Girls Swimming / Kingco 4A Conference -- Bothell Junior A Smooth One -- Her Elegant, Graceful Stroke Separates Shelbi Settlage From Most Other Swimmers. A School-Record Holder In Four Events, ''She Has Something Special,'' Coach Tom Linde Says.

BOTHELL - Coach Tom Linde talks about her elegant stroke. The graceful efficiency. Her effortless glide.

The description makes Shelbi Settlage sound more like a ballerina than one of the best girls swimmers in KingCo 4A. Then Linde's characterization takes a Zen-like twist.

"She has an affinity for the water," he said. "We call it touch."

A junior at Bothell High School, Settlage has been swimming competitively since she was 10, but Linde insists time is no substitute for talent.

"Some swimmers spend years and don't get that," Linde said. "It's not for lack of desire. She has something special."

The defending district champ in the 100 freestyle, Settlage holds school records in four events - 200 freestyle, 500 freestyle, 100 butterfly and 200 individual medley. She has competed in the Class 4A state championships each of her first two high-school years and has posted state-qualifying times this season in every individual event except the 100 backstroke.

"And that's because she hasn't entered it," Linde said.

Though backstroke was one of the first events she entered when she started swimming, she finds it a bit boring now. Not that she's above a grin-and-bear-it approach.

"She'll do anything you ask her," Linde said. "And she won't complain."

In a meet against Redmond Thursday, Linde had Settlage scheduled for the 100 breaststroke against Erica Raber, Redmond's ace who placed eighth in the event at state last year.

Bothell was assured of winning the meet, so Linde gave Settlage the option of passing up the event.

"It's not one of her favorites," Linde said.

Still, Settlage was on the starting blocks.

"It would have looked like I was backing down," Settlage said.

So she swam and edged Raber with a time of 1:10:15, two-tenths of a second off the school record.

She saw Raber out of the corner of her goggles. She knew it was close and didn't know she had won until she had climbed out of the pool.

Settlage felt the same kind of suspense in a 50-freestyle duel with sophomore Whitney Warman of Lake Washington. Settlage won by four-tenths of a second.

But a shopping-list of times and victories makes it sound too easy. Settlage works hard. Sometimes too hard last year.

She peaked at the district meet, winning the 100 butterfly and coming in second in the 200 freestyle, but her times fell off a week later at state.

"I wasn't very well rested," she said.

Settlage competes year-round with the Mill Creek Swim Team. After yesterday's 90-minute practice at Northshore Pool, she drove to Snohomish for two more hours of practice.

Twice a week she also gets in the pool before school. At least, she tries; sometimes 6:30 a.m. is just too early to swim.

But the long hours of work are masked by a smooth stroke that makes success look easy. A mirage.

Just like the appearance that she's barely moving as her arms windmill into the water with fury. Not force.

"It's what makes you fast," she said. "It makes it easier to go fast than if you're flailing around."