NW District Swimming | Freshman Randolf powers Snohomish
MARYSVILLE - The first thing one notices when entering the quaint confines of the Marysville-Pilchuck High School swimming pool is the rush of humidity.
Glasses fog. Sweat drips. Competitors literally feel the pressure.
But not Snohomish freshman Melissa Randolf. For Randolf, it was no sweat. It’s like she’d done this before.
Cool as can be, Randolf splashed onto the scene in a big way by figuring in four wins, leading Snohomish to its 11th consecutive district title on Saturday in the Northwest 4A meet.
Randolf started her day with a victory in the 50 freestyle, covering the distance in 24.52 seconds, and later won the 100 butterfly in a meet-record 57.98. Kamiak’s Shala Van Gerpen held the record at 58.56, set in 2002.
“We’ve been tapering for state, so now we finally get to go all out,” Randolf said. “It’s more fun with high-school swimming than club, and it’s more team. You do the cheers and really get into it. For club, it’s kind of like more individual.
“I’m really excited about state.”
Snohomish stayed atop the district again with 506 points, outdistancing runner-up Jackson (421).
The top three finishers in each event, plus any swimmer who met state-qualifying times during the season, advance to this week’s Class 4A state meet at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.
A new high school in Snohomish - Glacier Peak - opens next fall and that could impact Snohomish’s reign atop the district with some current students moving to the new school.
“It’s going to be a totally different scenario next year,” Snohomish first-year coach Rob Serviss said. “I’m not sure if we’re going to be at this classification any more. I’m not sure if we’re going to be at this meet next year. We’ll swim wherever they tell us to.”
Randolf will be at Glacier Peak next year.
“She’s a fierce competitor for someone as young as she is,” Serviss said.
Randolf capped off a Snohomish sweep in the relays, swimming the final leg of the 400 free relay as the Panthers won in a meet-record 3:39.32. That time was more than a second faster than Kamiak’s 3:40.47 in 2002. Randolf helped the 200 free relay win as well.
Notes
• Jackson sophomore Alana Pazevic, who took third in the 100 free at 4A state as a freshman, won a pair of individual events, including the 100 free in a WesCo-record 51.90. She bettered the 52.22 set by Snohomish’s Erica Chandler in 2001.
“That’s definitely my best race ever,” Pazevic said.
Pazevic, also fifth in the 100 backstroke last year at state, took top honors in the 100 backstroke in near-meet-record 58.56. The clocking was three-tenths of a second off the meet mark.
• Snohomish sophomore Emily Ferreira won two individual events, capturing the 200 individual medley in 2:10.96 and the 100 breaststroke in 1:06.04. Ferreira was third at state in the 100 breaststroke last year.