Bay junior is school’s first girls swimmer to win state title
FEDERAL WAY — Getting stronger and faster over the past three seasons, Jessica Bottelberghe made the leap Saturday to two-time state champion.
Nikki Cannon made quite the splash, too, becoming her school’s first girls swimmer to take home a state title.
Bottelberghe, a junior from Columbia River, cruised to victories in the 200-yard individual medley and the 100 butterfly at the Class 3A state girls swimming championships at the King County Aquatic Center.
That gives her six placings in individual races in her three high school seasons, but Saturday was the first time she stood atop the podium with championships.
“I felt really tall,” she said with a laugh, referring to the awards ceremony experience.
A little later in the program, Cannon, a junior from Hudson’s Bay, stunned the field in the 100 backstroke to claim her title.
“When I looked up and saw I was first, I was just so happy,” said Cannon, who came into that race seeded third.
Bottelberghe’s victories were not surprising — she was seeded first in both finals — but they were rewarding.
Bottelberghe won the IM in 2 minutes, 7.52 seconds, almost two seconds faster than Grace Wold of Mercer Island. She was just as dominant in the butterfly, with a time of 56.49 seconds, almost a second-and-a-half better than Gabby Lindblad of Kennedy.
“Wow. I never expected to win both of them,” Bottelberghe said. “I really wanted to, but I wasn’t sure it was actually going to happen. I actually dreamt about it last night.”
Bottelberghe had a third- and a fourth-place finish as a freshman, then took home two second-place marks last year.
“I feel so relieved now,” she said.
Winning the IM helped her win the fly, she said, noting that she put less pressure on herself because she got that first championship.
“I just felt so much more relaxed in the second one,” she said.
She did not show much emotion after her wins, but that’s because she was not 100 percent certain of her placing.
Even though she had big leads in both races, she said she was never really sure of her victories until she saw her name on the scoreboard.
“I was just trying to find my name to see if I actually did it,” Bottelberghe explained. “I was tired and trying to find my name on the scoreboard to see if it actually happened. By the time I got to my teammates, that’s when it sunk in.”
Cannon touched the wall in the 100 backstroke in 57.08 seconds.
“I knew my race plan and I just told myself to be calm,” she said. “Go all out and don’t hold anything back.”
She trailed the first 50 yards, but by the final turn, she had the lead.
“I was going to kick as hard as I could and sprint the whole way,” she said.
Cannon finished third in the 50 freestyle earlier in the day. Last year, she took fifth and seventh in two events. Now, she has 3-1 finish to the season.
“This feels really good. I feel like I trained really, really hard the whole year. I came into the year mentally calm,” she said. “Just go out, have fun, and see what I can do.”
Bottelberghe, Waverly James, Christine Wang, and Alex Anderson gave River an eighth-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay, the final event of the 3A meet.
Clark County had several finishes in the top eight at state, including six from Union swimmers.
Union freshman Andrea Young was right behind Cannon in the 50 free, finishing fourth. She also took fourth in the 100 free. Junior McKenna Spieth finished fifth in the 100 breaststroke. Junior Katie Odiorne was sixth in the 100 butterfly.
Felicia Williamson, Odiorne, Spieth, and Young teamed up for a fourth-place finish in the 200 freestyle relay. The same quartet finished fifth in the 200 medley relay.
Katie Duvall of Hudson’s Bay finished seventh in the 500 freestyle and seventh in the 100 backstroke.
Union’s six finalists helped the Titans take eighth in the team race with 120 points. Mercer Island won the team title with 246.5 points.
