Bellevue High School's bit into five of the last seven girls 3A swim meets. Holy Names nipped one for first in 2005 and Mercer Island has also jawed into a couple championships in the past decade.

But this year a new name snuck in like a shark, out of nowhere.

Duh-du-duh-du. Duh-du-duh-du-duh-duh...

Kennedy!

Well, not out of nowhere. The Lancers took fourth two years ago at state and third last year at the big event of high school swimming.

First place at this year's 3A Girls Swim and Dive Championships was the Lancers indeed at the WIAA Dairy Farmers of Washington/Les Schwab/Wells Fargo Girls Swim and Dive Championships at the Weyerhauser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way Nov. 10-11.

After the 11th event was through, there was no doubt who would win. The Lancers led by 36 points going into the final event. And a team can only get 32 points for first. So, even if the Lancers were disqualified in the last event, they would have still thrashed all the other swimmers.

Breaking the bond of those big three -- Mercer Island, Holy Names, Bellevue, and also Bainbridge Island is always right there -- came for Kennedy because of a few swimmers doing super well in the finals. They only got four points in the consolation finals races so it was the finals that was the jaws of death to all foes.

"We don't have as much depth, but we do strong," said Brianne Lindblad.

Yeah, this Lancers team was in it to win it from the start, before state began, as their bold shirts stated in an intimidating fashion surely. Give them nothing but take from them everything."

"It's a quote from the movie 300," said Nikki Vetterlein, who won an event at state as well as having some good arms in the water for a couple helps on relay wins, too. We were hoping to win so we did that."

Indeed!

Lindblad was darn near perfect. She won two events. One was the 100 butterfly, for the fourth straight year, only the ninth person in the four decade long time that there has been state swimming championships. So that is pretty good company.

It is company that Lindblad did not start out thinking she could keep.

"My freshman year that wasn't the goal," said Lindblad. "But when I got it, I thought, let's go for three more."

And she got it. Lindblad's efforts, first in the 100 backstroke, 56.94, a quarter second improvement over preliminary time in the event, completes a sensational high school career in the event. She also won the 100 freestyle in 53.33. She beat Keziah Beall of Bainbridge by one hundredth of a second, 53.34.

Lindblad also was on the winning 200 medley relay for the Lancers. So she got four firsts .

Another that was solid out there was the Lancers' Nikki Vetterlein, also on the 200 medley and 400 free relays for firsts. She took first in a close race against rival school, Highline, as Beth Cate and her battled it out closely in the 100 butterfly, 57.18 to 57.23.

"I've raced Beth a lot," said Vetterlein. "I just buried my head and didn't breathe the last three strokes. It was a really good race."

Cate had a tough day of leftovers, so to speak, as the junior Pirates top swimmer, the only one representing her school at state, took a pair of seconds. She also got second in the 200 yard Individual Medley, the pure-form swimming event requiring swimmers to do a leg of back, fly, breast and free for 50 yards each. She went 2:08.30, which was a scant 35 hundredths of a second behind first place Rachel Godfred of Mercer Island.

"I'm just going to keep swimming," said Cate, keeping a smile pursed on her face.

Did you lose to a King (year-round club team) teammate?

"Yeah, Nikki, I swim with her," said Cate, a junior. "I'm happy for Nikki."

Cate dropped time, too, and got good words of answer when asked of Cate.

Best swimmer that's come through Highline girls swimming?

"She;s right up there," said Highline coach Robin Hoof.

"Highline has a pretty storied history." Including winning state in 1972 for girls swimming. That was one up on Kennedy until now.

Cate did have good swims too, the best actually.

"Lifetime best swims," said Hoof. "Can't be unhappy with that."

For Mount Rainier, Allyson Schumacher took third in the 500 free in 5:09.21, clipping 2.5 seconds off her prelims time of 5:11.63. Teammate Haley Gansneder was fifth in 5:13.40. Schumacher was not in swimming her junior year so Gansneder was glad to have her as she helped Gansneder improve.

"Yeah, I am glad we got her back," said Gansneder, who also finished sixth in the state in the 200 free in 1:56.62. Schumacher was a little in front of her in 1:55.54 for fourth. Kennedy's Emily Fenster was seventh in 1:56.68 and the Lancers' Casey Hoffman was eighth in the consolation final in 2:02.43.

The Rams liked having Schumacher back as she helped them take second in the Seamount League meet and also in the district meet the weekend after that.

Others that made it to the second day of state were the Rams relay team in the 200 medley, getting first in the consolation finals. Freshman Erica Young, seniors Annie Thomson, Liz Althauser, and sophomore Molly Larson turned in a 1:58.31. The winners were Kennedy, freshman Mariah Crockett, twin sisters, Nikki and Allie Vetterlein, and Lindblad, 1:48.44.

Allie Vetterlein took fourth in the 200 IM in 2:13.13. Crockett took eighth in the 50 free.

Coach Marc Stock commented on her.

"She did fine, she came out of nowhere, she was not even seeded in the top 16 and she made it to finals," said Stock, who won the coach of the year award.

And the girls said things about their coach.

Does he deserve an award like that, getting coach of the year versus 80, 90 other 3A girls swim coach candidates?

"Yeah, he does," said Lindblad.

"He's always there for us. He gives us talks, always there to support us," said Allie Vetterlein.

"He always updates us for how a meet is going," said Lindblad.

Kyle Munsch, who assists Stock, was agreeably by the girls to be someone who helped them with their strokes too.

"He really works with the girls," said Lindblad.

So it's a good team and a state trophy now will be in the Lancers case for swimming 3A state champs and also their name gets engraved on a huge trophy that stays with the WIAA.

Still others doing well was a diver from the Rams, Jess Brown, a senior. She made it to the second day, making it past the 32 first cut to 16. Then she took 13th overall. She had one dive that was not good of her final three dives. That was her second dive, and her third and last dive was a good recovery.

It was. After Brown got five scores for an average from her first dive. That's to say seven judges give a score of 1 to 10. Then the second dive that did not go well, was a three average. Then her last dive, the average was a 5.5 for Brown.

Besides Brown, there are a few more names, including Hoffman taking 14th for the Lancers in the 500 free in 5:29.04 (sixth in the consolation final). And Marrs of the Rams was eighth in the consol ation in 5:32.53. The Lancers' 200 free relay of Crockett, Fenster, Hoffman, Amada and Thack took third in 1:41.80 and the Rams Gansneder, Thomson, Marrs and Schumacher took eighth in the final in 1:44.66. Molly Larson was second in the consols of the 100 back and fifth in finals went to Thack in 1:00.74.