Richland's Roberts wins 2 state titles, 4A Swimmer of the Year

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).

The Bombers' senior erased the 17-year-old 100 fly record of 48.14 seconds set in 1992 by Ugur Taner of Newport.

"I'd known that was the record for three years now, and have been wanting it for that long. It was awesome to break that," Roberts said.

Roberts' performance highlighted an altogether strong performance by the Bombers, who also received the state academic award for highest team GPA (3.588).

"I'm not sure there are words to describe Cody's performance," said Richland/Hanford coach Kathy Piper. "He just obliterated everything. New state time and new state record, just the most amazing swim we've seen in a long time."

"Everybody is talking about it. Tt's the buzz of the swim meet."

Roberts' brother even took a moment from his own college conference championships to offer a pat on the back.

"My brother texted me and said he was bragging about me at his swim meet," Cody said of Cade Roberts, a senior at South Dakota State University, whose events include the 100 and 200 breaststrokes and the 200 IM.

"He is more knowledgable and more focused before races than anybody else. He's got quite a brain about swimming. I watch a lot of tapes on the Internet when I hear somebody goes fast, but mainly my brother is a brainiac when it comes to that stuff."

Roberts was third man in the 200 medley, and helped push the Bombers relay team -- which included juniors Eric Blanchard and Alden Welsch and sophomore Tyler Pickett -- to a 1:39.05 performance and third-place finish.

"Our goal has been to break 1:40," Roberts said. "Everybody stepped up and did their fastest splits."

Blanchard placed sixth in the 500 free (4:47.22); Pickett placed sixth in the 200 IM (1:59.50) and eighth in the 100 breast (1:02.47); Richland's 400 free relay team -- sophomore Nathaniel Weinman, Pickett, Blanchard and Roberts -- finished in 3:15.48 for fourth place.

"They just hauled in the hardware today," Piper said. "Everybody just performed outstanding."

In the consolation bracket, Weinman (1:46.40) and Blanchard (1:47.85) swam to eighth and 11th place finishes respectively in the 200 free; and freshman Nick Connors placed 10th in the 500 free (4:52.00).

Meanwhile, senior Marshall Goodrich placed eighth in the 200 free (1:47.58) and seventh in the 500 free (4:48.26) for Moses Lake, senior Sebastian Weber placed eighth in the 100 fly (53.58) and the Chiefs finished 13th in the 200 free (1;33.41) and 11th in the 400 free (3:25.09) relay consolations.

Team scores--Kamiak 222, Shorewood 206, Gig Harbor 201, Richland 176, Inglemoor 154.50, Garfield 149, Marysville-Pilchuck 142, South Kitsap 134, Newport 100, Snohomish 99, Oak Harbor 81, Stadium 71, Cascade 63, Redmond 61, Moses Lake 56, Wilson 55, Beamer 53, Evergreen 43, Davis 32, Edmonds-Woodway 30, Wenatchee 29.50, Curtis 25, Eastmont 21, Jackson 18, Foss 15, Kentwood 15, Central Kitsap 13, Shelton 10, Mountain View 8, Stanwood 8, Lake Stevens 8, Decatur 6, Kent-Meridian 5, Roosevelt 5, Skyline 3, Issaquah 3, Eastlake 2, Jefferson 1, Auburn 1.

200 medley relay--Kamiak 1:38.56; 3, Richland (Eric Blanchard, Tyler Pickett, Cody Roberts, Alden Welsch) 1:39.05. 200 free--Bryan Michaels (Shw) 1:39.64; 8, Marshall Goodrich (ML) 1:47.58; 9, Nathaniel Weinman (Ric) 1:46.40; 11, Blanchard (Ric) 1:47.85. 200 IM--Trevor LeValley (M-P) 1:55.02; 6, Pickett (Ric) 1:59.50. 50 free--Garren Riechel (Sno) 21.14. Diving--Max Klassen (Red) 452.90; 14, Braxton Ford (ML) 288.30. 100 fly--Roberts (Ric) 47.81 (meet record; old record, 48.14, Ugur Taner, Newport, 1992); 8, Sebastian Weber (ML) 53.58.

100 free--Logan Goodman (Sno) 47.50. 500 free--Michaels (Shw) 4:31.55; 4, Weinman (Ric) 4:43.89; 6, Blanchard (Ric) 4:47.22; 7, Goodrich (ML) 4:48.26; 10, Nick Connors (Ric) 4:52.00. 200 free relay--Kamiak 1:28.72; 13, Moses Lake (Sebastian Weber, Kyle Reeder, Reuben Huddleston, Goodrich) 1:33.41. 100 back--Roberts (Ric) 50.37. 100 breast--Riechel (Sno) 54.49; 8, Pickett (Ric) 1:02.47. 400 free relay--Kamiak 3:13.82; 4, Richland (Weinman, Pickett, Blanchard, Roberts) 3:15.48; 11, Moses Lake (Weber, Reeder, Huddleston, Goodrich) 3:25.09.

