Marlins swimmers wrap season, 4 qualify for nationals

The Mighty Marlin Swim Club wrapped up its season and had four swimmers qualify for the 2009 Short Course National Championships (SC World Championship Trials), which will be held at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way beginning Dec. 3.

“Michael Phelps and many of the other American Olympians should be there as well,” said Mighty Marlins coach Kirby Schlaufer.

Arlington residents Jennifer Domanowski, 15, qualified in the 100- and 200-meter butterfly, Morgan Ginnis, 13, made the 200-meter backstroke and the 50-meter freestyle, Hannah Peseau made the 100-meter backstroke and Hannah Taylor, 14, qualified in the 200-meter individual medley.

The girls also qualified their 400 medley relay for competition.

With their times, the girls also qualified for the National Club Swimming Association’s Junior Nationals meet in March 2010 in Florida.

Like in high school swimming, the girls simply needed to swim a qualifying time in their event in competition to be eligible for the short course national competition.

However, three of the girls may not get to compete in swimming for their high school. Domanowski and Peseau attend Arlington High School which does not have a swimming program. Ginnis will be an eighth-grader this fall at Post Middle School.

Taylor will be a freshman this fall at Marysville-Pilchuck, where her mother is an assistant coach with the girls swim team, according to Chong Domanowski, Jennifer’s mother and a parent organizer for the Marlins swim team.

“We have quite strong girls here, but we don’t have any high school swim to show for it,” Domanowski said. “Hannah Taylor is Marysville-Pilchuck, she’ll be a freshman. She already has faster times than all their records. It will be an exciting year for her.”

Information about the short course competition in Federal Way is available at the USA Swimming Web site, http://www.usaswimming.org/. Click on Events, then National/International.

Comment on this story.