RHS Diving Duo Take Third, 12th at 4A Championships

Mustang divers Phillip and Eric Klassen made a strong showing at this weekend's swim and dive state championship, held Friday and Saturday at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.

Phillip, a sophomore, earned a score of 354.75, which was good for third place behind Max Levy of Skyline and winner Joseph Rose of South Kitsap.

Freshman Eric finished the eleven-dive meet with a total score of 286.05 and in 12th place at the finals.

Kamiak took the 4A team title with a score of 240.50, which was a full 70 points ahead of second place finisher Todd Beamer despite not finishing in first in any of the 12 events.

"We overcame some obstacles; these guys did a great job," Kamiak coach Chris Erickson said. "These guys really wanted to bring home that big trophy."

The highest finisher for the Knights was sophomore Liam Sosinsky, who came in second place in the 100 breast, earning All-American consideration with a time of 58.35.

Richland finished third at 158, Newport was behind them at 138 while Stanwood and Eastlake ended in a tie with identical team scores of 128. The individual stars of the 4A meet included Eastlake's Edward Kim, who as a freshman collected two state titles in the 50 free with a time of 21.32 and the 100 free with a time of 45.56, which was fast enough to earn automatic All-American qualification.

"It's a great start to my career and I just want to keep up the good work," Kim said. "I just want to keep my goal in mind, do my best every year and practice hard."

Eastlake swim and dive coach Kate McCary, who was named 4A coach of the year, talked about Kim's superb freshman season.

"We can't ask for much more than what he's done," McCary said. "The success he's had has really helped the rest of the team; they have definitely fed off of it."

Eastlake swimmer Zach Alleva, who attends in Redmond, took first place in the 100 breast with a time of 58.07, according to the school's website.

In 3A competition, Eastside Catholic's Ethan Hallowell stole the show by winning the 200 free with a meet record time of 138.18 and the 100 free with a mark of 44.75 in the finals. Both of those times were also automatic All-American times and helped earn Hallowell the award for the top individual swimmer at the meet.

Hallowell called the feeling upon winning his record eighth state title "unreal" and also talked about using the EC crowd and the atmosphere at the aquatic center to his advantage down the stretch.

"It's been a fun four years," he said.

Mercer Island used perhaps the deepest and most talented team regardless of classification to take the 3A team title going away. The Islanders took home several individual titles as well, including the 200 medley relay and the 100 breast.