Moses Lake swim team looking for improvement at state meet

FEDERAL WAY — Moses Lake High School boys swimming coach Tony Preston said his team is ready to climb up the rankings at the state meet this weekend.  

“The top 16 (placers) go on to swim Saturday, and we really want to do that,” he said. “Only two or three of our swimmers are ranked in the top 16, but I think we’re going to do a lot better than that.” 

Eight Maverick swimmers will advance to the state tournament Friday and Saturday at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way. Class 4A preliminaries start at about 6:15 p.m. Friday. 

The Mavs also qualified one adaptive swimmer, freshman Torin Trexler, who will be swimming in the 50-yard freestyle and 50-yard backstroke. 

Swimming features both individual races and relays; three Moses Lake swimmers won individual titles at the Big 9 district meet Feb. 8. Three relay teams also qualified for the state meet. 

The test, Preston said, will be Friday night. 

“We’re just looking to advance to the finals,” Preston said. “We’re really relaxed; we’re focused. Our prime job is Friday night. Everything we do, we’re looking at how this is going to benefit us in preliminaries so that we can swim fast enough to get us in the finals on Saturday night.” 

Senior Dylan Moore took the Big 9 title in the 200-yard individual medley, and senior Luke Molitor won the 100-yard butterfly. Sophomore Luca Cristoloveanu is the Big 9 100-yard breaststroke champion. 

Preston said the top two swimmers from each district advance to state competition. Moore qualified for the 100-yard backstroke, freshman Lennox Leader in the 500-yard freestyle and junior Josiah Wallace in the 100-yard breaststroke. 

The 200-yard medley relay (Moore, Cristolovenu, junior Sam Molitor and Luke Molitor) qualified with a second-place finish. The 200-yard freestyle relay of Sam and Luke Molitor, Moore and junior Sam O’Shea advanced to state, along with the 400-yard freestyle relay (Leeder, O’Shea, Wallace and sophomore Matt Molitor.)  

Moore and Luke Molitor are state veterans, Preston said, 

“Lennox and Luca, they’re new to the state competition,” he said. “Josiah Wallace swam on a relay before, but not as an individual, so we’re excited for him.” 

Preston said state competition matches the best against the best. 

“You have to qualify (at district) by placing in the top two, or (meeting or beating) the automatic qualifying time, which we did not do. It kind of funnels into state, where the top high school swimmers in the state are competing, So it’s a culmination,” Preston said. 

Preparation is key, he said.  

“A lot of what we’ve been talking about has been prepping ourselves, knowing what to expect, knowing what’s there, so that when we get there, if something goes wrong, we’re ready to deal with it,” he said. “Fine-tuning our races, getting our relay order set.” 

Preston said he expects his team to have a good meet. 

“We come from a very storied program. Moses Lake has a rich history, and I think these kids – they’re ready to go faster,” Preston said. “These boys have been working hard and putting in the time and effort to do this.”

    Moses lake swimmers encourage a teammate during a meet earlier this season.