Capsules

KingCo 4A

Bothell Cougars

Coach - Tom Linde, seventh year.

Last year - 5-4 league. Fourth in KingCo, fifth in district meet.

Returning varsity - Ben Cramer, so.; Sean Tripple, sr.; Robin Darlton, sr.; Kyle McGee, sr.; Joe DeLuca, so.; Stuart Thomas, jr.; James DuVall, jr.; Mike Straser, sr.; Greg Curriy, so.

Key newcomers - Mike DuVall, fr.

Outlook - Small turnout will keep Cougars from finishing high in dual-meet standings. Toughest part of schedule - Inglemoor, Garfield and Woodinville - is behind them. Cramer leads league in 100 fly (55.32).

Eastlake Wolves

Coach - Kevin Finerty, fourth year.

Last year - 4-5 league. Tied for fifth in KingCo, fourth in district meet, 18th at Class 4A state meet.

Returning varsity - Dan Baker, sr.; Erik Barkans, sr.; Mike Brown, sr.; Nathan O'Brien, so.; Kevin Piening, so.; Lucas Westcoat, so.; Eric Timblin, sr.

Key newcomers - Brent Cramer, fr.; Jaime Merrill, so.

Outlook - Wolves lost state participants Mike Laskowski and Brent Reed, but should finish in middle of pack again. O'Brien leads league in 100 back (56.71) and Timblin is second in diving (183.15).

Franklin Earthquake

Coach - Thor Tyson, second year.

Last year - 0-9 league. Tenth in KingCo, 10th in district meet.

Returning varsity - Ben Petersen, jr.; Sonny Yee, sr.; Josh Koetje, sr.

Key newcomers - Asher Danner, fr.

Outlook - Earthquake's best chance for a dual-meet victory passed last week in loss to Lake Washington. Only 10 athletes are out for team. Still, Asher, Peterson and Yee will probably qualify for the district meet.

Garfield Bulldogs

Coach - Heidi Gray and Kelly Cole, first year.

Last year - 8-1 league. Second in KingCo, second in district meet, 13th at Class 4A state meet.

Returning varsity - Ben Collins, so.; Sky Hoagland, so.; Don Hildwein, sr.; Andy Blaine, sr.; Sergio Monni, jr.; Jared Smith, sr.; Seelye Arms, sr.; Marcus Rolland, so.

Key newcomers - none listed.

Outlook - Bulldogs should provide Inglemoor its strongest challenge again this season. Their corps of state swimmers - Collins, Hoagland, Hildwein, Monni and Blaine - is probably the league's best. Only questions are diving and depth.

Inglemoor Vikings

Coach - Monica Mayes, fourth year.

Last year - 9-0 league. KingCo champions, district-meet champions, fifth at Class 4A state meet.

Returning varsity - Chris Chism, jr.; Brian Roberts, sr.; Dan Dale, sr.; Matt Graham, jr.; Brandon Leahy, so.; Joe Walker, so.; Billy Holmes, so.; Walt Downing, sr.; Sean Skelly, jr.; Kyle Byers, sr.; David Thompson, jr.; Trevor Williams, jr.; David Schwindeman, sr.; Jacob Hodgen, sr.

Key newcomers - Josh Dale, fr.; Nate Barnier, so.; Gabe Nochlin, jr.; Scott Brateng, jr.

Outlook - Viks are league's deepest team with its best set of divers. They also return a strong group of state swimmers - Roberts, Chism, Leahy, Schwindeman and Dale - that rivals Garfield's. Viks are league favorites until beaten.

Juanita Rebels

Coach - Andy Lovan, first year.

Last year - 2-7 league. Tied for eighth in KingCo, ninth in district meet.

Returning varsity - Yoni Jacobson, sr.; David van Velthuyzenn, so.; Kyle Scott, so.; Luke Ruggeri, so.

Key newcomers - Rory Eldridge, fr.; Sean Cobb, fr.

Outlook - Rebels, off to 0-4 start, will struggle to improve on last season's record. Lovan did a nice job with Rebel girls in his first season in the fall, however, and expects this team to get better as season goes along.

Lake Washington Kangaroos

Coach - Jan Miller, first year.

Last year - 4-5 league. Tied for fifth in KingCo, eighth in district meet.

Returning varsity - David Morgan, jr.; Justin Colson, sr.

Key newcomers - Christopher Cutting, fr.; Matt Gallagher, sr.; Andy Jones, sr.; John Searle, sr.

Outlook - Kangs recruited like crazy to be able to field a team this season, and now are up to 16 swimmers. They beat Franklin in dual meet earlier, but don't expect them to win many more.

Redmond Mustangs

Coach - Sharon Braden, second year.

