Hailey Rankin was a sterling representative for the Prosser girls swimming team during the Tri-City Championships on Oct. 8 in Kennewick.
The junior earned victories in the 100-yard breaststroke, winning in 1 minute, 10.82 seconds, and the 100 butterfly -- perhaps the day's most exciting event.
Rankin beat Hanford's Melissa Merrill to the wall by one-hundredth of a second, lowering her state-qualifying time to a lifetime-best 1:00.93.
Rankin didn't realize how close the finish was, with her in Lane 2 and Merrill in Lane 5.
"On the turns, I could tell where (Merrill) was, but not when I was swimming," Rankin said. "I was kind of in my own mind."
In the 100 breaststroke, the top-seeded Rankin competed in the final heat against Richland's Lisa Bratton.
"I saw at the (final) turn she was ahead of me," Rankin said. "That really helped me because I pushed ahead on that last lap."
Rankin charged to victory in Lane 3, while Bratton, in Lane 5, took second in 1:11.50.
"I'm proud of (Rankin) because lots of the girls she swam against have beat her over the years, and she gets discouraged sometimes, so it was nice she could do it," Prosser/Grandview coach Kerry Warden said.
Though Rankin dropped more time off her breaststroke last week against Cheney, winning in 1:10.42, a frustrating pattern continues.
"She's been around 1:10 and wants to break that, but we can't quite get that to happen," Warden said. "She's going all out, but she gets caught between strokes or some freaky thing keeps happening."
Regardless, Rankin relishes her achievements for the Mustangs.
"Prosser's a really small town, and it doesn't get a lot of talk," she said. "Anytime someone does well, it puts a good name out there for Prosser."
After today's meet in Clarkston, Rankin will gear up for the district meet next week in Ellensburg, followed by the 2A state championships in November in Federal Way.
Rankin, who has qualified for six individual state events, says she's more set on beating herself than the competition.
"If I swim my best time and get last place, I'll be way happier than if I didn't get a best time," she said.
Titles on the line: Kathy Piper's Richland squad is undefeated, but the coach is feeling some nerves as the Bombers prepare to face fellow 4-0 team Wenatchee today at the Eastmont YMCA Aquatic Center for the CBBN 4A title.
"I never know what to expect," Piper said. "They seem to always have a surprise or two that we kind of have to be prepared for."
The Panthers feature the state's top 50 and 100 freestyler in sophomore Hannah Bruggman, as well as junior Cass Peterson, a "really good flyer, freestyler, all-anything," according to Piper.
In scouting the Panthers, Piper has determined they possess plenty of middle depth but "don't have a lot of big guns. You've got to balance the big dogs we have with the middle depth, so fighting for fifth-place points will be really important."
At the same venue, Hanford (5-0) -- also coached by Piper -- will battle Eastmont (4-1) for CBBN 3A supremacy.
"The double dual makes it really tough for us, coaching two important meets at one meet," she said.
Still, Piper believes the Falcons can handle the Wildcats, whose only league loss came Sept. 13 against Southridge.
"Eastmont's got some pretty strong freshmen this year. They're rebuilding the core program," Piper said. "They're coming back, and I think they'll be strong. I don't think they'll be quite as strong as Hanford, but they'll come out tough."
Apologies: Kennewick's team score Saturday against Hanford was incorrectly reported in Sunday's Herald. The Lions finished with 31 points.
At that meet, Kennewick's Hailey Murphy finished third in the 200 individual medley and qualified for state with a time of 2:16.35. She also went below the state qualifying mark in the 100 fly, placing third in 1:01.96.
w Katie Dorsey: 582-1526; kdorsey@tricityherald.com
