Looking at the times of Mid-Columbia swimmers less than a week into the season, one might think the girls state championships in Federal Way were just around the corner, not two months away.
At Saturday's Eastern Washington Jamboree in Prosser, Hailey Rankin of the host Mustangs swam the 100-yard butterfly in a state-qualifying time of 1 minute, 2.32 seconds.
That night, more state qualifiers rolled in at the Richland Twilight Jamboree. Hanford senior Melissa Merrill qualified on her own in the 50 freestyle, then helped the Falcons achieve state-qualifying times in the 400 free and 200 medley relays.
Richland sophomore Lisa Bratton, a 2012 Olympic Trials qualifier in the 200 backstroke, qualified individually for state in the 100 back. She also was part of a state-qualifying swim in the 400 free relay.
And more blazing times are expected once Othello senior Natilee Ruiz jumps off the starting block.
Ruiz won Class 2A state titles in the 50 free and 100 backstroke in 2008, then took the next fall off to play volleyball for the Huskies. She returned to the pool in 2010 and claimed two more state championships, this time in the 200 and 500 free.
Ruiz, a Division I recruit and an Olympic Trials qualifier in the 200 individual medley and 200 backstroke, is eager to make a few final marks in her high school career.
"She's got four state (meet) records out of the eight, so she'll probably work on getting the others," said Moses Lake coach Tony St. Onge, who coaches Ruiz under a co-op situation.
In the CBBN, Hanford, which finished third in the 3A state championships last season, and 4A Richland have been perennial powerhouses under coach Kathy Piper. There's no sign of a drop-off -- the teams have a combined 11 state qualifiers back from last year.
"We're pretty well loaded," Piper said. "It's kind of fun."
But rival schools hope to have a little fun of their own trying to upset the power balance.
Southridge returns five state qualifiers from last year. One of them, junior Katelyn McLaughlin, has qualified this year in the 100 breaststroke. Last weekend in Richland, she swam on the Suns' state-qualifying 200 medley relay team.
Kamiakin is led by sophomore Lindsay Przybylski, who had top-10 finishes in the 100 free, 100 backstroke and 100 fly at the Eastern Washington Jamboree. She also helped the Braves' "A" team place sixth in the 200 free relay in Prosser.
At Kennewick, former Kamiakin swimmer Erin Holmes has assumed the coaching reins. Junior Hailey Murphy gives the Lions some state experience, competing in the 200 IM and 100 fly in 2010. She has qualified for the 100 fly again this year.
Sunnyside also has one returning state qualifier, Marisa Broersma. At the Eastern Washington Jamboree, the senior won the 100 breaststroke and placed second in the 100 IM and seventh in the 100 fly.
At the 4A level, Moses Lake has six returning state qualifiers, including senior Courtney Schwiesow, a sixth-place finisher in the 100 breaststroke.
Meanwhile, several Mid-Columbia teams hope to see what they can glean from their pool of potential.
Walla Walla has one 2010 state qualifier, sophomore Max Timm-Ballard, among its 34 swimmers. The squad's size doubled from last year, and new coach Katharine Curles credited the recruiting by her predecessor, Brad Daly, for the program's rapid growth.
"The team has a good reputation for being really close and for being a good place for people to learn the sport," Curles said.
At the 2A level, Grandview could make some noise with promising freshman Kassandra Stoneking and 2010 district qualifiers Samanta Castaneda and Jessica Morales.
So, fans should be advised to keep their eyes on this year's talented bunch of swimmers and to watch their heads. With most of the season still ahead, those state- and district-qualifying times will keep crashing down.
* Katie Dorsey: 509-582-1526; kdorsey@tricityherald.com
