — looking to repeat as state champions. But there’s more who hope to be a first-time state champion. Mead at Columbia River (2A 100 free, 100 back) and Camas’ Tom Utas (4A 50 free) have their classification’s top times entering state.
