Bainbridge brought the numbers and the determination of champions to the King County Aquatic Center Nov. 15-16, Maya Geddes’ own title-clinching swim in the 50 free and two championship relay races leading the Spartans to 316 points and the WIAA 1A/2A state title.
It’s the Spartans first team championship since 2021 when they won the 3A title.
“They came and performed, (we) had swimmers that had big time drops and swam with a lot of heart,” Spartan coach Krista Pal said. “We’re so excited to be back up here.”
Geddes added: “For us seniors, it’s like closing the book on our time here after we’d won state our freshman year. It was really awesome.”
Dropping to 2A this season had opened new windows of opportunity for Pal’s team to find its way back to the top of the podium and for individual swimmers to get just that much closer to a medal.
The senior Geddes knew firsthand what it was like to be so close and yet so far from tasting victory after illness kept her out of the water following the 2023 state preliminaries. No such interference came about this time, and she took full advantage to win the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 24.26 seconds.
Geddes also took second in the 100-yard free (53.48) and would accumulate two more first-place finishes with the help of teammates freshman Audrey Keigley and seniors Sara Kriegh and Piper Majors in the free relays for 200 yards (1:40.49) and 400 yards (3:43.19). The Spartans’ 200-yard medley relay with Kriegh, Majors and sophomores Olivia Longridge and Lena Everett took second at 1:52.52.
Spartan swimmers continued to rack up points with other top finishes. Kriegh swam to the runner-up spot in the 100-yard butterfly (1:00.8), Everett took fourth in the 200-yard individual medley (2:15.79) and third in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:10.00), Majors finished third in the 100 yard free (54.03) and Longridge took third in the 100-yard backstroke (1:01.94). Freshman Lily Rehder nabbed a medal in the 200-yard individual medley with a sixth-place finish (2:19.74). Sophomore Darya Dennon scored 209.8 points to take seventh in diving.
Vikings take 2nd
116 points separated the Spartans from the second-place team—North Kitsap with 200 points. Greg Braun said this was the first time to his recollection he’s had anyone in every state finals competition, including diving. “After that third-place finish last year, we had graduated a bunch of kids, and we still had that many,” he said.
Leading the way was junior Ashley Husmoe in a packed finals schedule that included a third-place finish in the 200-yard free (2:02.84), fourth in the 500-yard free (5:32.94) and two relays. Joining her in a third-place finish in the 200-yard individual medley was sophomore Shosho McLain and juniors Carly Yates and Aubrey Hedstrom with a time of 1:54.44. The same four took the same placing in the 200-yard free relay with a time of 1:43.70.
McLain continued to accumulate medals in her young career with another second-place finish in the 50 free (25.04) and sixth place in the 100-yard free (56.98). Hedstrom took 7th in the 100-yard backstroke (1:04.76) and fifth in the 100-yard butterfly (1:01.87). Yates also took sixth in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:13.16). Freshman Jane Leithead scored 196.75 points to take ninth in diving.
Bremerton senior shines one last time
Two more state championships, one more school record, and the legacy for Bremerton’s latest standout swimmer in Gabbie Patti just got bigger.
The Knights’ senior star may not have been out to defend her two-time state title in the 50-yard free, but her skills brought her atop the winner’s podium again with a first-place time of 2:07.76 in the 200-yard individual medley.
“You got to use all your muscles on that one,” Patti said, calling that her stressful race between her two individual finals. “Still, it’s the cherry on top for the career I’ve had, and it’s definitely sad for it to come to a close.”
Still it wasn’t quite done as for the first time in her trips to state, she found herself a champion for a second time with a first-place swim in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:08.41).
Bremerton coach Andrea Cochran commended her senior for continuing to keep having fun in her final high school season while remaining just as competitive. “She continued to drop time throughout this postseason, every single race. You don’t always see that, and that’s all you can ask of her. She’s showed her team how to win, and that allows us to pass the torch for years to come.”
Other notable finishes from the 2A races included Olympic’s Jasmyn Coviello finishing 8th in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:14) and Klahowya Yulia Farmer 5th in the 50-yard free (25.36). Central Kitsap senior Aziza Meyer took home second place in the 100-yard free (51.86) and fourth place in the 50-free (23.74), and CK senior Haley Borja claimed fourth place in the 100-free (52.47) and sixth place in the 100-backstroke (58.05) in the 3A competition.
