Elayne Chen wins two individual titles, Tahoma places second at 4A swimming championships

Tahoma High School sophomore Elayne Chen won a pair of individual titles, and all three Bears relays and four more individual swimmers reached the podium to lift Tahoma to a second-place finish at the Class 4A girls swimming and diving state championships Saturday morning.

Chen gave Tahoma an early lead in the team race by winning the 200-yard freestyle title in one minute, 54.01 seconds.

The runner-up finisher in the event last season as a freshman, Chen led at each turn in Saturday’s final at King County Aquatic Center, outpacing the runner-up finisher by more than three seconds for her first career individual championship.

“At the start of the season, the Tahoma girls were all really encouraging and really helped me to get to this spot,” Chen said.

Chen added a second individual title later in the meet in the 500 free, reaching the podium for a second time in the race after finishing third last fall as a freshman.

Again, Chen led from the first length, held off North Creek’s Leah Winn early, and eventually pulled away, finishing the race in 5:03.03 and winning the title by more than five seconds.

“I usually don’t go out that fast in my races, so having people pushing me really helped me,” Chen said.

Chen also swam the first leg of Tahoma’s 200 free and 400 free relays, which placed second.

The 200 free relay team of Chen, senior Makenna Portmann, senior Karis Conklin and junior Rowan Gaul posted a time of 1:40.12, and the 400 free relay team of Chen, Conklin, senior Emma Schlutt and Gaul a time of 3:41.21.

“It’s just such a good time at this meet,” Chen said. “Tahoma feels like family to me. We’re all uplifting. It just feels like one big family, and they really helped me get to where I am today.”

Portmann also reached the podium in both the 200 individual medley (fifth, 2:12.43) and 100 breaststroke (sixth, 1:06.62), Conklin in the 200 free (fourth, 1:59.04), Schlutt in the 100 backstroke (sixth, 1:00.33) and Gaul in the 50 free (eighth, 24.97).

The 200 medley relay team of Schlutt, Portmann, sophomore Elena Warner and Gaul also reached the podium (third, 1:50.01).

Tahoma, which won its first team title last season, led from Chen’s win in the 200 free — the second race of the morning — until the final race.

The Bears had a one-point lead heading into the 400 free relay, and led early in the race, but Newport of Bellevue senior Kaitlyn Girotto and sophomore Sophia Sunwoo pulled away in the third and fourth legs to give the Knights the needed 40 points to secure the program’s fourth 4A team title in the past five state meets.

Newport finished with 239 points, edging Tahoma, which finished with 234. Issaquah (169.5 points) and Moses Lake (157) also reached the podium in the team race.

Issaquah senior Gillian Tu, who won both the 50 free (23.21) and 100 breaststroke (4A meet record 1:00.72), and swam legs of the Eagles’ second-place medley relay and sixth-place 400 free relay, was named the swimmer of the meet.

Chen and Olympia sophomore Aoi Kondo, who won the diving competition Thursday with a score of 400.75, won the only individual titles for South Sound programs in the 4A meet.

Curtis’ 200 medley relay team of senior Athea Caritativo, sophomore May Guidoux, junior Trinity Link and senior Alexa Proctor won the first race of the morning with a time of 1:48.45.

Both Enumclaw senior Naomi Prince and Fife senior Lindsay Campbell won individual championships in the 2A/1A meet. Prince won Thursday’s diving competition with 346.4 points. Campbell won the 100 free on Saturday afternoon at 54.79.

Sammamish won the team title with 305 points, while Anacortes (227), Enumclaw (183) and Pullman (180) also reached the podium.

Mercer Island won the 3A meet with 385 points, while Bellevue (242), Bainbridge (218) and Lakeside of Seattle (200) also placed in the team competition.

All South Sound swimmers who reached the podium in individual events in each of the three meets are listed below:

CLASS 4A

Diving — Aoi Kondo, Olympia, soph. (champion, 400.75 points)

200 medley relay — Curtis — Athea Caritativo, sr.; May Guidoux, soph.; Trinity Link, jr.; Alexa Proctor, sr. (champion, 1:48.45); Tahoma — Emma Schlutt, sr.; Makenna Portmann, sr.; Elena Warner, soph.; Rowan Gaul, jr. (third, 1:50.01); Mount Rainier — Clara Crosby, sr.; Parker Marvin, fr.; Addie Wisen, jr.; Elizabeth Ma, jr. (sixth, 1:55.51); Olympia — Frances Skiles, sr.; Yvy La, soph.; Corrina Carras, jr.; Nicole Gertseva, fr. (seventh, 1:56.54)

200 freestyle — Elayne Chen, Tahoma, soph. (champion, 1:54.01); Karis Conklin, Tahoma, sr. (fourth, 1:59.04); Molly Bagniewski, Puyallup, jr. (sixth, 1:59.4); Camila Bossa, Puyallup, fr. (eighth, 2:04.29)

200 individual medley — Yvy La, Olympia, soph. (third, 2:10.06); Makenna Portmann, Tahoma, sr. (fifth, 2:12.43); Hailey Weiler, Kennedy Catholic, fr. (sixth, 2:12.57); Kaitlyn Vu, Kennedy Catholic, fr. (seventh, 2:13.53)

