Mount Rainier versus Highline had a lot of good swims in it, and two great ones, as the Mount Rainier pool record-beater, Leona Jennings, led as the Rams won, 124-43, against the visiting Pirates Thursday.

Jennings, Jennings, Jennings... That girl is great in the water. No, scratch that. She’s better than that. She’s before this 2008 girls swim season is one of the best to ever pass through.

“She is absolutely amazing,” said Rams head coach Omar Crowder. “One of the fastest girls in the state, and very humble, and very sweet, and down to Earth.”

Really, Jennings’ swimming has been out of this world. She took 12th in the 100 backstroke for the U.S.A Summer Olympics in the 2008 Olympic Trials. She also competed in the 200 freestyle.

And what about high school for Jennings?

“It’s crazy,” commented junior teammate Jen Bolding.

Crazy and good for Jennings. She broke the 50 free MR pool record, beating ‘97 swimmer Julie Massey’s time of 24:24. Jennings sharked through the water in 23.85. She broke the Erica Nordean held 100 butterfly mark, 59.43, dating back to 1980, too, going a shark-esque 55.74.

But those two record breaks by Jennings aren’t even her best event. That would be the 100 back, ‘course the one she was nine places from going to Bejing, China, for the Olympics.

“The state record is a 56 (in the 100 back),” said Jennings.

And how close to that time is Jennings?

“Last week, I went a 54,” she said.

You’ve already beat it.

“Yeah,” she said. “I am going to try my best.”

So she beats that record and a second event of her choice (she’s thinking 50 free or 200 IM), and helps a relay or two do well and Jennings could be the best swimmer of the meet. Getting a nice plaque for that if she does.

For Highline, Beth Cate is a super star. She’s done quite well for herself at state the last three years. And Jennings said she’s been concentrating on Olympic Trials the last three years so she was not on the high school team competing at state.

But Cate’s been there , done that at state.

She was top 16 in 200 and 500 free her frosh season, only improving from there. She took second in the 200 free and third in 500 free as a sophomore and then last year was second in both those races.

So first is left to get at state.

But she suffered a wrist sprain playing tackle football, of all things, starting out her past summer.

“I was out of swimming for three months,” she said.

Cate barely beat the Rams’ Haley Gansneder , 1:56.03 to 1:56.49.

“We set that up,” said Crowder. “They are good friends. She was together with our team at state and joined us for dinner and stuff.”

Cate’s wrist kept her out awhile but she’s back now.

“I am a little surprrised in how I’m doing,” said Cate, who won the 500 free in 5:15.28 for her team.

“I love racing. I love my team,” said Cate.

Melanie Woo, a captain for the Pirates along with Cate and Eryn Phalen, likes having fun swimming, leading her team in spirit if not in talent.

“MR is really good and we are so-so, said Wu. “This is a more fun time for us. We like to be the most spirited.”

A Rams captain, Maggie Caetano, who was with Gansneder and Allison Schumacher on the winning 14-U relay for her summer league OV swim team.

“I am not as fast as I used to be,” said Caetano.

So now you show team spirit?

“I try,” she said.

Molly Larson for the Rams swam at state last year and the junior figures to be in the mix this year, too, trying to improve on that.

Her 200 free swam against the Pirates was “not very good” as she put it. But she has other events she’s better at, with having been top eight or so in the state in the 100 back and 100 breast if all goes accordingly so.

Robin Hoof, coach of the Pirates, hopes Cate’s races can be slightly better than last’s. Ever so slightly.

She was second by a couple hundredths,” said Hoof.

In both races, the 200 and 500?

“Yes, I believe so.”

Wu, Phalen, Nikki Garnett, Marissa Mitchell and Blake Henley all have shots of helping the Pirates make state in relays.

Others doing well included the Rams in the 200 medley relay with Erica Young, Sonny Dorhofer, Rachel Althauser and Mackenzie Marrs going 2:05.9. Wu, of Highline, mentioned that her team was better than their 2:12.67 showing in this relay event.

“We have gone a 2:01.3, three seconds off state (qualification) time,” said Wu. “We had different swimmers today.”

Stephanie Reusch, for the Rams, won the 200 IM in 2:34.74, at that point making the team score, 44-18, favoring the Rams. And it just kept better for the blue and white abstact art suited girls and worse and worse for the Pirates’ purple splotchy-art suits.

But, like Wu said, it was fun for her team and they did show a lot of spirit out there cheering for their team, as did the Rams.

The Rams’ 200 free relay team winners were Haley Gansneder, Marrs, Jennings and Larson in 1:43.63. And after Gansneder took first in event 8, the 100 back, in 1:07.95, and Dorhofer won the 100 breast in 1:18.50, it was time for the Rams’ Gansneder, Jennings, Larson and Marrs to win the 400 free in 3:54.33.

Diving was won by the Rams’ Becky Davis in 140.75 to teammate Megan Biehn’s 137.30.

“My goals are a little higher for them than that of where I would like them to get, but it’s close, “ said Rams dive coach Todd Wollenweber, who said he hopes his top divers can get in the 300 range for diving. District qualification is 240, which both Biehn and Davis will make. State will be tougher, but there scores against the Pirates average out pretty good, as this was a six-dive meet, and districts, not to mention, state, is an 11-dive meet. So 140, 137 were OK totals for those two for six dives?

“Yeah,” said Wollenweber. “I think they are their best scores of the season.”

Back to relays, the Rams look pretty good in a couple for state coming up, maybe “great,” like Jennings, if all goes as could go. In the 200 free, their 1:43 and change time is only three seconds off the MR pool record. They will undoubtably have a top state team in that event to challenge the defending champ, Kennedy, and others from schools across the state. Then, their 400 free relay in only a few seconds off that MR pool record, so five seconds to go to break that one. With Jennings’ help, state top eight is definitely a possibility in relays for the Rams.

It will be tough because the talent is there, but it is sophomore talent in Marrs and Young. But they are experienced swimmers and may be enough help for veterans like Gansneder and Jennings to reel in a fantastic state finish.

“Definitely, we have some young talent,” said Crowder.

Will they and Jennings and company be able to be, say, maybe, top eight in the state in a relay, or two even with their youthfulness?

“Definitely,” said Crowder.

“We will have some competition at state, but I think we can hold on,” said Jennings.

Hold on to what is not completely clear, but a top eight finish at state, like Crowder, agreed is a good time Jennings. She already has three MR pool records, having broke two in this meet versus the Pirates and she broke the 100 back record , another Massey held time, against Kennedy her first meet competing.

Jennings wants to break all the records, no doubt. It’s kind of like Pokemon. She wants to catch as many as she can.

“I want to try to get all of them,” said Jennings. No swimming for three years for Jennings in high school, and now she’s crashed the scene with power and grace and fluidity. And anxiety.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment forever,” said Jennings. “I wanted to concentrate on swimming trials for the first three years of my high school, because I knew 2008 was coming up. Now that the (Olympic) trials are over, I say why not.”

But she’s a team player, too.

“I tell my coach to put me in whatever,” said Jennings. “Whatever he tells me to do, I will do.”

It’s only Jennings’ second meet. She’s gone to San Diego State and was just off somewhere else after this meet versus Highline.

“She’s going to UCLA, actually right after this meet,” said Crowder.

She’s a good one. Oh, what am I saying. She, like the spirit and energy of these Rams and Pirates teams, is great.