By Ed Shepherd
SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

UNIVERSITY PLACE--Mount Rainier swam well Saturday, taking home fourth place out of the 17 teams in the 4A West Central District swim meet.
Senior Kristen Lemley, individually, stood out along with sophomore Rachel Beal, with a lot of other bright spots for exhausted Rams' coach Chris Veraya at the Curtis Pool.
"I'm emotionally drained," said Veraya, whose team now goes to state at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way Nov. 14-15. "The girls swam their hearts out."
The Rams' divers did well, too, getting second and third places in 1 meter diving at districts. That event took place Thursday, with Hailey Sagmoen getting 324.70 points and Ava Welch 323.30.
Team scores from the meet's completion after three total days of competition, including diving, were Gig Harbor 301, Stadium 291, Puyallup 267, Mount Rainier 212, Tahoma 183, Curtis 177, Olympia 164, Kentlake 158, Kentridge 118, Timberline 111, Decatur 92, Emerald Ridge 73, Federal Way 46, South Kitsap 44, Kentwood 29, Rogers 22 and Kent-Meridian 15.
During the season, Tahoma was 10-0, and Kentlake 7-2 along with Mount Rainier. So the Rams exceeded expectations right there, with all the teams that beat them at districts from outside the SPSL North, their league during the season. Curtis was 5-1 in the SPSL South and the Rams scored more points than them at districts, too. Only Puyallup, 7-0 league, who took third at districts, beat the Rams from the SPSL. Gig Harbor and Stadium are both from the Narrows League.
So, maybe, that's a good reason why Veraya said his girls swam their hearts out and was so out of energy after the meet.
Rams senior Kristen Lemley led the Rams' swimmers individually in getting points for her team, with a second place finish in the 100 backstroke, 1:00.81, and a third in the 200IM, 2:14.90. Lemley, also, participated on two relays, the 200 medley and 400 freestyle, with senior Erin Ronald, sophomore Rachel Beal, and senior, Darla Long on the teams, too, getting 1:51.52, and, 3:50.53, respectively.
Beal, individually, took third place in the 500 free final in 5:23.48, taking three seconds off her preliminary time, to help her team with points there, and she participated with Lemley on the relays that garnered good points to the Ram team's total.
Veraya really liked the effort of the 200 free relay, which, incidentally, is the only relay that was not allocated into state, with the 200 medley and 400 free relays already in by either time, or state-cut time done earlier in the season.
So Lindsey Weller, Anna Burdine, Maddie Johnson, and Ronald swam on that 200 free relay in 2:01.23.
"Those girls did excellent, a couple got to swim in districts that weren't, originally, put in a race to swim, and, they did really did well," said Veraya, mentioning Johnson, who he said of, "I don't think she expected me to put her in a relay. She has not swam at districts before."
Johnson helped the Rams be on the edge of getting into state with allocation times compared against other district meets going on around the state the final say on that, but their time has them in the ballpark, anyway, of qualifying for state.
"Maddie came through big for us, anchored the 200 free relay," said Veraya. "I really hope those four girls can make it to state."
The Rams senior, Burdine, was not expecting to get a chance at state in the 100 breaststroke, but things worked out well for her on that one.
"A girl scratched so I got to move up," said Burdine. So that helped the Rams, too, as Burdine was seeded ninth, got in on the scratch, and, took seventh in 1:13.92, so, she moved up a spot in the final from her seed time in preliminaries, too.
"I get to go to state, so I am excited about that," said Burdine,who has swam for Normandy Park in the Seattle Summer Swim League "since I was born..."
That's a long time, isn't it?
"It's where I learned how to swim," said Burdine, laughing. "I teach swimming lessons there now for the little kids. I'm a Speedy-Sixers coach."
That's the four, five, and six year olds, by the way, on the Sharks' SSSL team she volunteers her time helping.
And, for Burdine, that's in addition to being a consistent All-City performer in that league's premier event that ends summertimes, been there numerous time in her many years having swam for Normandy Park.
And Lemley swims for the Olympic View Swim Club summers, which she's done for a long time, and is a favorite of little kids, too. And when she was younger, Lemley swam for WhiteWater Acquatics year-round club team, but now she just swims in high school the last three years.
Lemley's day was good. She was just a little worn out from the preliminary qualification events from the day before, Friday, preceding finals day competition.
"Been a great two days," said Lemley. "Yesterday was the strongest day. I'm a little tight today. I wanted to get first in the 100 back, but, so close, a very close race."
Lemley missed first by less than half a second, as Gig Harbor's Alana Ponce took first in 1:00.36 to Lemley's swim of 1:00.81.
Lemley likes her coach, Veraya, but says he's a little hard to understand sometimes, but, she really does understand that he wants her to be her very best in the water.
"He's a good coach," said Lemley. "I always want to give 110 percent. He's always pushing me. Sometimes, I'm ready to walk out of the pool. Practices are so hard, but it's good pain and I welcome that."
Beal swam the longest race of all the events, the 500 free, where swimmers go 20 laps, and she's enjoying her time as a Ram for the second year now. Speaking of the 500 free, she liked what she did placewise in it this year compared to last year.
"I got fifth last year," said Beal. So third this year is a step up, and Beal said at state last year she swam a 5:35, so she is on pace to swim a good state time this time around.
Beal used to swim the 100 and 200 backstroke races, growing up, from age seven to 13.
But then she switched to the 500 free.
"I'm far better in it," said Beal. "I started focusing on that race."
And Beal said she appreciates the focus that Lemley has put on her in swimming.
"She tells me when I'm slapping my hands in the wall, helps me with my technique," said Beal. "She tells me I need to glide in, take longer strokes. I look up to her. She's really fast. We used to swim together at WhiteWater Aquatics."
So state's a scant two weeks away and Beal put it matter-of-factly for what she wants to do there, still young, a sophomore Ram.
"I definitely want to drop time at state," she said, adding, "Last year, I gained time instead of taking it off."
And, to drop time, it's going to take work and Veraya walked by Beal after her 500 free and gave her a friendly, motivating phrase to remember.
"You know what we are working on the next two weeks," said Veraya, and, she nodded in reply.
On what?
"Working on going to state," said Beal.
And, besides Lemley, Beal, Burdine, individually doing well at districts was Long, a senior who was ninth in the 200IM overall and first in the consolation heat, but probably won't make state in that event. However, Long will go to state in the 100 back, swimmming a 1:03.3.
"I'm extremely happy with Darla's swims," said Veraya.
So, Beal is going to be working hard on state the next couple weeks, and Lemley admits that she already works really hard. So is it going to be, maybe, a little easier the next two weeks, just simple correction stuff for the relays and the individuals to work on?
Hardly.
"They are not going to like the next week. They will be working really hard," said Veraya.
It's a great year for him with these girls, who he's now working with a third season as he came to the Rams halfway through these senior girls' freshman season.
"So I've seen the seniors as freshmen. It's a special year," said Veraya, who now coaches for Arbor Heights of the Seattle Summer Swim League.
So to state the Rams go, in a little less than two weeks, hopefully doing some more surprise finishing like doing better than placement seeding out of the SPSL, beating all of the North and only one team beating them at districts from the SPSL South. The divers can do some good things, too, when its their turn to shine on the diving board, halfway through the state meet's individual and relay competition is completed.