50 freestyle — Trinity Link, Curtis, jr. (tied-sixth, 24.84); Rowan Gaul, Tahoma, jr. (eighth, 24.97)

100 butterfly — Trinity Link, Curtis, jr. (fourth, 58.61); Hailey Weiler, Kennedy Catholic, fr. (fifth, 58.71)

100 freestyle — Yuna Daniels, Graham-Kapowsin, soph. (sixth, 56.54); Corrina Carras, Olympia, jr. (eighth, 56.98)

500 freestyle — Elayne Chen, Tahoma, soph. (champion, 5:03.03); Yvy La, Olympia, soph. (fifth, 5:16.78); Elizabeth Ma, Mount Rainier, jr. (sixth, 5:16.94)

200 freestyle relay — Tahoma — Elayne Chen, soph.; Makenna Portmann, sr.; Karis Conklin, sr.; Rowan Gaul, jr. (second, 1:40.12); Curtis — Bella Ward Lorence, jr.; Athea Caritativo, sr.; Alexa Proctor, sr.; Trinity Link, jr. (fourth, 1:40.65); Kennedy Catholic — Kaitlyn Vu, fr.; Victoria Paulson, jr.; Rae Williams, jr.; Hailey Weiler, fr. (fifth, 1:41.4); Olympia — Nicole Gertseva, fr.; Georgia Maurer, fr.; Cambria McDaniel, fr.; Corrina Carras, jr. (eighth, 1:43.87)

100 backstroke — Emma Schlutt, Tahoma, sr. (sixth, 1:00.33); Julia Bontemps, Rogers, jr. (eighth, 1:01.22)

100 breaststroke — Kaitlyn Vu, Kennedy Catholic, fr. (fourth, 1:05.78); Makenna Portmann, Tahoma, sr. (sixth, 1:06.62); May Guidoux, Curtis, soph. (seventh, 1:06.95)

400 freestyle relay — Tahoma — Elayne Chen, soph.; Karis Conklin, sr.; Emma Schlutt, sr.; Rowan Gaul, jr. (second, 3:41.21)

CLASS 3A

Diving — Ava Lear, Auburn Riverside, jr. (fifth, 311.3); Jade Porter, Auburn Riverside, sr. (eighth, 275.3)

200 medley relay — Central Kitsap — Haley Borja, soph.; Aziza Meyer, soph.; Ava Day, soph.; Leah Howell, sr. (sixth, 1:49.75)

50 freestyle — Aziza Meyer, Central Kitsap, soph. (fifth, 23.63)

100 freestyle — Aziza Meyer, Central Kitsap, soph. (fifth, 52.19)

200 freestyle relay — Central Kitsap — Ava Day, soph.; Leah Howell, sr.; Haley Borja, soph.; Aziza Meyer, soph. (third, 1:38.53)

100 breaststroke — Ysabella Chang, Auburn Mountainview, soph. (eighth, 1:09)

CLASS 2A/1A

Diving — Naomi Prince, Enumclaw, sr. (champion, 346.4 points); Ashley Dickerson, Enumclaw, sr. (third, 277.65); Trista Turgeon, White River, fr. (250)

200 medley relay — Enumclaw — Tori Massey, soph.; Kate Perlot, sr.; Alexandra Levesh, fr.; Ella Hoyne, sr. (fourth, 1:55.54); Fife — Adriana Gamez, jr.; Lindsay Campbell, sr.; Anna Spencer, jr.; Sidney DeLibero, jr. (sixth, 2:00.19)

200 freestyle — Kate Perlot, Enumclaw, sr. (third, 2:02.26)

200 individual medley — Lindsay Campbell, Fife, sr. (fourth, 2:14.31)

50 freestyle — Madeline Allred, Shelton, jr. (fifth, 26.07); Lizzy Lingenfelter, Steilacoom, sr. (sixth, 26.08)

100 butterfly — Ella Hoyne, Enumclaw, sr. (fourth, 1:01.96); Alexandra Levesh, Enumclaw, fr. (seventh, 1:02.8)

100 freestyle — Lindsay Campbell, Fife, sr. (champion, 54.79)

500 freestyle — Kate Perlot, Enumclaw, sr. (second, 5:27.14); Lizzy Lingenfelter, Steilacoom, sr. (eighth, 5:42.86)

200 freestyle relay — Enumclaw — Ella Hoyne, sr.; Tori Massey, soph.; Alexandra Levesh, fr.; Kate Perlot, sr. (third, 1:45.58); Shelton — Lelia Ollenburg, jr.; Madeline Allred, jr.; Kaylin Mutoli, jr.; Abbi Sachs, jr. (seventh, 1:49.55)

100 breaststroke — Ella Hoyne, Enumclaw, sr. (seventh, 1:14)

400 freestyle relay — Fife — Adriana Gamez, jr.; Anna Spencer, jr.; Sidney DeLibero, jr.; Lindsay Campbell, sr. (fourth, 3:56.08); Shelton — Lelia Ollenburg, jr.; Madeline Allred, jr.; Kaylin Mutoli, jr.; Abbi Sachs, jr. (seventh, 4:02.03)