Auburn Mountainview grabs pair of district titles | Prep boys swimming

For Auburn Mountainview boys swimming coach Justin Pritchard, the West Central District III 3A 200-yard freestyle finals was as thrilling as it comes. "We'd never won a district relay title before, and that race is kind of fun because it's so fast," he said. "I would say this was one of the most exciting races we've had. "Luke (Lavine) goes into the water first and leads after a half-lap. And with the next two guys (Stephen Creed and Colin Lempert), we find ourselves maybe a stroke behind," Pritchard said. "Then Cameron (Lindsay) goes in and had his best flip turn of the year. He went in behind and came out a stroke ahead. That was very exciting." At the end of the race, the Lions' foursome posted the fastest time at the meet, with freshman Lavine, senior Creed, sophomore Lempert and junior Lindsay posting a school-record effort of 1 minute, 33.88 seconds. It was program's first-ever district title and propelled the Lions into this weekend's state championships at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.

By Shawn Skager • February 15, 2012 6:32 pm
Cameron Lindsay in the pool for Auburn Mountainview during the district meet at Hazen.
Cameron Lindsay in the pool for Auburn Mountainview during the district meet at Hazen.

By SHAWN SKAGER

sskager@auburn-reporter.com

For Auburn Mountainview boys swimming coach Justin Pritchard, the West Central District III 3A 200-yard freestyle finals was as thrilling as it comes.

“We’d never won a district relay title before, and that race is kind of fun because it’s so fast,” he said. “I would say this was one of the most exciting races we’ve had.

“Luke (Lavine) goes into the water first and leads after a half-lap. And with the next two guys (Stephen Creed and Colin Lempert), we find ourselves maybe a stroke behind,” Pritchard said. “Then Cameron (Lindsay) goes in and had his best flip turn of the year. He went in behind and came out a stroke ahead. That was very exciting.”

At the end of the race, the Lions’ foursome posted the fastest time at the meet, with freshman Lavine, senior Creed, sophomore Lempert and junior Lindsay posting a school-record effort of 1 minute, 33.88 seconds. It was program’s first-ever district title and propelled the Lions into this weekend’s state championships at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.

“It was really cool. We just had a great sense of accomplishment,” Creed said. “We were just hoping to get a top four to make it to state. But then everybody just put together their best times. I guess we all wanted it.”

In addition to the relay team’s performance, Lindsay captured the 100 backstroke district title with a 52.98 finish.

Lindsay also was second in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:00.36, shaving more than four seconds off his preliminary time.

Also moving on to state is the Lions’ 200 medley relay team, which finished sixth at the district meet with a 1:47.20. The relay – Lindsay, Lempert, Lavine and junior Paul Whisman – snagged a wild-card spot for the state meet.

For Pritchard, the meet is the culmination of his team’s hard work.

“We have some young, fast swimmers,” he said. “Some of them swim during the summer for a few local teams. They play Auburn Mountainview water polo, so they come into our season in shape.

“Every year we get a little more depth and a little bit stronger,” he added. “One thing about the boys is they never stop thinking they can go faster. They just love breaking any records that are on the board or each other’s records.”

The state 3A meet gets under way at 9:45 a.m. Friday and continues Saturday.

ALSO: The Auburn Riverside 200-yard freestyle relay team, with Michael Baber, Mitch Bredl, James Marshall and Daniel Waller, competes in the 4A championships beginning at 2:30 p.m. Friday and continuing Saturday.