Kennedy finally didn’t win the 3A state title in girls swimming after having won it in both 2007 and 2008, but that was just letting someone else get some credit. The Lancers didn’t drop too far off the podium’s top spot, either, finishing third at the WIAA Swimming and Diving Championships at the Weyerhaueser King County Aquatic Center Saturday Nov. 14.

“It’s a talented group,” said Sean Prothero, the Lancers’ first year head coach. Former head coach Marc Stock coached many years in a row in leading the Lancers to near-dynasty status.

Prothero, whose dad, Mark, led the Kent Seattle Summer Swim League program to great finishes for decades in a row, competing against local teams like Normandy Park, Olympic View, Gregory, Seahurst and Arbor Heights. Mark Prothero also coached successfully at Kentwood, getting district and close-to state championships there. So, Sean is a cut out of dad and he also assisted Sean Hutcherson, who coached King’s exclusive club swim team (year-round) before Hutcherson left.

Swimmers like Nikki and Allie Vetterlein left the Lancers, and Kennedy also missed having a defending state champion in Amanda Thach, who opted to go club only this season. The young Prothero still molded and sold this team on competing at the highest level.

“They (the girls on the team this year) would ask me how I thought we would do this season, and, I would say, ‘I don’t know,’” said Sean Prothero. “I said maybe top five.”

Only six swimmers got the Lancers to that aforementioned third place finish so that’s something great. Three divers helped, too.

So really the Lancers’ coach was not leading them on in any way, shape, or form. He was hoping for the best, visualizing down the line toward a literal handful or so of athletes picking up points at the state meet.

And it nearly happened again. Being less than 50 points from first is very good. A winning relay alone notches a school 40 points and so there really were not that many points of the 11 races separating the Lancers from three-peating as 3A girls champs in swimming.

The points at the end of the meet showed the Lancers with 204, and Juanita 242 for second behind Mercer Island with 246.50 points to win it. Bellevue went out fourth with 171, Hanford fifth with 140, and Mount Rainier sixth with 128, just five points ahead of seventh place Bainbridge and eight ahead of eighth place Union (Vancouver, Wash.) with 120.

“I love Sean,” said Emily Fenster, a captain on the Lancers who, speaking of showing, gave a mighty fine one for her team at state. “He’s a good sport. He puts up with a lot from us. He’s great.”

The best showing of the day came from Kennedy swimmers like Fenster, winnning the 200 freestyle (1:52.05) and taking second in the 100 backstroke (57.96).

“I was really proud that we could do so well with only six girls,” said Fenster, who also participated on the Lancers’ third place 200 yard medley (1:53.57) team with Kellie Langun, Gabby Lindblad, Mariah Crockett and on their second place 400 free team (3:38.45) with Lindblad, Annie Benoit and Audrey Griggs.

Prothero was proud of Fenster.

“Emily winning the 200 free was a surprise,” said Prothero. “Kelly Tannhaueser has won it the previous three years.”

Fenster beating Tannhaueser in that event quite likely took her name out of the Swimmer of the Year ballot, given to the top swimmer of their two individuals allowed swims at state according to power point rankings.

Fenster just smiled and said, ‘Uh huh,’ when said of that knocking off of a traditional power in the 200 free at state.  And then, pausing, Fenster added of Tannhaeser: “I love racing Kelly. She’s a really nice girl. It was cool to get to race her my senior year.”

Lindblad, who is a sophomore in the footsteps of swimmer-of-the-meet sister Brianne from two years ago, held her own, getting to finals in one race and winning consols in another.

“I was like my sister except she won an event every year,” said Lindblad, pausing, then smiling and saying, “They should have a 200 fly race. Then I would win.”

For diving, again, Kennedy was tops, with Paige Greeley third at state last year, staying right in the same range this year -- taking fourth. And newcomer freshman, Ashley Knox really stepped onto the scene soundly, taking second overall this year at state.

Good competition between these two? No doubt.

“Pretty back-and-forth,” said Greeley. “It’s fun to dive with Ashley. We are really good friends.”

To that, Knox added, “She’s so good.”

