William Wertz wasn’t necessarily counting on a state title, but what he pulled off Saturday at the 3A State Swimming and Diving Championships in Federal Way might have made the Hanford junior just as happy.

“This was one of the best meets of my swim career,” Wertz said just before heading off to join his teammates for a late-night burger, a reward for a job well done. "I'm happy for everybody on our team. We all brought our 'A' game."

Wertz, a junior, placed second in the 100-yard freestyle, finishing in 46.76 seconds — finishing over a second behind Tommy Thach of Kennedy. Werz also took third in the 200 free in 1:42.32, just over a second behind winner Todd McCarthy of Bellevue.

“That’s kind of near the goal, to be in the top 3 in both events,” Falcons coach Kathy Piper said. “Next year we’re going to aim a little higher.”

The Falcons finished 16th in the team race, also scoring points in the 200 medley relay (15th), 100 butterfly (Jake Douglas 11th, Jeevan Philip 15th), the 100 breaststroke (Andrew Peacock 14th) and the 400 freestyle relay (12th). Richland also posted its sixth consecutive top-10 finish at the 4A meet, taking 10th with 119 points. Kamiak won the 4A team title with 207 points.

The Bombers got strong performances from several swimmers, including Ashton Pollick (third in 100 backstroke, eighth in 200 IM), Andrew Blanchard (fifth in 100 butterfly, 13th in 100 back), Luke Jackson (fifth in 100 back) as well as all three relay teams (200 free, 15th; 200 medley sixth; 400 free 10th).

“We tallied up a lot of points today,” said Piper, who doubles as the Bombers’ coach. “The kids swam out of their minds tonight. Luke had an amazing time drop in the 500. He was sixth before the last 50 and ended up third. He pushed off the wall and kicked into another gear.”

Will Burgett of Prosser also had a memorable day in the 2A event, taking second in the 50 free and 100 breast to lift the Mustangs to a 21st-place finish with 36 points — all from Burgett.

