FEDERAL WAY -- Hanford capped an amazing season with 140 team points and a fifth-place finish in 3A state swimming finals Saturday at King County Aquatics Center.

Hanford sophomore Melissa Merrill won't let nerves stand in her way this weekend when she, along with seven other Falcons, takes to the pool Friday and Saturday for the 3A state finals at King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.

Hanford sophomore Melissa Merrill won't let nerves stand in her way this weekend when she, along with seven other Falcons, takes to the pool Friday and Saturday for the 3A state finals at King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.

MOSES LAKE -- Freshman Stephanie Tixier earned state qualifying times and set school records in back-to-back events, and Hanford won 11 of 12 events to dominate West co-champs Eastmont (118-67) and Wenatchee (113-72) at the CBBN championship meet in Moses Lake for the Falcons' first league title since 2000.

ELLENSBURG -- Walla Walla senior Erica Burmood placed first in the 200-yard individual medley (2:16.31) and 100 butterfly (1:01.61) prelims at the 4A district meet.

Hanford beat out both Eastmont and Wenatchee last Saturday to earn its first CBBN league title in nine years. The Falcons now move on to the CBBN 3A district meet starting Friday at Central Washington University.

Freshman Stephanie Tixier earned state qualifying times and set school records in back-to-back events, and Hanford won 11 of 12 events to dominate West co-champs Eastmont and Wenatchee at Saturday's CBBN championship meet in Moses Lake for the Falcons' first league title since 2000.

ELLENSBURG -- Southridge's Katie Smoot and Mikaela Niles each recorded state-qualifying totals at an 11-dive meet.

The location of this Saturday's CBBN 4A/3A league championship -- a three-way contest between East No. 1 Hanford (6-0-0) and West Nos. 1 Wenatchee and Eastmont (tied at 4-0-1) -- is still up in the air.

Southridge senior Katie Smoot became the team's first diver this season to qualify for the 4A state meet, compiling a score of 351.40 at an 11-dive meet Oct. 9 in Wenatchee.

RICHLAND -- Hanford gritted its chattering teeth, dominated the lanes and defended its title in chilly conditions at the 13th annual Tri-Cities Championship at George Prout Pool in Richland.

The 13th annual Tri-Cities Championship, the final outdoor meet of the fall season, begins at noon Saturday at George Prout Pool in Richland.

ELLENSBURG -- Prosser's Mackenzie Gant won the 100-yard butterfly and 200 individual medley, both in state-qualifying times, to take the overall title at the CWU Pentathlon in Ellensburg.

Here are the 2009 Mid-Columbia girls swimming standings as of Sept. 27:

Hanford/Richland coach Kathy Piper is looking at today's CBBN meet with Southridge and Kennewick at Serier Pool as an opportunity for some of her swimmers to ring up state times.

KENNEWICK -- Alesha Sanchez won two freestyle races as Southridge easily outpointed Selah, which dominated both Kamiakin and Kennewick during a meet at Serier Pool in Kennewick.

RICHLAND -- Hanford's Kristen Bennett posted four state times to place first out of a field of 200 in the Tri-City Pentathlon at Prout Pool in Richland.

KENNEWICK -- Kennewick High Schoool defeated rival Kamiakin for the first time in school history in a CBBN three-team meet at Serier Pool.

MOSES LAKE -- Courtney Schwiesow won the 500 free and took second in the 200 IM to key Moses Lake's narrow win over visiting Walla Walla in a Thursday meet.

RICHLAND — Hanford junior Kristen Bennett has so far had a noteworthy career as a long-distance swimmer.

KENNEWICK -- Kamiakin High School announced its new girls swimming coach, Katherine Spane, who takes over for Kathryn Sorum.

LAS VEGAS -- Richland graduate Cody Roberts has signed with University of Nevada-Las Vegas.

PASCO -- Othello High sophomore-to-be Natilee Ruiz led the Tri-City Channel Cats with five first-place finishes in the team's Tri-City Invitational during the weekend at the Pasco Municipal pool.

The Tri-City Channel Cats summer season begins in earnest today with the Tri-City Invitational at Memorial Pool in Pasco. Action begins at 12:30 p.m.

Cody Roberts figured he was set for the next four years when he signed to swim at the University of Washington.

Cody Roberts was already named as 4A State and CBBN 4A Swimmer of the Year, so choosing the Richland senior as the All-Area Swimmer of the Year was a no-brainer for the Tri-City Herald selection committee.