Class 3A

The Hanford team placed ninth overall in the 3A championships, and senior Joe Wertz took third, earned automatic All-American times and set new school records in both the 200 IM (1:53.56) and 100 back (1:53.56).

"I did my goals and dropped plenty of time," Wertz said. "I'm just glad how it ended. It ended on a really good note and it's been a great four years."

Jeff Grindel was sixth in the 100 breast (1:02.80), and the Falcons placed sixth in the 200 medley (1:42.36) and 10th in the 400 free (3:23.85) relay events.

Team scores--Mercer Island 475, Mt. Rainier 208, Seattle Prep 183, Lakeside 155, Peninsula 136, Bainbridge 119, Bellevue 116, Eastside Catholic 111, Hanford 85, Lakes 81, Timberline 72, Kennedy 72, Camas 67, Liberty 53, Capital 53, O'Dea 39, Olympic 31, Shorecrest 30, Enumclaw 28, Meadowdale 27, Port Angeles 23.5, Mt. Si 23, Sammamish 20, West Valley 20, Highline 17, Hazen 17, Hudson's Bay 16, Clover Park 5, Lindbergh 4.5, Ferndale 4, North Thurston 3, Bremerton 1, Auburn Mountainview 1.

200 medley relay--Mercer Island 1:34.25; 6, Hanford (Joe Wertz, Stephen Grindel, Danny Tixier, Miles Phillips) 1:42.36. 200 free--Mac Lowry (MR) 1:40.37. 200 IM--Owen Wurzbacher (Lksd) 1:50.26; 3, Wertz (Han) 1:53.56. 50 free--Ethan Hallowell (EC) 20.58. Diving--Beau Riebe (MI) 445.75; 18, B.J. Deatherage (Han) 167.60; 24, Stephen Grindel (Han) 78.50. 100 fly--Murphy Longbotham (MI) 50.82. 100 free--Hallowell (EC) 45.26. 500 free--Lowry (MR) 4:36.98. 200 free relay--Mercer Island 1:27.71. 100 back--Alexander Hoff (MI) 49.79; 3, Wertz (Han) 51.86. 100 breast--Wurzbacher (Lksd) 55.59; 6, Jeff Grindel (Han) 1:02.80. 400 free relay--Mercer Island 3:06.71; 10, Hanford (Phillips, Robbie Pfaff, Wertz, Tixier) 3:23.85.

Class 2A

Prosser senior Tyler Burgett placed second in the 100 fly (52.68) and 100 breast (1:00.87) to highlight area finalists at the 2A championships and shared Swimmer of the Year honors in a three-way tie that included sophomore Austin Fish of Sehome and junior Ryley Pearson of Burlington-Edison

"When I swam the 100 breast, I was just thinking about the 100 fly again," Burgett said. "How I was seeded first in that and the guy that was seeded second beat me. I thought 'You know what? I'm going to turn the tables.' I was going to stay with him the entire time but he slipped away right at the end."

But coach Rhonda Baker put a positive spin on things.

"That's a new school record," Mustangs coach Rhonda Baker said of Burgett's 100 breast finish. "It was a great race, it was just touch-touch."

Team scores--Sehome 142, Aberdeen 62, Burlington-Edison 53, Interlake 48, Pullman 45, Lynden 32, Squalicum 31, Cheney 22, Hockinson 17, Selah 15, Prosser 14, Bellingham 12, Archbishop Murphy 10, Anacortes 9, Toppenish 9, Mark Morris 6, Steilacoom 6, Quincy 6, Sequim 5, Washington 5, Nooksack Valley 4, River Ridge 2.

200 medley relay--Sehome 1:41.59. 200 free--Ryley Pearson (B-E) 1:47.66. 200 IM--Cal Mackintosh (Hock) 1:57.88. 50 free--Anthony Galaviz (Top) 22.18. 100 fly--Pearson (B-E) 52.27; 2, Tyler Burgett (Pro) 52.68. 100 free--Alex Thon (Seh) 49.55. 500 free--Jordan Fish (Seh) 4:59.96. Diving--Nic Hutchinson (Seh) 334.90. 200 free relay--Sehome 1:31.58. 100 back--J.Fish (Seh) 54.55. 100 breast--Austin Fish (Seh) 1:00.87; 2, Burgett (Pro) 1:01.57. 400 free relay--Sehome 3:21.49.