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Whatcom swimmers tally 2 individual titles, 17 medals at state meet

Bellingham's Miles Cratsenberg wins 2 state titles, earns Swimmer of the Meet award

Bellingham's Miles Cratsenberg reacts as they breach the water at the edge of the pool.
Bellingham's Miles Cratsenberg reacts Feb. 17 after finishing the 500-yard freestyle at the 2A Boys State Swim and Dive Championships prelims at the King County Aquatic Center. Cratsenberg qualified for the finals with an All-American time of 4:28.34. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)
By Connor J. Benintendi Staff Reporter

Plenty of hardware came back to Whatcom County after the 2A Boys State Swim and Dive Championships Feb. 16-18 at the King County Aquatic Center.

Local swimmers posted 17 podium placements and 13 top-5 finishes, highlighted by Bellingham junior Miles Cratsenberg completing his record-setting performance with two individual state titles and the Swimmer of the Meet honor.

Cratsenberg, who posted a National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association (NISCA) All-American time in the 500-yard freestyle prelims (4:28.34), was named the event’s top swimmer after claiming first place in the 200- and 500-yard freestyle races.

“I’m really setting no limit on myself,” Cratsenberg said. “I’m just trying to do my best when I get in the water.”

His time of 1:37.75 in the 200-yard freestyle set a new 2A state meet record and was also a NISCA All-American automatic qualifying time.

Bellingham's Miles Cratsenberg takes a breath sideways as water splashes all around them.
Bellingham’s Miles Cratsenberg takes a breath during the 500-yard freestyle prelims. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)

Amid all his accomplishments this year, Cratsenberg has his sights set on another goal for next season.

“A goal for me, personally, was I wanted to get the state record in the [200-yard freestyle], and I think I was [six-tenths of a second] off of that,” he added. “Right after I got out, I was like ‘I’ve got some more work to do.’”

The current overall state record time of 1:37.17 was set by Bremerton’s Nathan Adrian, later a five-time Olympic gold medalist, in 2006.

Bellingham finished third as a team out of 36 total schools with 190 points behind only Pullman (286 points) and Anacortes (245 points).


Squalicum finished eighth as a team with 146 points and seven of the county’s top-5 placements. Freshman Dylan Fisk and senior Mathias Synnott led the way for the Storm, each capturing a second-place finish.

Bellingham got four other top-5 placements — two in relays and two in individual races. Sophomore Derek Jones captured fourth in the 500-yard freestyle with his time of 5:00.94, while senior Chayse Gauthier accumulated a score of 260.40 in the 1-meter dive, finishing fifth.

The Bellingham boys swim and dive team pose for a group photo with their awards.
The Bellingham boys swim and dive team pose on the podium after placing third as a team with 190 points. (Photo courtesy of Randy Elsner)

Seniors Alec Rodriguez-Stiff, Isaac Bates, Ivan Potapov and Cratsenberg clocked a 1:40.42 in the 200-yard medley relay to finish third, while Jones, Cratsenberg, Potapov and Rodriguez-Stiff took fourth in the 400-yard freestyle relay with their time of 3:22.85.

Cratsenberg gave credit to Bellingham coach Matthew Buckmaster for the team’s impressive showing.

“[Buckmaster] really went above and beyond for me and my teammates,” Cratsenberg said. “He really did a good job of pulling us all together and getting our heads on straight.”

For the Storm, Fisk was second only to Cratsenberg in the 500-yard freestyle with his time of 4:50.80 while Synnott took second in the 100-yard backstroke, touching the wall in 52.23 seconds.

“Mathias’ [100-yard backstroke] was the best I’d seen him,” Squalicum coach Randy Elsner said. “He didn’t miss a thing and took care of the details of his race like I’ve never seen him do before.  He also gave us a jolt at the end of the last relay to out-touch Bellingham for third, making that an exciting race down to the finish.”

