Team Preview:
Bellingham – The Bayhawks have lost two very close meets to Sehome and Ferndale, while winning one close meet against Mount Vernon, and a more decisive win against Sedro-Woolley. Bellingham’s depth has propelled them to have a Top-3 relay in all three relays, keeping pace with Sehome and Ferndale. Their next meet with Lynden shouldn’t be a challenge in the team score, but the next day with Squalicum will be another test to see where they stack up. Parker Kiniry, Sloan Jorgensen, Micah Flint, and their diver Myles Ludwig will keep them in meets.
Ferndale – The Golden Eagles’ lone loss so far is to Anacortes, who last year was 3rd at the 2A state meet. In the program’s 3rd year in existence, they continue to break school relay records. Their close win against Bellingham shows they have talent and the depth to pull out a close win against a similarly built team. The question will be how they stack up against Sehome and Squalicum, considering their meet at Anacortes wasn’t close, but they didn’t fill many events, showing they likely didn’t have their full team. Their senior class, the only group that remembers swimming as a co-op with Squalicum, has stepped up and become a solid core to propel them through this season. Boomer Dahlstrom, Luke Mitchell, Cole Henken, and Odin Overson will be the guys to watch here.
Lynden – The Lions have about 12 swimmers on their roster and has been in a number of tough meets so far. They’re likely looking towards meets with Sedro Woolley to be close, and should beat Burlington-Edison, but the rest of the league will be difficult to keep up with. Coach Olivia Striggow is good about making sure her swimmers are ready for any event and will fill events to the best of her ability, rather than keep everyone in the easy events, which will give them experience building their program over time. Eugenio Sotomayor is the guy here who has already qualified for districts.
Sehome – The defending NWC Champs are still undefeated three meets in, including a close meet against Bellingham. Like Bellingham, they have three relays sitting in the top 3 in the county, and Sehome won the league title last year on its depth. They’ve lost a chunk of that depth, but they’ve still got a number of guys from that core, and their newer guys from last year are a year older and stronger. Kai Arthur, Koen Mathey, and diver Gus Deluca highlight the Mariners, but they’ve got a very large pool of guys around them giving them depth in every event. In addition, look for a strong season from diver Kaden Schmidt, who hasn’t been able to compete yet but is practicing at a very high level.
Squalicum – Last year’s 4th place team from state is 2-0 this season, but hasn’t really been tested yet. As a result of the schedule, January may be a gauntlet that just gets more difficult. Three meets in the first week back is a tough week. Where Squalicum stacks up as a team against the rest of the competition is a question. They likely will be favored in their meets with Oak Harbor, Bellingham, Ferndale, and Mount Vernon, but how close those meets are will tell us what we need to know as they look to Anacortes and Sehome in the final week. The Storm beat Anacortes in a dual meet last year, but it was early and the Seahawks were missing a swimmer who can score for them. Having these meets at the end should make things more exciting. Squalicum currently has the top time in all 3 relays in Whatcom County, but Anacortes has stronger relays in the 200 and 400 free at the moment. The core of Squalicum guys from last year will allow them to keep in every meet, with Hayden Nelson, Michael Ciatti, Finn Smith, and Mac Hofstedt, but add in newcomers Cooper Yarsley and Rocco Khan, as well as their depth, and Squalicum could take a run at their first league and district title in program history, but they’ve got to look out for Sehome and Anacortes first.
Top Meets in January:
NWC Invitational Jan 18th 9:00 AM – This should give us a good preview of the 2A district swim meet as there are only 2 teams missing, though it will include the 3A NWC teams, giving them a district finals like atmosphere to compete in. Look for the top swimmers from each team to see how they stack up against each other, especially the Bellingham Schools and Anacortes.
Anacortes @ Squalicum – Jan 28th 3:45 – A match between the 3rd and 4th place teams at state from last year looks to be as exciting as last year. Squalicum’s senior recognition. Squalicum wants to know where it stacks up against them and after the invitational, this should be their toughest test. They beat Anacortes by two points last year in the dual meet. Anacortes and Squalicum are both missing important guys from last year’s teams, but return a large portion of their respective cores, with Squalicum adding a few more swimmers to bolster their top end. This meet may come down to how deep each squad is and those finishes in 3rd-5th place in each event, making this exciting for anyone interested in swimming, especially with Squalicum hosting, as their meets feel a bit more event like than most dual meets.
Sehome @ Anacortes – Jan 30th 3:00 – The first and second place teams from the district swim meet last year face off 2 days after Anacortes’s meet @ Squalicum. If Anacortes prevails at Squalicum, this could be for the NWC crown. Anacortes appears to have a stronger top end than Sehome, but the Mariners won on their depth, and if they’re going to do it again, that’s how it would likely play out. Look for both teams to create a lineup to try to match up and steal as many points as they can.
Squalicum @ Sehome – Jan 31st 3:45 – Sehome’s senior recognition. This meet on the very next day, will have stakes depending on the previous results. If Anacortes wins both meets, this could be for second. If Anacortes loses both meets, this could be for the title. If one team beat Anacortes and the other loses, then look for the team who lost to try to win this meet to force a tie in the standings. In program history, Squalicum has only beaten Sehome once in a dual meet, three years ago. Squalicum has come close many times, and has had higher finishes in post season, but Sehome always seems to have a slight edge. This may also come down to lineup like the meet the day prior, with Sehome and Squalicum trying to match up their depth to maximize their scores.
If things go as they look like they will, the week of January 27th will be especially exciting for fans of NWC boy’s swim and dive
All Meets to keep an eye on:
Tuesday Jan 7th:
Oak Harbor @ Sehome-Arne Hanna Aquatic Center 3:45 Start
Thursday Jan 9th:
Squalicum @ Oak Harbor-Vanderzicht Memorial Pool 4:00 Start
Mount Vernon @ Ferndale-Forge Fitness 3:00 Start
Friday Jan 10th:
Bellingham VS Squalicum-Arne Hanna Aquatic Center 3:45 Start
Thursday Jan 16th:
Ferndale @ Squalicum-Arne Hanna Aquatic Center 3:45 Start
Sehome @ Mount Vernon-Skagit YMCA 3:30 Start
Saturday Jan 18th:
NWC Invitational @ Anacortes-Fidalgo Pool and Fitness Center 9:00 AM Start
Tuesday Jan 21st:
Anacortes @ Bellingham-Arne Hanna Aquatic Center 3:45
Ferndale @ Oak Harbor-Vanderzict Memorial Pool 4:00 Start
Thursday Jan 23rd:
Mount Vernon @ Squalicum-Arne Hanna Aquatic Center 3:45 Start
Sehome @ Ferndale-Forge Fitness 3:30 Start
Tuesday Jan 28th:
Anacortes @ Squalicum-Arne Hanna Aquatic Center 3:45 Start
Thursday Jan 30th:
Sehome @ Anacortes-Fidalgo Pool and Fitness Center 3:00 Start
Oak Harbor @ Bellingham-Arne Hanna Aquatic Center 3:45 Start
Friday Jan 31st:
Squalicum @ Sehome-Arne Hanna Aquatic Center 3:45 Start
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