Last year - 2-7 league. Tied for eighth in KingCo, sixth in district meet.

Returning varsity - Josh Dumond, jr.; Joe Ashizawa, sr.; Ramin McFaddin, sr.; Jenya Voloshenko, sr.; Bryan Tanner, jr.

Key newcomers - Tim Randall, sr.; Ben Hart, so.

Outlook - Depth should be better, since numbers are up from 12 to 20 from last season. Loss of state swimmers Dave Cole and Zach Posey will keep them in the middle of the pack, however. Tanner qualified for state in diving last season.

Roosevelt Roughriders

Coach - Leo Jaeger, third year.

Last year - 4-5 league. Tied for fifth in KingCo, seventh in district meet.

Returning varsity - Chris Mann, sr.; Brendan Mills-McCabe, sr.; Pete Carney, so.; Doug Oaksford, so.; Jon Banfill, sr.; Kevin Prince, so.; Trevor Wamack, jr.; Jose Cadelina, jr.; Matt Tran, jr.; Toby Peterson, jr.; Jonas DeGuzman, jr.

Key newcomers - Tyler Doran, fr.; Teddy Toyama, fr.; John Cuthbert, fr.; Keean Ferguson, fr.; Eric Dobson, so.; Jay Dobson, fr.; Siam Sukrachan, fr.; Robert Bartholomew, fr.; Jeff Borland, fr.; David Swartzman, fr.; Andrew Sandstrom, so.

Outlook - Teds, with 27 swimmers, are one of the biggest teams at the school in past decade. They are young, but improving rapidly. In dual-meet loss to Eastlake, they recorded 25 personal bests. Goal is to win more than they lose.

Woodinville Falcons

Coach - Dwight Anderson, seventh year.

Last year - 7-2 league. Third in KingCo, third in district meet.

Returning varsity - Ryan Freeman, sr.; Aaron McCann, jr.; Alex Bobinger, jr.; Adam McCann, so.; Kyle Roskelly, so.

Key newcomers - Lane Dalton, fr.; Brendan Lawrence, so.

Outlook - Falcons will be in league's elite again this season, thanks to strong group of returning swimmers. Aaron McCann (200 free) and Ryan Freeman (200 IM, 100 back) qualified for state meet last season and good depth surrounds them.

KingCo 3A Conference

Bellevue Wolverines

Coach - Paul Von Destinon, sixth year.

Last year - 7-0 league. KingCo champions, district-meet champions, Class 3A state meet runners-up.

Returning varsity - Erik Gordon, sr.; John Franck, sr.; Sam Chaya, sr.; Brett Leahy, jr.; Zach Wilcox, so.; Evan Kasegawa, so.; Adam Rapznor, so.; Aaron Kang, jr.

Key newcomers - Scott Green, so.; Arthur Jones, fr.; Zak Heaton, fr.; Justin Nieman, fr.

Outlook - Wolverines should contend for third state title in four seasons. Excellent group of state veterans returns and talented newcomers will make immediate impact. Depth - more than 30 swimmers - is better than ever.

Cedarcrest Red Wolves

(Have no swim team)

Interlake Saints

Coach - Dean Sawhill, first year.

Last year - 0-6 league. Eighth in KingCo.

Returning varsity - Paul Fahey, so.; Chris Burgh, so.; Adam Wadsworth, sr.; Ryan Vanderpol, so.

Key newcomers - Ian Cooley, fr.

Outlook - Not much depth for Saints, who are off to 0-3 start in league duals. But they do have some quality, particularly in Fahey, who is among the league leaders in the 200 IM, 500 free and 100 breast.

Issaquah Indians

Coach - Dave Kienlen, second year.

Last year - 4-3 league. Fourth in KingCo, sixth in district meet, sixth at Class 3A state meet.

Returning varsity - Evan Taylor, sr.; Kevin Stage, sr.

Key newcomers - Brian Davis, fr.; Ed Switaj, fr.

Outlook - Issaquah will battle for third place in league behind state powers Bellevue and Mercer Island. But individuals could shine at state. Taylor is the defending state champion in the 100 fly and Stage placed third in the 100 back.

Liberty Patriots

Coach - Kris Daughters, second year.

Last year - 2-5 league. Sixth in KingCo.

Returning varsity - Mike Hollowell, jr.; Adam Lindquist, sr.; Rich Thompson, sr.; Andy Banks, jr.; Dominic Slater, jr.; Dustin Lambro, sr.

Key newcomers - Colin Wilson, fr.

Outlook - Pats off to 0-4 start in league duals, but Daughters feels she's making progress with program. There are more swimmers out this season, while Hollowell is a state-meet veteran and Lindquist is a district qualifier.