Squalicum’s Mathias Synnott dives backwards with their arms pointed to the waters.
Squalicum’s Mathias Synnott gets off to a fast start in the 100-yard backstroke prelims. Synnott placed second in the prelims and in the finals. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)

Synnott also finished fourth in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 47.73 seconds, and Fisk took fourth in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:47.66. Sophomore Trey Rippon nabbed fourth in the 100-yard butterfly (54.51 seconds), adding to the Storm’s impressive individual performances.

Fisk (200-yard freestyle, 500-yard freestyle), Synnott (100-yard freestyle, 100-yard backstroke) and Rippon (100-yard butterfly) combined to shatter five individual school records between the district and state meets.

Squalicum’s 200-yard medley relay team of Synnott, Fisk, Rippon and freshman Finn Smith took fourth (1:43.06) as its 400-yard freestyle relay group of Fisk, Rippon, Synnott and freshman Hayden Nelson finished third (3:22.72). Both times set new school records.

Lynden, which finished 14th as a team (38 points), was led by a seventh-place finish from senior Cody Moreland in the 100-yard butterfly (56.47 seconds).

Sehome took 23rd as a team and the Mariners’ meet was highlighted by a fourth-place finish from junior Jackson Legan in the 1-meter dive (268.75).

Squalicum’s Trey Rippon breaches the water for air.
Squalicum’s Trey Rippon finished first in his heat of the 100-yard butterfly during the prelims. Rippon finished fourth in finals. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)

2A Boys State Swim and Dive Championships results

(*) Denotes podium placement

200-yard medley relay

3rd, Bellingham, Miles Cratsenberg, Alec Stiff-Rodriguez, Isaac Bates, Ivan Potapov (1:40.42)*

4th, Squalicum, Mathias Synnott, Dylan Fisk, Trey Rippon, Finn Smith (1:43.06)*

14th, Lynden, Eli Rinehart, Kai Wolfisberg, Cody Moreland, Ethan Williams (1:51.67)

200-yard freestyle

1st, Miles Cratsenberg, Bellingham (1:37.75)*

4th, Dylan Fisk, Squalicum (1:47.66)*

200-yard individual medley

10th, Derek Jones, Bellingham (2:05.05)

50-yard freestyle

15th, Trey Rippon, Squalicum (:23.37)

1-meter dive

4th, Jackson Legan, Sehome (268.75)*

5th, Chayse Gauthier, Bellingham (260.40)*

8th, Caleb Epps, Bellingham (222.05)*

10th, Porter Chesbrough, Bellingham (211.55)

12th, Gus Deluca, Sehome (203.55)

100-yard butterfly

4th, Trey Rippon, Squalicum (:54.51)*

7th, Cody Moreland, Lynden (:56.47)*

14th, Alec Rodriguez-Stiff, Bellingham (:58.78)

100-yard freestyle

4th, Mathias Synnott, Squalicum (:47.73)*

500-yard freestyle

1st, Miles Cratsenberg, Bellingham (4:37.42)*

2nd, Dylan Fisk, Squalicum (4:50.80)*

4th, Derek Jones, Bellingham (5:00.94)*

200-yard freestyle relay

9th, Bellingham, Chayse Gauthier, Michael Mosquera, Isaac Bates, Derek Jones (1:36.61)

14th, Lynden, Conner Henry, Kai Wolfisberg, Colby Nosbusch, Ethan Williams (1:40.85)

100-yard backstroke

2nd, Mathias Synnott, Squalicum (:52.23)*

14th, Hayden Nelson, Squalicum (1:00.14)

100-yard breaststroke

6th, Alec Rodriguez-Stiff, Bellingham (1:00.91)*

15th, Cody Moreland, Lynden (1:05.15)

400-yard freestyle relay

3rd, Squalicum, Dylan Fisk, Hayden Nelson, Trey Rippon, Mathias Synnott (3:22.72)*

4th, Bellingham, Miles Cratsenberg, Ivan Potapov, Derek Jones, Alec Stiff-Rodriguez (3:22.85)*

11th, Lynden, Cody Moreland, Conner Henry, Eli Rinehart, Ethan Williams (3:40.25)

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