Eatonville swimmers cap season with relay record

The Eatonville High School swim team concluded its season on a high note at the State Swimming and Diving Championships on Nov. 14-15, at the King County Aquatic Center, highlighted by a record-breaking performance in the 400 freestyle relay finals.

Friday’s competition saw Eatonville’s Kaylee Bernt swimming in the 200 freestyle prelims, where her time of 2 minutes, 23.62 seconds was just shy of advancing her to the finals. The 200 freestyle relay team achieved a season-best time of 1:54.90, but it wasn’t quite enough to move past the preliminaries. 

RELAY RECORD

However, the highlight of the day came from the 400 freestyle relay team, which clocked in at 4:14.78, securing 14th place and a spot in Saturday’s finals.

In the finals on Saturday, Eatonville's 400 freestyle relay team of Nicole Tomyn, Annika Howard, Kaylee Bernt, and Gracie Forsman delivered an outstanding performance, finishing 13th with a school-record time of 4:12.21— cutting two seconds off their previous best. This effort broke a six-year-old record set by Ashley Shelter, Jolee Thirtyacre, Andrea Litzenberger, and Claudia Stiers.

Head Coach Andrea Stammen couldn't have been prouder of her team. 

“That 400 free relay took off over 20 seconds in two weeks to pull off a new school record in the last race, of the last meet of the season,” Stammen said. “It was stressful, and loud — so loud — and crazy, exactly like a championship sport with everything on the line should be. I am so proud of my whole team, my heart might explode.”

Stammen also highlighted the dedication and support that defined this season. 

“Everyone put in full effort every day to make themselves better for the team, both in-season and out of season,” she said. “The leadership and support each girl brings to the table is huge and makes our team stronger.”

The support extended beyond the pool deck, with the entire Eatonville swim community rallying behind the athletes. “For State, even though only eight could come down on deck, all 12 members of our team and their families traveled with us and banded together to cheer for our State swimmers,” Stammen added. “The fact that all of our girls and all of their families (not just the families of those swimming) came to both days of State says a lot about the closeness of our team. It shows the unwavering support they give to each other and the complete dedication they have to see each girl reach her goals and celebrate her success.”

Stammen reserved special praise for the four swimmers on the record-setting relay team. “They are phenomenal people as well as athletes,” she said. “With two individual school records by Kaylee and Gracie, they wanted to bring their teammates in on the record board with them.”