Marysville-Pilchuck swim finishes 10th

FEDERAL WAY — The Tomahawks said farewell to a pair of instrumental seniors, and showed promise of the future at the 4A state swim meet — all while placing 10th.

“I think we did really well,” said Marysville-Pilchuck coach Scott Knowles. “The final day we kept pretty close in all of our races.”

Making the most waves for Marysville-Pilchuck was senior Oliver Durand, who finished fifth in the 200- and 500-yard freestyle races and was the anchor of the 200 freestyle relay team that placed fourth.

“I’m a little bummed because it’s over,” said Durand. “I would have liked to do a little better, but I can’t complain.”

Durand posted personal-best times in the 500 free and a split 50 free from his leg of the 200 relay.

While Durand sported a number of medals, junior Spencer Girard placed the highest for any Tomahawk individual and broke a school record in the 100 breaststroke.

“It was a great, solid race all the way through,” Girard said. “I knew that Garren (Riechel) would probably beat me, but I just tried to stay on his toes.”

Girard referred to the Snohomish swimmer who broke the state record at 55.63. Staying close to Riechel, however, helped Girard finish with a personal-best 59.37, which broke the school record he beat the day before in the preliminary race of 59.67. The previous M-P best time was 1:01.19 posted by Bill Hodgins in 1986.

“I really give all the credit to Brandon Caldwell,” Girard said. “He kept my head in the race and I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him.”

Caldwell, one of M-P’s two captains, was part of the 200 medley relay (1:40.36) and 200 freestyle relay.

“There were some good swims,” Caldwell said. “Obviously we thought we could have placed a little higher, but we raced tough.”

Marysville-Pilchuck scored 100 points, finishing 10th in the state.

In the diving event, Zach Russell earned his first top-10 finish, scoring 325 points which was good enough for seventh place.

Contact Marysville Globe Sports Reporter Travis Sherer at tsherer@marysvilleglobe.com or 360 659-1300 Ext. 5054.

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