Moses Lake junior Zach Washburn grabs pair of top-three finishes at State
CASEY MCCARTHY | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 years, 8 months AGO
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Junior Zachary Washburn gets focused in before his second finals race of the day at the 4A state meet.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake junior Zachary Washburn grabbed second place in the 100-yard freestyle finals on Saturday at the 4A state meet in Federal Way.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake senior Jared Grant poses with his first medal of the day after competing the finals of the unified 50-yard freestyle on Saturday at the 4A state finals
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Junior Zachary Washburn stands on the podium to receive his second medal of the day after taking second in the 100-yard freestyle finals on Saturday.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Dylan Bond beat his preliminary time in the 200 freestyle by roughly two seconds in the consolation finals on Saturday as the Moses Lake senior finished thirteent
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake assistant coach Linden Williams and senior Dylan Bond cheer on Jared Grant as he head into the finish of the unified 50-yard freestyle finals on Saturd
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Senior Dylan Bond looks up to check his time after the consolation finals in the 100-yard freestyle at the 4A state swim and dive meet on Saturday.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake senior Jared Grant makes his way thorugh the final stretch of the unified 50-yard backstroke finals on Saturday.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Swimmers leave the block at the start of the 50-yard freestyle finals at the 4A state meet in Federal Way on Saturday.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald 4A swimmers make their final push in the last leg of the 100-yard freestyle finals on Saturday morning at King County Aquatic Center.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Members of the Moses Lake 200-yard freestyle relay grabbed the top finish in the consolation finals on Saturday at the 4A state finals.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Zachary Washburn poses with his first medal of the day after taking third place in the 50-yard freestyle, breaking the school record in the process.
Moses Lake junior Zachary Washburn gets set for the 100-yard freestyle finals on Saturday at King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald
FEDERAL WAY — Moses Lake wrapped up its season at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way this weekend at the 4A state meet. Junior Zachary Washburn grabbed a pair of top-three finishes on the weekend to lead the Chiefs, taking twelfth-place overall.
In the finals of the 100 freestyle, Washburn grabbed a second-place finish with a time of 45.96. Glacier Peak’s Matthew King took first with an Olympic-qualifying time of 43.24, which broke a nearly 30-year-old state record in the process.
Washburn grabbed the Moses Lake school record in the 50 freestyle, a goal the junior had been pushing toward all season. Washburn’s time of 20.81 seconds was good enough to finish third in the finals on Saturday. King put up an absurd time of 19.81 in the 50 freestyle to take first.
Moses Lake assistant coach Linden Williams said Washburn is the team’s most elite athlete, but that he brings a humility that allows the group around him to want to train at his level. Williams said, while the coaching staff can help develop a plan, the work ethic and drive has to come from within.
“Having an athlete of that caliber on a team that has so much potential is so unbelievable,” Williams said.
Even though he came up short of an individual state championship, Williams said their junior performed exactly where they wanted him to be.
“He’s an athlete that knows he’s always shooting for that top three, but really first place,” Williams said. “When he falls a bit short but still reaches a goal, he has the mindset to allow him to celebrate a success, but not lose focus on his eventual goals.”
Senior captain Dylan Bond helped kick off the day for the Chiefs in the consolation finals of the 200-yard freestyle. Bond finished with a lifetime-best at 1:45.83, shaving two seconds off his preliminary time from the day before, to take fifth in the race, thirteenth overall.
Williams said Bond’s swim to open the meet on Saturday was “one of the gutsiest swims” she’s ever seen.
“It was emotional,” Williams said. “We needed an opening swim on finals day to set the mood for what the rest of the meet’s going to be like.”
Bond grabbed fourth in the consolation finals of the 100 freestyle, taking twelfth in the event with a time of 48.42. The Moses Lake senior made it a point to anchor both the 200 and 400 yard freestyle relays as well.
In the 200 free relay, Bond helped anchor the relay team of Washburn, Ryan Jorgensen and Cole Lindberg to a first place finish in the consolation finals, taking ninth overall.
Jorgensen, Bond, Washburn and Isaac Patten grabbed second in the consolation finals of the 400 relay, taking tenth in the event.
Williams said Bond had one of the biggest growths from freshman to senior year, not only as an athlete, but as a leader.
“His leadership on this team this year has been one of my most proud moments,” she said.
Senior Jared Grant competed on the big stage in both the unified 50-yard freestyle and backstroke on Saturday. Grant finished with best times in both events, Williams said.
Williams said she believes Grant’s favorite part of his career with the Chiefs has been the friendships he’s been able to build with his teammates on the swim team.
“He’s always coming to my classroom in the offseason and says I can’t wait to be with my friends,” Williams said. The Moses Lake assistant coach said Grant was committed swimmer in his four years that didn’t miss practice, swimming extra time on his own. Williams said Grant has been “a positive force” with the team is his time.
“As much as it’s benefited him to be with our group, our group has benefited from being with him,” Williams said. “It’s been a gift to have him with us for four years.”
Williams said it was exciting getting to watch their senior come out on the biggest stage his final meet for the Chiefs.
Moses Lake head coach Tony St. Onge was unable to make the trip to Federal Way over the weekend, but Williams said the team did a great job of staying positive and rallying in his absence.
