Maverick swimmers break personal records at state

FEDERAL WAY — The Moses Lake High School boys swim team finished the state meet with a long list of personal records.  

The Mavs tied with Kentwood for 26th place with nine points. Luke Molitor was Moses Lake’s highest placer, finishing 14th in the 100-yard butterfly.

Coach Tony Preston said he was pleased with his team’s performance against a challenging field. 

“We pretty much had personal records across the board,” Preston wrote in an email to the Columbia Basin Herald. “This was a very tough meet with lots of top-level competition. I was excited to see how well the boys swam and responded to a tough environment.” 

The state meet features most of the fastest swimmers statewide, he said, and the field had a lot of good competitors.  

“Our meet was particularly fast and challenging this year. When we get there it can be a bit of a shock, but our guys handled it well,” he said.  

Preston said in an earlier interview that his team was concentrating on finishing in the top 16 and advancing to the final round.  

“Qualifying for the second day is always the goal,” he said. “We had one relay and two individuals do that, so half our boys got to compete on the second day.”  

Senior Luke Molitor, the Big 9 champion in the 100-yard butterfly, qualified for the finals and finished 14th with a time of 54.49. 

“Highest placer for Moses Lake. High energy event (with) lots of tough competition,” Preston said. “He responded well to the challenge – it was really fun to watch and be a part of.” 

Senior Dylan Moore took 15th in the 100-yard backstroke, setting a personal record, Preston said. Moore finished with a time of 54.85. 

“(Moore) got pulled in as an alternate, went a best time and moved up a place,” Preston said. “Responded great to the challenge.” 

The Mavs 200-yard medley team also qualified for the finals, finishing 15th with a time of 1:41.42. The team included Luke Molitor, Moore, junior Sam Molitor and sophomore Luca Cristoloveanu. Preston said the team had moved up one place for the preliminary round.  

Adaptive swimmer Torin Trexler finished fifth in both his events, the 50-yard freestyle and 50-yard backstroke. 

“First time at state,” Preston said. “An amazing athlete, he represented Moses Lake with awesome sportsmanship.” 

Cristolovenau just missed qualifying for the 100-yard breaststroke finals, finishing 18th at 1:01.7. Junior Josiah Wallace finished 20th in the same event with a time of 1:10.53.  

Preston said it was the first time at state that both swimmers had participated in individual events, and both responded with personal records.  

The 400-freestyle relay team (Luke and Sam Molitor, sophomore Matt Molitor and junior Sam O’Shea) finished 18th with a time of 3:22.09.  

Freshman Lennox Leeder finished 21st in the 500-yard freestyle in his first time at the state meet. Moore finished 22nd in the 200-yard individual medley with a personal best of 2:03.87.  

“Very good swim for him,” Preston said. 

Moore and Luke Molitor are the team’s two seniors and two of the three team captains. 

“Our seniors did a great job and showed tremendous leadership for our team,” Preston said. “Their presence on our team will be sorely missed. They have definitely left their mark on Moses Lake swimming and have set the bar high for athletes in the future.” 

Preston said the Mavericks’ showing puts them in a good position for next year.  

“We would have liked to place higher but just to be at a meet like this was a great experience for our boys, one that will help to continue to grow our program and set the stage for our underclassmen in the future,” he said.  

    Luke Molitor, Moses Lake, takes off from the blocks during state swimming competition.
  

    Maverick Dylan Moore readies for the start of the backstroke at the state swim meet.