Girls swimming: Coffman, 400 relay swim to state berths

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, November 13, 2019

After battling for top spots among the region’s top individuals and relays last week, Sequim sophomore Mia Coffman and the Wolves’ 400 free relay team are headed to the state finals.

Coffman, already qualified for the state 2A meet in the 500-yard freestyle, added a wild card berth in the 200-yard freestyle at the West Central District meet in Renton on Nov. 8 and 9.

Coffman will have company after the Wolves’ 400 free relay team that placed seventh at districts earned a second wild card entry to state. That team of Coffman, sophomores Lauren Sundin and Natalie George and senior Francesca Bargis, clocked in at 4:15.13 at districts, winning its B heat final by more than a second.

That effort — a four-second best for the team — helped the Wolves earn a spot at the state meet this coming weekend.

“I don’t think mentally they thought that was an option for them,” Sequim coach Sarah Thorson said.

The state 2A meet is set for Nov. 15-16 at the King County Aquatics Center in Federal Way.

In the West Central District meet team standings Sequim finished eighth with 49 points. Defending 2A state champ North Kitsap took top honors with 243 points, edging out Lindbergh (233). Port Angeles was fifth (135).

“I feel like we had a very cohesive team this year — they worked very hard and worked as a team very well,” Thorson said.

“We took more (athletes) to districts more than we thought we would,” she said, noting the Wolves got five additional wild card berths to districts this season.

Coffman was the Wolves’ top individual finisher at the district meet, racing to a fifth-place 2:06 finish in the 200 free.

She later added a third place finish in the 500 free of 5:37, behind 2018 state runner-up Briann Hoffman of North Kitsap and Port Angeles freshman Mackenzie DuBois.

Sequim’s 200 free relay team — Coffman, senior Sydney Swanson, junior Eislynn Flood and sophomore Petra Bernsten —qualified for the district B final and placed 11th with a 1:58.81 finish.

Swanson swam her way to an eighth-place finish in the 100 breaststroke, clocking in at 1:19.31 in the B final. She also placed 14th in the 200 individual medley (2:43).

Bargis, an exchange student, qualified for the B final in the 100 backstroke and placed 10th in 1:12.15. She also qualified for the B final in the 100 freestyle, finishing 12th in 1:01.54. Bargis set personal bests in both events.

“She was an unexpected surprise,” Thorson said of Bargis

Sundin, a sophomore, was 14th in the 50 free (29.09) and 16th in the 100 butterfly.

Teammate Morgan Cariou, a senior, was 17th in the 100 butterfly (1:20).

Thorson said she was impressed with Cariou’s effort to improve in the stroke during the season.

Flood finished 17th overall in the 500 free with a 6:25 finish.

George took 19th in the 100 free with a time of 1:06.06, and 21st in the 100 backstroke in 1:19.75.

Last season as a freshman, Coffman placed fourth in the 500 free and fifth in the 200 free.