“You are, too,” said Greeley, quickly shooting back at Knox who smiled, too.

Greeley is old hat at this state diving stuff,. but Knox is new to this scene.

“It was so intense,” said Knox. “I was like standing flexed.”

There is an incoming freshman next season, Alex Rottler, said the two, that will help enliven the competition at Kennedy in diving and Danielle Sposari also is a sophomore that made state, too, this season (eighth). So, four could be tops.

“Top four,” said Greeley, smiling some more.

Travis Thompson stepped in as dive coach for the Lancers this season. He’s the former third place state finisher for their rival Mount Rainier Rams.

“He was probably the hardest worker I’ve had,” said Wollenweber.

“He’s a great coach,” said Greeley. “He will get in there and dive with us.”

“The girls did nice, “ said Thompson, who graduated from Cal-Poly and now teaches math at Kennedy.

Wollenweber’s divers that wild carded into state, Bernie Ward, a sophomore, and Megan Biehn, a junior, performed great, too. After just getting to state by allocation and not qualification, the two Rams went and took 14th and 16th overall, both in finals (making it past the first day of diving prequalification).

“I have had some at state-girls and boys-every year,” said Wollenweber, a Mount Rainier coach for 12 seasons now. He then was mentioned of the allocation this year that nearly was trouble to his sterling mark. “This year was tough. I thought I was going to get skunked.”

The best for the Rams in swimming, so to speak, were led by Molly Larson, who took second in the 100 yard breaststroke, losing to Juanita senior Emile Kaufman, who got the Swimmer of the Meet award this year at state. So, that’s pretty good company for the senior captain for the Rams.

Right after swimming the 100 breast (event 11), and already helping earn the Rams a second place finish in the 200 medley (one spot above Kennedy in that race) with a time of 1:52.07. Larson rushed off to help the 400 free team in event 12 take fourth, with teammates Sonny Dorhofer, Courtney Larson and Mackenzie Marrs.

It was a good job all-around for the Rams, who got just enough points to be top eight at state. It is one of the podium spots, so that’s good, even though they no longer put the eight teams counted down in order to number one on the podium at once like they used to do not too long ago at the high school state meets.

Lancers’ sophomore Benoit was sixth in the consolation final (14th overall) in the 100 back (1:02.17) and she was third in the consol final of the 200 free (2:00.72).  Gabby Lindblad was first in the consol final of the 500 free. She told what she thought of that race.
“I am not going to do that race again,” she said.

That might be too bad, as she unfortunately was allocated out of the 500 free final by virtue of being less than a half second behind the eighth and final swimmer from the heat 1 and heat 2 races. Because in the final, Lindblad smoked it in a time of 5:10.35. She would have taken fifth place in the final if she had been in it. The fourth place time was 5:09.27. Sixth place was way back, too, at 5:!5.28. So, yeah, Gabby said she would never race it again.

Said Fenster. “She said to call her by districts meet) and tell her not to swim the 500, so she didn’t get pressured into it.”
Did you call her?

“No,” smiled Fenster, adding, “Her time was good. She did well.”

The Rams’ divers were not even supposed to be there, but made it when the “wild card” went into effect.

“They want to fill out the sheet at state with 24 divers and so they were able to get in that way,” said Todd Wollenweber, who coached Thompson to that above third place finish and has coached others even higher, like Andrew Keane  to second at state.
Wollenweber works well with Omar Crowder, the Rams’ head swimming coach.

“I enjoy working with him,” said Wollenweber. “We are a lot alike. We are real honest and straightforward. If I do something stupid, he tells me. I like that. And it goes the other way around.”

Other individuals at state turning in fine performances included the Rams’ Courtney Larson, who was third in the consol finals of the 50 free, in 25.73 and Dorhofer right behind her in fourth in 25.81. Dorhofer also was fifth in the consol finals in 56.83, telling all that this girl can not only help the Rams’ fastpitch team get to the second day at state but also swim and help her team get a high finish.

“It was fun to work with them,” said Prothero. “I made the transition to head coach this year. Travis is a wonderful addition to the team,too. Just looking at what we had. I am really happy with the girls.”