Mercer Island Islanders

Coach - Jeff Lowell, first year.

Last year - 6-1 league. Second in KingCo, district-meet runners-up, Class 3A state champions.

Returning varsity - Michael Bender, sr.; Mitchell Nakagawa, sr.; Timmy Chung, sr.; Spencer Driscoll, sr.; Danny Smith, sr.; Chris Martinez, jr.; Logan Gee, jr.; David Wilson, jr.; Nathan Burstein, jr.; Peter Losh, so.

Key newcomers - Matt Martin, fr.; Trent Kloppenburg, fr.; Anthony Carden, fr.; Locke Webster, fr.; Aaron Seeks, fr.

Outlook - Islanders lost Jeff Guyman, who won two events at state, but they still should challenge for league and state titles. Chung, the reigning state champ in the 200 IM and 100 back, leads group of six returning state placers.

Mount Si Wildcats

(Have no swim team)

Newport Knights

Coach - Eric Bartleson, fifth year.

Last year - 5-2 league. Third in KingCo.

Returning varsity - Jackson Bennett, so.; Sean Bratner, so.; Roger Carr, jr.; Nick Johnson, jr.; Albert Keever, jr.; Jiro Kusunose, jr.; Andrew Skeener, jr.; Wilson Walter, so.

Key newcomers - Mike Carper, fr.; Alex Eisner, fr.; Ryan Halleran, fr.; Steven Hendrickson, fr., Chad Surdi, fr.

Outlook - Knights, with 34 swimmers, should be among league's deepest teams. But they are also very young, with only two seniors and having lost state swimmers Mike Goldstein and Sean Gill. Will challenge Issaquah for third.

Sammamish Totems

Coach - Julie Morris-Barashkoff, second year.

Last year - 2-4 league. Fifth in KingCo, fifth in district meet, 11th at Class 3A state meet.

Returning varsity - Ryan Miyake, sr.; Brandon Grote, sr.; Chris Burnside, sr.; Travis Moore, sr.; Justin Grote, so.; Michael Eader, so.; Charles Lawson, so.

Key newcomers - Phil Dyment, sr.; Scott Marsh, so.; Alex McKay, jr., Tyler Brazil, fr.; Gary Chen, jr.; Kevin Sawyer, fr.; Jacob Wellman, so., David Woods, fr.

Outlook - Despite losing four of six state qualifiers to graduation, Totems capable of improving win total from last season. Miyake, who is among the league leaders in the 100 fly, and Grote provide solid senior leadership.

Skyline Spartans

Coach - Ali Paredes, second year.

Last year - 1-6 league. Seventh in KingCo.

Returning varsity - Byron Smith, jr.; Jesse Kasten, sr.; Thomas Pankiewicz, so.; Anthony Velotta, so.

Key newcomers - Sean Stephens, fr.

Outlook - Spartans will fight for upper-division finish status with a young team that has added some depth since last season. Smith, Kasten, Pankiewicz and Velotta all have district-meet experience.

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KingCo boys swimming / 15 to watch.

(All comments are from 1998 Class 3A or 4A state meet)

Player, school Yr.

Nathan Burstein, M. Island Jr. Comment: Fourth in 3A diving.

Timmy Chung, M. Island Sr. Comment: Defending 3A champ in 200 IM and 100 back.

Ben Collins, Garfield So. Comment: Fourth in 4A 500 free, 11th in 100 back.

Dan Dale, Inglemoor Sr. Comment: State 4A finalist in 100 breast, 16th in 100 fly.

Spencer Driscoll, M. Island Sr. Comment: Part of two 3A state-champion relays.

Paul Fahey, Interlake So. Comment: Tenth in 3A 200 IM, 500 free.

Ryan Freeman, Woodinville Sr. Comment: Tenth in 4A 200 IM, 10th in 100 back.

Erik Gordon, Bellevue Sr. Comment: State 3A 500 free champ as soph, 2nd in '98.

Brandon Grote, Sammamish Sr. Comment: Sixth in 3A diving.

Sky Hoagland, Garfield So. Comment: Tenth in 4A 500 free, 12th in 200 free.

Brett Leahy, Bellevue Jr. Comment: Eighth in 3A 50 free, 5th in 100 free.

Danny Smith, M. Island Sr. Comment: State 3A finalist in 200 free, 9th in 100 fly.

Kevin Stage, Issaquah Sr. Comment: Fifth in 3A 500 free, third in 100 back.

Evan Taylor, Issaquah Sr. Comment: State 3A champ in 100 fly, third in 200 IM.

Zach Wilcox, Bellevue So. Comment: State 3A diving champion.