'Season of our lives right now'

By Dean Wong

The two undefeated teams in KingCo squared off in girls swimming recently and the eastside schools were noticeably absent.

Seattle school's Ballard and Garfield have overtaken the traditionally more talented programs east of Lake Washington. Both turned in perfect seasons leading into the meet with the unofficial KingCo championship on the line. The 4A format skips league title meets and goes directly to a district meet.

Despite losing 101-85, the Beavers have turned their girls swimming program into a major force as they march towards state.

Ballard concluded the regular season with nine wins and only the one loss to Garfield.

Carlos Palacian, KingCo Coach of Year in 2006, said a 9-1 record is not too "shabby," and he will take it.

The Ballard girls have outperformed their opponents all season long and have laid the groundwork for the District 2 meet on Nov. 2 and 3 at Juanita Pool.

The Beavers had a big victory over number one state ranked Inglemoor 99-87 on Oct. 23. The two teams put on quite a battle, with 24 state qualifying times.

Finishing the season ahead of the KingCo teams in the east was a big achievement. "The sport has long been dominated by the eastside schools," said assistant coach Leo Jaeger.

A still bigger challenge awaits them on Nov. 9 and 10 at the State Meet at the King County Aquatic Center.

The team's relay teams will lead the way at state. "We have three very strong relay teams. Most teams have one or two, we have three," said Palacian.

Individually, the Beavers bring a lot of speed and talent to the pool.

Palacian describes freshman AnneMarie Thayer as the team's "Iron Woman." She has posted state qualifying times in all eight individual events.

At state, swimmers can only compete in two individual events. Palacian says the team has a lot of flexibility on assigning swimmers to each race.

The list of other Beaver swimmers qualifying for state in individual events is evidence of the team's depth.

Freshman Galen Bond (50 and 100 free), sophomore Katie Jo Burkland (200 and 500 free), junior Briana Meyer (200 and 500 free, 100 fly, 200 IM), senior Linnea Scott (500 free, 100 back, 200 IM) and sophomore Marja Scott (50 and 100 free) are all going to state.

"We are having the season of our lives right now. We are swimming real well and are confident and strong. We are swimming with a lot of power," said Palacian.