FEDERAL WAY — Marysville swimming standout Trevor LeValley already knew what it was like to win a state event.
He won the 200 individual medley last year — in the preliminaries. At finals, he was pushed into third place as a couple of familiar rivals surged ahead, placing second and third.
This year, LeValley got another chance to compete against Oak Harbor’s John Hu, last year’s state champion in the 200 IM. This year, he changed his strategy.
Unshaved for the preliminary contest Feb. 20, LeValley swam a 1:57.40, winning his heat by more than two seconds. He was cheered on by Hu, who swam the same event in the same lane for the second heat. Hu posted a speedier 1:55.82, relegating LeValley to the second seed for the event finals the next day.
Both boys improved their times in finals, but shaved down and swimming hard, LeValley edged Hu this time, swimming an All-American Consideration time of 1:55.02. The two remained within a stroke of each other through the first two legs of the medley. Coming off the wall halfway through the breaststroke, LeValley kicked hard, taking a small but noticeable lead that he held through the freestyle.
Hu also swam an AAC 1:55.63.
As he swam, LeValley said he was “very aware” of his rival’s position.
“I wanted to be with John Hu at the end of the breaststroke,” he said. “We’re really good friends and for a long time we’ve always been close in time. He usually has the best of me.”
With the win in the 200 IM, LeValley brings M-P its first swimming championship in school history. M-P diver David Edwards (‘99) is the only other Tomahawk to win an event at the state swim meet.
The Tomahawks also twice broke an old school record as the 200 medley relay team of Gabe Lopez, Spencer Girard, LeValley and Brandon Caldwell swam a school record 1:40.69.
“What did that was Gabe’s backstroke,” cheered coach Scott Knowles after the race. “That’s the second fastest he ever swam.”
The boys broke the mark again, placing sixth in the finals with a time of 1:40.34.
In the Tomahawks’ pursuit of a strong team finish, the team gambled on Lopez. At the state meet, swimmers are limited to competing in a maximum of two individual events and four overall. The senior had qualified for state in multiple events, opting to compete in the backstroke and 100 freestyle. But hoping to move up the team’s three relays, which earn more points for the team, Lopez dropped out of the backstroke to swim all three relays.
The boys placed seventh in the 200 freestyle relay and the 400 freestyle relay.
Junior Oliver Durand was another notable placer for Marysville, taking sixth in the 200 freestyle (1:46.06) and dropping three seconds to place fifth in the 500 freestyle (4:44.54). Junior Zach Russell placed 11th in diving, moving up during finals and edging out league rival Tim Greenwood of Snohomish who placed 12th. LeValley placed fifth in the butterfly to go with his championship, edging Hu there too in 52.97.
Lopez swam a 50.19 in the 100 freestyle, placing eighth in the consolation finals.
Junior Brandon Caldwell and sophomore Connor Hemming swam the breaststroke in prelims, falling short of finals with 18th- and 22nd-place finishes. M-P freshman Josh Estella placed 22nd in the backstroke, also missing the finals. Senior Brody Coleman, a relay swimmer, was an alternate to finals in the 500 freestyle, placing 17th in a time of 5:03.74.
“They’ve done so much because they’re so competitive,” Knowles said of his graduating seniors. “The group of seniors trained so hard and I hope the other kids have seen what it takes to get to a meet like this.”
The Tomahawks placed seventh in the team standings.