FEDERAL WAY -- Cody Roberts capped an impressive day for Richland at the 4A boys state swimming championships at King County Aquatics Center, earning 4A Swimmer of the Year honors after winning state titles in the 100-yard butterfly (47.81 seconds) and 100-yard backstroke (50.37).

FEDERAL WAY -- Cody Roberts of Richland won his preliminary races Friday in the 100-yard butterfly and 100 backstroke, recording All-America times in both at the 4A boys state swimming championships at King County Aquatics Center.

RICHLAND -- Joe Wertz of Hanford and Cody Roberts of Richland were each selected as CBBN Swimmers of the Year -- Wertz in the 3A division for the third year in a row, and Roberts clinched the 4A nod solo for the first time, having shared the honor in 2008 with Forrest Crain of Wenatchee.

Joe Wertz of Hanford and Cody Roberts of Richland were each selected as CBBN Swimmers of the Year -- Wertz in the 3A division for the third year in a row, and Roberts clinched the 4A nod solo for the first time, having shared the honor in 2008 with Forrest Crain of Wenatchee.

Seniors Cody Roberts of Richland (4A) and Joe Wertz of Hanford (3A) were named the CBBN Swimmers of the Year.

ELLENSBURG -- Tyler Pickett set a new district record in the 200 IM (2:00.86) as Richland earned its first 4A district title at Central Washington University.

Joe Wertz finished first in the 200 IM (2:02.51) and 100 back (54.58) for Hanford in 3A district prelims at Propstra Aquatic Center in Vancouver.

This weekend will be bittersweet for Richland/Hanford swim coach Kathy Piper as the athletes she has nurtured over the past several months go their separate ways to compete today and Saturday at districts.

WENATCHEE -- Richland turned in three state qualifying times during Saturday's CBBN meet in Wenatchee with the Bombers 200 free relay team and two by Cody Roberts (50 free, 100 free).

MOSES LAKE -- Marshall Goodrich posted victories in the 200 free and the 500 free to help Moses Lake defeat Richland (96-89) and also Hanford (114-72) in a CBBN boys swim meet at Lions Pool in Moses Lake.

ELLENSBURG -- Hanford diver B.J. Deatherage earned a berth to the 3A state meet next month -- the school's first-ever for a diver -- with his second-place finish at an 11-dive meet at Central Washington University.

Today's Richland-Moses Lake dual meet will decide the CBBN title for the second consecutive year.

YAKIMA -- Richland's boys defeated Hanford 113-72 during a double dual swim meet Saturday at Lions Pool in Yakima.

EAST WENATCHEE -- Sebastian Weber's state-qualifying time in the 100 fly helped visiting Moses Lake defeat Eastmont in CBBN swimming.

RICHLAND -- Richland High School defeated rival Hanford 100-71 in a fund-raising exhibition called Duel in the Pool at Columbia Basin Racquet Club.

RICHLAND -- The Richland and Hanford boys swimming teams will play host to the Duel in the Pool fund-raiser at 4 p.m. Saturday at Columbia Basin Racquet Club, and according to coach Kathy Piper it won't be a run-of-the-mill event.

Here are the Columbia Basin Big Nine boys swimming standings as of Jan. 14, 2009:

EAST WENATCHEE -- Hanford narrowly defeated Eastmont 95-91 in a three-way meet with Richland at Eastmont High School.

KENT --Richland finished fourth at the Kentridge Invitational, with Cody Roberts posting a second-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly and a third in the 100 backstroke.

WALLA WALLA -- Richland and Hanford swimmers combined for six state-qualifying times as each defeated Walla Walla at a CBBN meet at Whitman College.

MOSES LAKE -- Marshall Goodrich won the 200 individual medley and the 100 freestyle to help Moses Lake defeat visiting Wenatchee 106-80.

Two Tri-City boys swimmers were named consensus High School All-Americans prior to their senior seasons.

YAKIMA -- Nathaniel Weinman of Richland and Joe Wertz of Hanford each turned in state-qualifying times while helping their squads record a pair of victories over Davis and Eisenhower in a swimming meet at Lions Pool in Yakima.

200 medley relay Hanford 1:57.45, Sunnyside 1:57.73, Moses Lake 1:57.94, Prosser 1:58.83, Southridge 2:00.93, Kamiakin 2:03.87.