Good, clean, pouring-down rain fun for the swimmers of Twin Lakes and Marine Hills competing against each other in their annual showdown of the Seattle Summer Swim League season, won by host TL's Penguins, 428-286, at the Twin Lakes Golf and Country Club pool Thursday.

Twin Lakes Swim Club Penguins' coaches Chris Heydon, John Neal and Kayla Hayes were all thrown in the water or jumped in themselves in the end.

Hayes did not go in at first, but she went in. About three or four Penguins swim club members carried the reluctant Hayes by the feet, mid-section, and shoulders, for 25 feet. She was carried from the front desk area to the water as she flopped around like a 125-pound tuna, saying things like, "No, noooooo." But there was no getting away.

In she went.

"I knew I would be going in," said Hayes, smiling, blonde hair sopping wet, as were her jeans and t-shirt.

Every single one of the 150 or so Penguins six to 18 year olds jumped into the pool following the good news of winning over their arch-rival.

Just before the jumping in was the last race. Some say that last race is even bigger a headline than winning it all, even being crowned the winners overall.

"I don't know," said Lucas Willers, who won the 100-yard Individual Medley in 59.09 and the 50 backstroke in 26.44 and was a top three finishing swimmer at state in two events last winter in high school.

He thought a second on that question of which is bigger? Event 72 or winning the dual against their rivals?

"I really think winning the last event is important, but I guess this time it is more important to win the meet."

That had to be 'it' for the Penguins' Willers, that is, winning the meet, because The Fish and the Tree's Cameron Moak, Reese Hentges, Kyle Christiansen, and anchor Tommy Cunningham won the final event -the 200 free relay, 1:33.01 to 1:35.22 over TL's R.J. O'Farrell, Keith Arns, D'Voreaux Cann and anchor Willers.

"That's all that matters," said Cunningham, swimming backwards in the pool after the race, raising a finger high with a No. 1 on it pointing in the air. "That's all that matters."

Everyone, big and small, really does get away from whatever he/she was doing to cheer on their respective boys team for the final event.

There was plenty of rivalry flair in this one with a lot of the kids from the different high school teams seeing each other in season competition from Todd Beamer, Thomas Jefferson, Decatur and Federal Way.

"Everyone knows each other. A lot of the parents and adults know each other from swimming at the master's (adult swimming league) and have kids or work with kids in the summer program here," said Wendy Neely, Marine Hills Swim Club coach as well as a coach at TJ.

But what about the rivalry-starting cheers, starting with the Penguins coming in all in sync, chanting something akin to Snow White, in a paraded line of many members of its swim team to the swim-start blocks.

'Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to swim we go," they said. "We'll swim so fast, we'll kick your (bleep, but it's a rhyming word with 'fast'), hi-ho, hi-ho..."

And then MH came up with a cheer after that, led by Federal Way state swimmer Cameron Moak that was almost unrepeatable. It did have the 'down under' word where all the bad people go. That much can be said. It was nothing offensive or mean, though. Just clean fun.

"I know, it's kooky," said Neely, laughing, talking about the rivalry cheers back-and-forth that went on after that for a good 10 minutes before the start of events 64 to the final boys 200 free relay event No. 72.

"It's tradition," said Cunningham, 18, and heading into his senior year of high school at Decatur. He was top 10 in both the 50 and 100 free at state this past winter.

So much good swimming out there that it is impossible to get everyone all down but some highlights would include the closest race of the night in which MH's Marissa Meyer, 12, took first by six hundredths of a second over TL's Regan Smith, 36.94 to 37.00, a come-from-behind win no-less.

"I was confident that I could win," said Meyer. She trailed Smith by a good swimmer length going into the final 20 meters of the race.

Meyer worked hard to get the victory this time and it came from the many times this summer she's worked on her time.

"Practices start every day at 8 a.m., it's good discipline," said Meyer.

Does she like that kind of discipline?

"It's OK," she said, pausing. "It is pretty early."

That it is, but the proverbial cliche is true -- hard work, not to mention, discipline, pays off.

This is fun for everyone, good, clean, watery, fun in the summer time, inexpensive too. Swimming costs little to do but the rewards are great. Sinewy arms and legs from water resistance muscle building.

"I'm not the fastest, but I like the water," said MH's Sarah Smith, 14, who swam in this dual meet but did not place in any events.

What's fun?

"Just swimming," said Smith. "It's nice to have an activity during the summer. We have to be at swim practice at 6:30 a.m. and it goes for an hour and a half."