MOSES LAKE — The series of successful meets this season fully paid off for the Moses Lake Mavericks girls swim team over the weekend as the girls claimed the District 5 title. By the end of Saturday, the Mavs won the district meet with a score of 466 to Wenatchee's 449. 

"Just as we expected with Wenatchee, it was close all the way to the end. Could have gone either way, but it went our way," said Mavs Head Coach Tony Preston. "The girls were super excited to get their district championship." 

The diving team began their district finals Thursday with Mia Thompson taking second (247.85), Lexie Gruber taking third (247.85) and Lyla Jackson taking fourth (148.15). With her second-place finish, Thompson qualified for the state meet. 

"Our divers going two-three-four certainly helped," said Preston. "From the very beginning it was going good." 

Swimming finals took place Saturday afternoon starting with the 200-Yard Medley Relay where the MLHS team of Ellen Center, Paysyn Torrey, Sydney Stevens and Taylor McKay (2:05.79) took second place. The first-place spot was claimed by Eisenhower, who came through with a strong performance in finals, bringing the second-place spot down to a tight race between Wenatchee and Moses Lake. 

"Eisenhower really loaded their relay, second place wasn't guaranteed," said Preston. "We had to race Wenatchee and beat them and our best time of the season really set the tone for us." 

In the 200-Yard Freestyle, sisters Ellen Center (2:18.68) and Ava Center (2:21.54) took third and fourth. Following this, Paysyn Torrey (2:30.71) took second in the 200-Yard Individual Medley and soon after Taylor McKay (27.28) took fifth in the 50-Yard Freestyle. 

"Ellen Center had an amazing meet for us as a senior," said the coach.  

The 100-Yard Butterfly saw a third-place finish from Sydney Stevens (1:06.44) followed by a fifth-place finish by Ellen Center (1:12.21). Taylor McKay (1:01.52) took fifth in the 100-Yard Freestyle followed closely behind by Andi Hardebeck (1:02.02), who took sixth. 

Sydney Stevens had a strong showing in the 200-Yard Freestyle with a second-place finish. Following this was the 200-Yard Freestyle Relay where Paysyn Torrey, Andi Hardebeck, Sarah Heaps and Taylor McKay (1:53.36) claimed third. 

The 100-Yard Backstroke saw top finishes from Sarah Heaps (1:11.73) and Kimball Roylance (1:14.35) who took third and fourth respectively. In the following 100-Yard Breaststroke, Paysyn Torrey (1:18.17) took third. 

Moses Lake's team of Ellen Center, Kimball Roylance, Ava Robinson and Andi Hardebeck (4:21.40) rounded out the meet with a fourth-place finish in the 400-Yard Freestyle Relay.  

"We had an amazing Saturday," said Preston. "Thursday, job one, get to Saturday. Job two Saturday, swim faster, place higher and we did both." 

The rest of Saturday was spent in celebration as the girls learned they claimed the district title. 

"Saturday, I was doing all the results announcing and they didn't know they won," said Preston. "I had a good feeling and then I got to see the results and when I read Wenatchee is the second place they knew they'd won and let out a collective cheer." 

A major point of success for Moses Lake was their ability to have every single athlete score points throughout the meet. This was a prime example of the depth of the Mavs roster, he said, and the efforts of each individual athlete contributed to their district title. 

Preston said the drive from these girls to work as hard as they do and create their talented roster comes from the fact that everyone has fun as a team. 

"We like being around each other and the pressure comes from them," said the coach. "I meet them where they're at and get them to race the best they can as long as that's what they want to do. Really it's that internal drive to succeed for each one of the girls to do their best." 

Moses Lake has just over a week before the state championship meet and during that time they will be reflecting on their district success and working to build off of that. Over the next couple days Preston said the team will focus on net letting off their intensity and putting their minds toward exactly what they need to do to compete well at state. 

He said all the girls are in a great mood and ready to get back to work this week. For Preston, he is just proud of what this team has already accomplished this season and is anticipating what they can do on the west side. 

"They worked hard all year," said Preston. "We couldn't have done it if any one girl wasn't there. It was everybody showing up and doing their best to put that best foot forward and be competitive." 

The Mavs will conclude their season at the State Swim and Diving Championship on Nov. 13-14 at King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.

    The diving team stands on the podium with Wenatchee's Lily Hansen in first and Moses Lake filling out the rest of the podium with Mia Thompson taking second, Lexie Gruber taking third and Lyla Jackson taking fourth.
  

    Paysyn Torrey, Ellen Center, Taylor McKay and Sydney Stevens stand together with their district champion hardware in hand. The four competed together in the 200-Yard Medley Relay where they claimed second.