The Port Townsend swim team is moving several athletes on to state championship action after a strong showing in the district meet against mostly larger schools.

Port Townsend Redhawks girls' swim and dive team went into last weekend's District II and III 2A championship knowing all team members had to swim well to get into the state meet the following weekend, according to coach Peter Braden.

WIAA does not have a swimming allocation below 2A, so the 1A Redhawks compete at the 2A level.

The team entered the meet with no state qualifying times and no one ranked in the top six at the district meet. (The top six are automatically allocated to the state meet.)

The girls also knew that times within the district and around the state were extremely fast, faster than what had been swum in past years.

But all that did not deter the team.

After Friday's preliminaries, the Redhawks had five swims in the top six, four of which met state qualifying standards. To top it all off, they broke four school records. The top 12 finishers in each event swam the next day.

The Redhawks next swim at the WIAA 2A Swim and Dive Championships, Nov. 13-14 at King County Aquatic Center.

"The girls swam incredibly well, probably the best meet I've ever been a part of as a PTHS coach," said coach Peter Braden. "We had almost all best times the first day with some amazing drops." The first swim of the day was the 200-yard medley relay. The team of Corinne Pierson, Camille Ottaway, Chloe Rogers and Ismay Gale was ranked ninth going into the meet but came out sixth, achieving both a state qualifying time and breaking the school record.

"I really did not see that coming," said Braden. "I told the girls 2:05 (two minutes and five seconds) was doable and hoped for 2:03, but never expected they would go under 2:02."

Rogers entered the meet ranked seventh in the 50-yard freestyle and was the fastest swimmer in Friday's prelims, said Braden. As she was standing behind the blocks before her Saturday finals swim, her goggles snapped in half. Teammate Ottaway raced over with her own goggles and Rogers swam another great time, finishing third.

Rogers' 100-yard freestyle shattered the school record and she finished fourth overall. When asked about her swims, Rogers reminded her coach of her favorite quote by Eric Thomas, "When you want to succeed as badly as you want to breathe, that's when you can be successful."

For the fourth time this year, Pierson broke the PTHS 100 backstroke record, finishing fifth, and also broke her own school record in the 100 fly, finishing 10th and earning a wild card entry into state.

The 200 freestyle relay of Harrenstein, Ottaway, Maisie Gould, and Greta Gamble finished 12th.

"That was another fantastic and unexpected swim," said Braden. "Greta dropped almost six seconds in her 50 free in just three weeks. That's unheard of, to say the least." For Gould and Gamble, it was their first time swimming at the district meet.

Competing on Friday, but not placing in the top 12, were Harrenstein, swimming more than four seconds faster than her entry time in the 200 freestyle and also swimming the 100 breaststroke; Gale in the 100 free and 100 backstroke, besting times in both events; Chloe Hatfield, swimming backstroke in her first district meet; and Ottaway, improving times in both her 100 fly and 100 breaststroke.

The final swim of the meet was the team's 400-yard freestyle relay of Gale, Pierson, Harrenstein, and Rogers. Due to their fast Friday swim, the girls were in the finals and guaranteed a top six finish as long as they did not get disqualified with false starts. "Clean starts" was the mantra, even though that meant slower relay takeoffs.

The team improved its time and finished sixth. Swimmers said they look forward to swimming their relay next weekend.

Defending state champions Liberty High School won the meet, followed closely by Port Angeles and North Kitsap. The Redhawks finished eighth out of 20 teams.

With five seniors departing, and two sophomores - Erin Crouch and Halli Trafton - going overseas as exchange students, the girls are actively looking for new recruits for next year.