FEDERAL WAY — The Lady Tomahawks nicknamed 2010 the golden year.

And after a rough first day at the Class 4A state swim meet, Marysville-Pilchuck finished in 11th place, and hope for the future.

“We were much better today,” said M-P swim coach Jaci LeGore-Hodgins. “That’s the peril of this sport, but you can comeback and get things right.”

With a team total of 81 points, the Tommies finished just one point out of the top 10 — which was a goal — but that didn’t diminish the steps the program took on the final day before it will be split into two the following year.

The golden year title was bestowed upon this year as the team is made up of students from M-P and the newly opened Marysville Getchel, which doesn’t have varsity sports this year. Each school has gold as one of its colors to unite the two.

Still, M-P finished the season winning both the Western Conference and District 1 titles — both being a first.

Senior Jewel LeValley was the most consistent swimmer for Tommies at state, finishing in sixth place in the 500 free with a time of 5:08.79 and seventh place in the 200 free with a time of 1:56.78.

“It was exactly how I wanted to end it,” said LeValley, who plans on studying biochemistry at either Washington State University or Wyoming next year. “It was such a great feeling to be at state and swim fast.”

LeValley was also a member of the team that set the school record in the 4×400 relay, which completed the race in 3:41.26. That time would have been good enough for sixth place, but a slow first day took them out of the final race and medal qualification.

“It shows a lot about her character and her athleticism,” said LeGore-Hodgins about LeValley. “She was the MVP of the meet for us. She had one of her best days swimming yesterday, and she kept improving.”

Another member of that team, sophomore Hannah Taylor, took M-P’s highest honor of the day, finishing third in the 200 IM with a time of 2:06.72 — her personal best. She also finished 100 breaststroke in 1:06.72, which also would have earned her a fourth-place ribbon had she competed in the championship race.

“Hannah had such a great day,” said LeGore-Hodgins. “She really focused and posted some great times here today.”

In the diving category, Marysa Eastman took home 10th place after fighting her way up four spots from the first day. She finished with 276.70 points. It was the third straight season she finished 10th at state.