Chiefs swimming 21st at state meet
File photoMoses Lake senior swimmer Eric Butterfield capped his high school career over the weekend by competing in four events at the 4A championships.
FEDERAL WAY - The Moses Lake High School boys swimming and diving team wrapped up its season on Saturday by tying for 21st place at the 4A state championships.
Moses Lake scored 39 points, with the Snohomish Panthers collecting 247 points for the state title. Richland, third with 147, was the top Columbia Basin League team.
Chiefs head coach Tony St. Onge said his team swam well, though there wasn't enough improvement between Friday's preliminaries and Saturday's finals for Moses Lake to grab more points.
"Every single swimmer got a lifetime best time, either during preliminaries or the finals," St. Onge said. "We would've like to have held up a little bit better in the finals…and we probably could've been top 15."
The Chiefs' top finish came in the 200-yard freestyle relay, where the foursome of Marshall Goodrich, Eric Butterfield, Nick Kardong and Jeremy Grant finished eighth in 1 minute, 32.64 seconds. Kamiak took the state title in 1:29.77.
Goodrich was the Chiefs' top individual finisher as he took 10th in the 500-yard freestyle. The junior recorded a time of 4:55.45, roughly 17 seconds back of state champion Bryan Michaels of Shorewood. Goodrich also competed in the 200-yard individual medley, where he was 17th in 2:06.47. Oak Harbor junior John Hu won the event in 1:56.16.
For Goodrich and Moses Lake's other returners, the key to a more successful 2008-2009 season resides in what they do during the offseason, St. Onge said.
"Championship teams and swimmers are built in the offseason," the coach said. "Most of the elite swimmers in the state are training and swimming with their USA swim team. That's the program we're trying to beef up in Moses Lake."
In the 400-yard freestyle relay, Moses Lake's team of Goodrich, Butterfield, Kardong and Grant placed 11th at 3:25.59, about eight seconds behind the top time of Snohomish.
Moses Lake's diving trio of Chad Borg, Jay Bowser and Bobby Jackson had good performances, taking 12th, 13th and 14th places, respectively. Inglemoor sophomore Spencer Moore was the state diving champion.
Butterfield also competed in a pair of individual events. The senior took 16th in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 51.22 seconds, less than four seconds off the pace set by champion Seth Parker of Central Kitsap. In the 200-yard freestyle, Butterfield was 21st in 1:51.57, with Cascade's Sean Nesheim winning in 1:42.86.
Grant, a senior, finished his high school career with a 22nd-place time of 23.19 in the 50-yard freestyle. Cole Scarbrough of Mount Tahoma was the winner in 20.97.
The senior group of Grant, Butterfield and Kardong did well in their final appearances at state.
"They all came through with big swims," St. Onge said. "You like to see that - you like to see the last meet of their career be a good one."