Liberty swimmer sets school record in 500 freestyle at state
February 23, 2009
By Christopher Huber
Overall, Patriots finish in 15th place
Logan Briggs, of Liberty, leaps at the starting horn for his 100-meter backstroke 3A state championship finals heat Feb. 21. Briggs finished seventh in the backstroke and fourth in the 500-yard freestyle. By Alex Bell
As the Liberty High School team prepared to compete in the 2009 Class 3A State Boys Swim and Dive Championships Feb. 20, head coach Kris Daughters warned freshman standout Logan Briggs that he “pulled a mini-Phelps.”
She compared Briggs’s tight state schedule to that of Michael Phelps, who swam in eight events, some back-to-back, in last summer’s Beijing Olympics.
Briggs, who was shooting for a school record in the 500-yard freestyle, also competed in the 200-yard freestyle relay, the 100-yard backstroke and the 400-yard freestyle relay. All four events happen within about 40 minutes or so, Daughters said. She worried that he wouldn’t have time to warm up between events.
“I did better than I thought,” Briggs said. “I wasn’t running to the warm-up tank, but it was kind of like that — warm-up tank, swim; warm-up tank, swim; warm-up tank, swim. I thought it was pretty fun. It was a challenge, too.”
Briggs ended up placing fourth in the 500-yard freestyle race, setting a school record of 4:46.83. He also finished seventh in the 100-yard backstroke event, with a time of 55.36 seconds.
In the end, Liberty placed 15th in state Class 3A competition this year, with 53 points at the meet.
Logan’s older brother, Liberty junior Austin Briggs, also placed in two state meet events. He finished 15th in the 50-yard freestyle, with a time of 22.99 seconds, and 17th in the 100-yard freestyle, with a preliminary time of 50.52 seconds.
“I didn’t do my best times, but I’m getting more consistent lately, which is cool,” Austin Briggs said.
Liberty’s 200 freestyle relay (Austin Briggs, Alex Bell, Chris Kaulia and Logan Briggs) placed 10th at state, finishing in 1:32.76. Mercer Island won the event in 1:27.71. The 400 freestyle relay, consisting of the same swimmers, finished 12th, with a time 3:27.43. Mercer Island also won that event in 3:06.71.
As the Spartans’ lone state swimmer, Skyline junior Alex Palumbo finished 14th overall in the 500-yard freestyle event. This was his first time in the state meet, but he also swims as a member of a club team during the off-season. He said he was more or less satisfied with his performance.
“I gave it my all,” Palumbo said. “I did well. It was solid for where I am in my (senior sectionals) season.”
It being his first state meet experience, Palumbo said he had a tough time getting the prerace jitters out before prelims Feb. 20.
“It was intense. I was really, really nervous for prelims,” he said. “Then, for finals, I tried to relax more and to have a better race.”
Even though he’s content with his 2009 season, Palumbo said he plans to approach state differently next year. His goal is to qualify for more events than just the 500-freestyle, such as the 200-yard freestyle.
“I’ll probably do the 500-free at the first meet, and my goal is for the rest of the season to get every district time I can,” he said. “I want to swim the 200-free, (which is) my goal for a second state cut.”
Issaquah’s Jack Taylor placed 14th in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 58.63 seconds.
KingCo Athletics recently released the 2008-2009 KingCo 4A scholar athletes and three Issaquah-area swimmers made the list.
Issaquah’s Nathan Balkman maintained a 3.861 grade point average and Skyline’s Rogers Feng had a 3.968. Skyline’s Chasen Simpson maintained a 3.76. Students with a 3.75 or higher are eligible for the honor.
Reach Reporter Christopher Huber at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com. Comment on this story at www.issaquahpress.com.
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