Big meet with the bigger swims from Marine Hills Fish and the Tree, swimming past their rival Twin Lakes Penguins, 366-350, in Seattle Summer Swim League fast-stroking action at the Marine Hills Pool Tuesday, July 22.

So the result was Marine Hills head coach Wendy Neely’s team, all lining the edge of the pool ready to do something.

This was a close meet, a long meet, too. That was a lot of swimming, including some 30-something exhibition swims, hence, the start of 6 p.m. and the ending well after 9 p.m.

Jumping in the water was Twin Lakes’ thing to do last year after they won at their own pool, so getting a little revenge from that “loss of fun” was good for the home pool team of Marine Hills.

Led by Tommy Cunningham and the senior boys for MH, like Kyle Christiansen, the whole Fish and the Tree team all got to jump in the water, screaming and shouting, at the end. And then while there frolicking in the warm-blue while absorbing the sweet taste of victory, they all did a couple circle rings around each other that looked a lot like a bullseye target from a out-of-the-water viewpoint.

And the winning was nice.

“Especially when you win against your rivals,” said UW swim scholarship athlete Tommy Cunningham, as he and fellow 18-year-old Marine Hills swimmer Kyle Christiansen were walking back to their vehicles, chit-chatting quietly afterward. And when they got a little closer to their rivals they knew they got louder, a lot louder. Mentioning the “win” and “rivals” words.

The swimmers from Twin Lakes were the Penguins’ best on the team, “the Canns.” The threesome, and, their mom, were walking to their car in the dark after the meet, too.

Cunningham swam like he did in getting top eight in two events at state this past year, second in the 100 free, by winning two events. One was for the record books, literally. Cunningham set a pool record in the 50 free of 22.47.

The score was a four-point difference favoring Marine Hills entering the final two races, the boys and girls 15 and under 200 free relays.

The Marine Hills girls foursome of Bren Fejarang, Jenelle Freeborn, Kayla Ramey and Kaia Barth, left no doubt as to who would win that one, getting first in 1:45.86, four seconds ahead of Twin Lakes second place team. And, in winning that one, those four MH young ladies set a pool record.

Then came the boys race and Marine Hills decided they would not just try to win this one, they would try to crush their competition in event 72, the last one of the night.

“I am going to anchor our ‘B’ team,” said Cunningham. “We are going to see if we can go 1-2.”

Well, that almost happened.Cunningham could not quite catch Twin Lakes, in second place, so the MH team’s went first and third.

There was fervent joy from both sides, Twin Lakes, too, but in the end, again, as the boys granddaddy event of them all, the 200 free was going on. Here were more Marine Hills swimmers cheering, led by 10-year-old Robert Hughes, who, incidentally took second in the 100 Individual Medley and first in the 50 breast, and who will go on to Southerns this Thursday at Lakeridge. That is the preliminary even where the North and South leagues meet at All-City next Tuesday.

Little Valerie McNolty, 9, swam big in her races, just missing first place in the 25 butterfly, 17.86, to Marine Hills’ Mercy Allen’s 17.45. McNolty took first in the girls 9-10 50 free, swimming a 33.66. McNolty is nine too, so she is racing against 10-year-olds, so it is an ‘off’ year as is the term used for younger age going against older age in the same division.

McNolty’s race against Allen in the 25 butterfly was arm touching of one just a nick of time faster than the other. Too close to tell afterward.

“I think (I won),” said McNolty when asked how it came out, not knowing for sure. “Very close.”

But, win or lose that race, it’s easy to see McNolty still is coming out a winner.

“It’s not about how you win, it’s about how you have fun,” said McNolty.

But McNolty is going to be going to the Southerns meet, again. She won the 25 free last year in Girls 8 & Under division at All City, to note, how good this young lady is in swimming.

McNolty says it will be tough for her to get to All City this year because of her age.

“I probably won’t get to All City in the 50 free this year because I am nine,” she said.

McNolty also helped her team take second in the 200 free relay, with others of Kelly McCandless, Delaney Ochs, Emma Weeks.

Another good swim win for Twin Lakes was from Felicity Cann, Regan Smith, Sarah Shurm, and Taylor Wintler in the 200 free relay.

Marine Hills had the lead in that one by a good four, five body lengths, but the third and fourth swimmers for Twin Lakes made up much ground and they came away with a 1:57.99 time to MH’s 2:03.90 as Cann really left the others of her anchor leg in the dust, so to speak.

D’Voreax Cann cruised through the water to win his events despite a little problem happening on his face in the water.

“I lost my goggles,” he said.

Didn’t matter. Cann is another top performer who only a sophomore was tough in the water, goggles falling off or not. So, no surprise to hear this, the Canns could.