King County Aquatic Center, Federal Way Champions plus local finishers Top 16 finishers score points Class 4A
Team scores—1, Kamiak 207; 2, Stadium 170; 3, Newport 163; 4, Issaquah 156; 5, Gig Harbor 139; 6, Inglemoor 131; 7, Camas 130.5; 8, Kentridge 129; 9, Eastlake 123; 10, Richland 119; 11, Mt. Rainier 114; 12, Moses Lake 88; 13, Woodinville 76; 14, Roosevelt 67; 14, Curtis 67; 16, Skyline 60; 17, Jackson 43; 18, Cascade 41; 18, Redmond 41; 20, Rogers 29.5; 21, Walla Walla 28; 22, Lake Stevens 25; 23, South Kitsap 23; 24, Skyview 22; 25, Snohomish 17. 200 medley relay—1, Stadium 1:36.71; 6, Richland (Ashton Pollick, Ryan Francis, Andrew Blanchard, Taylor Armstrong) 1:40.26. 200 free—1, Chase Bublitz (Kentridge) 1:39.51; 3, Brenden Eslick (Moses Lake) 1:44.39; 8, Patrick Giedeman (Walla Walla) 1:46.62; 10, Zack Johnston (Moses Lake) 1:48.04. 200 IM—1, Logan Rysemus (Stadium) 1:50.51; 8, Pollick (Richland) 1:58.92. 50 free—1, Edward Kim (Eastlake) 20.11. Diving—1, Max Levy (Skyline) 463.50. 100 fly—1, Edward Kim (Eastlake) 48.00; 5, Andrew Blanchard (Richland) 52.08; 10, Brenden Eslick (Moses Lake) 52.80. 100 free—1, Chase Bublitz (Kentridge) 45.21. 500 free—. 200 free relay—1, Issaquah 1:28.95; 6, Moses Lake 1:30.48; 15, Richland (Scott Francis, Armstrong, Corey Bradshaw, R.Francis) 1:33.80. 100 back—1, Brian Woodbury (Curtis) 49.99; 3, Pollick (Richland) 52.58; 5, Luke Jackson (Richland) 53.54; 13, Blanchard (Richland) 55.10. 100 breast—1, Liam Sosinsky (Kamiak) 57.08. 400 free relay—1, Stadium 3:13.03; 8, Moses Lake 3:20.03; 10, Richland (Jackson, Pollick, Blanchard, S.Francis) 3:18.22. Class 3A
Team scores—1, Lakeside 274; 2, Mercer Island 271; 3, Bellevue 248; 4, Kennedy 181; 5, O’Dea 125; 6, Mountain View 114; 7, Shorecrest 102.5; 8, Bainbridge 96; 9, North Thurston 88; 10, Liberty (Renton) 79; 11, Auburn Mountainview 76; 12, Peninsula 75; 13, Hazen 73; 14, Seattle Prep 62; 15, Shorewood 59; 16, Hanford 58; 17, Enumclaw 45.5; 18, Oak Harbor 41; 19, Interlake 38; 20, Marysville Pilchuck 30; 20, Prairie 30; 22, Juanita 27; 23, Franklin 23.5; 24, Ingraham 20; 25, Stanwood 18. 200 medley relay—1, Kennedy 1:36.56; 15, Hanford (Andrew Peacock, Tanner Collins, Jake Douglas, William Werz) 1:44.34. 200 free—1, Todd McCarthy (Bellevue) 1:41.02; 3, William Wertz (Hanford) 1:42.32. 200 IM—1, Tommy Thach (Kennedy) 1:49.22 (meet record; state record, previous record 1:49.30 set by Andrew Lloyd of Mercer Island in 1988). 50 free—1, Grant Neil (O’Dea) 21.13. Diving—1, Brian Donohue (Kennedy) 430.45. 100 fly—1, Than Maudslien (Kennedy) 49.76; 11, Jake Douglas (Hanford) 54.82; 15, Jeevan Philip (Hanford) 55.70. 100 free—1, Tommy Thach (Kennedy) 45.47; 2, William Wertz (Hanford) 46.76. 500 free—Abraham Devine (Lakeside) 4:32.65. 200 free relay—1, Mercer Island 1:27.30; . 100 back—1, Thane Maudslien (Kennedy) 48.56 (meet record). 100 breast—1, Raymond Ha (Liberty) 57.79; 14, Andrew Peacock (Hanford) 1:03.31. 400 free relay—1, Mercer Island 3:09.57; 12, Hanford (James Bennett, Werz, Parker Schumacher, Philip) 3:22.80. Class 2A
Team scores—1, Archbishop Murphy 267; 2, Sehome 237; 3, Anacortes 197; 4, Steilacoom 179; 5, Hockinson 156; 6, Aberdeen 127; 7, Lake Washington 114; 8, Pullman 106; 9, West Valley 101; 10, Squalicum 79; 11, Klahowya 77; 12, Selah 66; 13, Lynden 66; 14, Lindbergh 60; 15, Port Angeles 55; 16, Naches Valley 54; 17, Sammamish 49; 18, North Kitsap 44; 19, Capital 38; 19, Mark Morris 38; 21, Prosser 36; 22, Sumner 34; 23, Kingston 30; 23, Washington 30; 25, Bellingham 16. 200 medley relay—1, Sehome 1:41.91; . 200 free—1, Ian Schleh (Anacortes) 1:45.07. 200 IM—1, Stephen Boden (Archbishop Murphy) 1:56.38. 50 free—1, Alec Barnard (Arch. Murph) 21.45 (meet record, previous record 21.52 set by Braden Mitchell of Mark Morris 2012); 2, Will Burgett (Prosser) 22.29. Diving—1, Rylan Korby (Squalicum) 374.25. 100 fly—1, Alec Barnard (Arch. Murph) 50.24 (breaks own meet record of 51.21 set in 2012). 100 free—1, Benjamin Scott (Steilacoom) 48.25. 500 free—1, Stephen Boden (Arch. Murph) 4:36.26. 200 free relay—1, Archbishop Murphy 1:28.50 (Meet record, previous record 1:29.31 set by Sehome, 2012); 16, Prosser (Sam Kawakami, Gabriel Klingele, Caleb Albrecht, Tim Bowen) 1:42.91. 100 back—1, Benjamin Scott (Steilacoom) 51.46 (meet record, previous record 52.23, set by Cole Avery of Sehome, 2012). 100 breast—1, Patric Gregory (Sehome) 59.12; 2, Will Burgett (Prosser) 1:01.05. 400 free relay—1, Archbishop Murphy 3:14.26 (meet record, previous record 3:15.52 set by Archbishop Murphy 2012).