The league championship meet for KingCo girls swimming was not the same as it had been in years past. With the league’s realignment during the off season, the meet has been transformed from a small meet of eight 3A KingCo teams to a large meet consisting of 18 teams from 2A, 3A and 4A. The only thing that has stayed the same is the venue, Mary Wayte Pool, and Mercer Island winning its eighth league title in as many years.

“It was the idea of kids being able to race and just have a great meet,” said Mercer Island girls swimming coach Jeff Lowell, who organized and hosted the event. “We [the Islander girls swim team] kind of did the same things we have in the past.”

The final score was a lesson in Islander aquatic dominance with the home team scoring 566 points, 115 better than second-place 4A Newport High School. Mercer Island’s victory was an example of the team’s trademark depth.

“This is good because it makes us push ourselves more because it is more intense,” said Islander Sara Markwith. “This is the best thing for us, even if we don’t win the league title every year.”

Another indication of the Islanders’ depth and endurance was the fact that four swimmers finished in the top 10 of the 500-yard freestyle, led by Jennifer Pak, who took third place (5:19.08).

“This meet is a lot faster than in the past,” said Pak. “It is fun to be able to race against different people than we normally see.”

Islander Rachel Godfred continued her tear through the KingCo competition, placing first in the 200-yard freestyle (1:55.02) and took second in the 100-yard butterfly (58.41).

Godfred also teamed with Pak, Charlotte Graham and Olivia Graham to take first in the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:41.03) and helped the 200-yard freestyle relay team, Pak, Mary Zajac and Lauren Poli, to a win (1:41.23).

The event also gave some swimmers one last chance to qualify for the state meet. With the pool deck and stands full to capacity, the electricity helped to fuel some of the athletes’ adrenaline. One example was Lauren Deiparine’s state qualifying time in the 100-yard breaststroke, taking seventh overall during the swim (1:12.40). Poli took second overall during the race with a time of 1:06.73. Two other Islanders would place in the top 20.

Poli also finished second overall during the 50-yard freestyle (24.78).

Pak had a second individual top-10 finish, taking fifth in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:16.51, while Olivia Graham (sixth, 58.02) and Zajac (ninth, 58.42) both finished in the top 10 during the 100-yard freestyle.

Zajac, Charlotte Graham, Poli and Madeleine Chandless teamed up to take fourth in the 200-yard medley relay (1:54.33).

Along with more competition, the meet also allowed the Islanders to rekindle some rivalries with former 3A KingCo teams such as Newport, Issaquah and Bellevue.

“It is fun to get that rivalry again because we know so many people on their teams,” said Pak.