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 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 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 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 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)
