The Anacortes Swim and Dive team capped its strong season with a third-place finish at the 2A State Meet held over the weekend in Federal Way.

The league and district champs were led by freshmen Katie Kaestner’s second-place finishes in the 50 freestyle (24.46 ) and the 100 breaststroke (1:09.43), the winning 200 freestyle relay team and sophomore Mallorie Estenson’s second-place dive finish. The Seahawks (61) fell short to Aberdeen (83) and league rival Squalicum (65).

“I think everyone gave it their all,” said senior co-captain Hayley Rieger, who swam on the winning relay. “Everyone brought their game.”

The top eight swimmers earn points during finals on Saturday.

Anacortes had several finishes outside of the top eight that took them out of contention for second, but the swimmers that did place in the top eight provided essential points to keep Anacortes in the pack.

“I’m very happy with the third place outcome,” said coach Leslie Mix. “There were many teams with close scores, and we could have had any number of finishes.”

Anacortes’ only first-place finish was in the 200 freestyle relay (1:45.63) swam by Rosie Jenssen, Rieger, Hannah Brennan and Kaestner.

The 200 medley relay of Jenna Whitney, Stephanie Nelson, Sara Brennan, and Rieger dropped to seventh in finals (2:02.91), after being seeded sixth in prelims.

The 400 freestyle relay of Whitney, Nelson, Hannah Brennan and Kaestner placed fourth (3:52.46) after being seeded fifth.

“I thought it would be a nerve-wracking experience,” said Kaestner, “and that I’d be too worked up to perform well, but overall state was a good first experience.”

Other top eight results came from freshmen Jenna Whitney, seventh in the 200 individual medley (2:21.91) and fifth in the 100 breaststroke (1:11.48); senior Sara Brennan, eighth in the 100 breaststroke (1:15.10); and sophomore Hannah Brennan, eighth in the 200 freestyle (2:08.77).

“Getting up behind the blocks, hearing my name announced as I waited for my race, and then hearing the response of the crowd and my teammates was overwhelming,” Whitney said. “It was amazing. I don’t think of myself as an individual swimmer, state is what we all have to aim for as a team.”

Junior Stephanie Nelson added, “State packs a lot more pressure because we have trained for state. Dual meets aren’t as important because the whole time we’re trying to qualify for state. Getting to state is like ‘OK, this is what I’ve been working for. Now I have to perform.’”

Estenson performed exceptionally at state, taking second in diving and improving on last year’s fifth-place finish.

She scored 309.75 points, which bettered the 2A state diving record.

Fellow diver Emma Ochs, a junior, placed 10th.

“They both did exceptionally well,” said dive coach Gilbert Ballow. “Emma doubled her points from the year before, and made semifinals narrowly missing the final round. Mallorie made all the goals on her list, and she set high goals. We’re going to see some exceptional things from both of them.”

The divers will be a key to the 2009 edition of the AHS Swim and Dive team, and the swimmers look to be strong as well. State qualifiers Sara Brennan, Rieger and Jenssen graduate, but a good core remains.

“There are lots of younger faces and new talent,” co-captain Jenssen said. “The team has a strong future as a result.”

Sophomore Hannah Brennan was looking back and ahead at the same time as the season ended.

“Seeing our seniors finish their last high school meet was sad, but exciting because we had more fans than in the past, and the school brought a rooter bus. Hopefully we’ll continue to receive recognition for our swimming accomplishments.”

Anacortes is the first team to bring a rooter bus to the state meet, which in addition to the fast swims, high-scoring dives and third place overall finish made for a memorable year.

This article contributed by special writer Jillian Whitney.