Whalen shines off the board

Stephanie Whalen made some history at Ray Williamson Pool on Tuesday.

The senior captain set a new team and pool record when she scored 246.10 points on six dives, breaking the old record of 242.8 points set in 1995 by Welling Savo.

What makes the event even more memorable is that Savo was the one who first taught Whalen how to dive.

“The highlight of that meet was Steph breaking the record,” head swim coach Greg Colby said. “The place was going crazy.”

Whalen broke the record by nailing a single twist one and a half, a dive with a high degree of difficulty according to dive coach Chris Miller.

“She’s been eyeballing that record for about two years now,” he said. “I was hoping and expecting she could do it. With her ability it was a reachable goal.

“But I don’t want to say it was easy,” he continued. “The planets have to be in their right alignment.”

Whalen’s record was part of another successful meet as the Spartans defeated the Newport Knights 112-74.

Several swimmers set state qualifying times, including Isabel Williams and Anne Scott, who finished 1-2 in the 100 backstroke with times of 1:02.80 and 1:02.98 respectively.

Both swimmers were on the 400 free relay along with Tessa Griffin and Keziah Beall that set another state qualifying time with a mark of 3:49.44.

Griffin achieved another state qualifying time in the 50 freestyle with a mark of 25.69 and in the 200 medley relay along with Williams, April Isa and Julie Pendleton with a time of 1:56.56.

The team’s success is built on their depth, a key that Colby said would be the difference in their success or failure this season.

“We didn’t win the 200 medley, but we finished 2-3,” he said. “We didn’t win the 200 free but we went 2-3-5. That’s awesome. If we did that in every event, I’d take that any day.”

Bainbridge also came in first at the Spartan Relays last Saturday with 61 points. Snohomish was second with 57 points.

The Spartans won six relays, placed first in the diving competition and finished second in three others.

As for Whalen, Miller thinks she can rebreak her record in the two remaining home meets.

“She hasn’t peaked yet for the season,” he said.

Bainbridge travels to Mary Wayte Pool at Mercer Island to face off against Mt. Rainier in a dual meet championship today.

Kickers draw blank at home

The Spartan girls soccer team had several chances to score, but they couldn’t capitalize as they lost 1-0 to the Bishop Blanchet Braves.

It’s the second straight shutout loss at home for the Spartans and dropped their record to 2-2 in league play.

“We need to learn how to control our passes and finish,” head coach Mark Grindrod said. “We should be finishing those goals.”

Bainbridge had plenty of chances to score in the first half. Adrienne Montoya had a shot that was high. Zena Hemmen put a nice move on a defender, but shot too early. Alana MacWhorter took another early shot.

Maureen Callahan’s shot went off the hands of Braves goalie Shannon Lynch, but bounced off the right side of the goal.

Grindrod said the loss of top scorer Allie Picha, who was out with a sprained ankle, might have put unneeded pressure on the girls to score.

In the second half, it was more of the same.

Kelsey Deveraux had a open look, but her shot went over the goal. Hemmen drove into the box, but two Bishop Blanchet defenders were on her like glue, forcing her to shoot early. MacWhorter received a great pass but shot too early again.

That’s when the Braves broke through, as Thera Conrad received a great pass from Natalie Munger, made her way past the defense and put a shot just past the outstretched arms of Jackie Danzig in the 55th minute.

Bainbridge had one last chance when Hemmen had the goalie beat in the 72nd minute, but her shot dribbled past the right side of the box.

The Spartans defeated Chief Sealth 8-0 on Tuesday; they will travel to face Eastside Catholic next Tuesday.

Golfers see streak snapped

The win streak is finally over.

After winning 16 straight Metro League matches over a two-year span, the Spartan boys golf team came in second to O’Dea at the Jefferson Park Golf Club in Seattle on Wednesday.

“We had three of our golfers have their worst day altogether,” head coach Bob Dwyer said. “O’Dea had four of their guys shoot very well. It’s been a reversal of what’s happened in the past

“It reminds me of ‘Airplane’ when Lloyd Bridges is in the control tower and he says ‘I picked a bad day to quit smoking,’ as he’s firing off one after another. It was just a bad day all around.”

Cory Mehl was the top golfer for the Fighting Irish, as he shot a 33 to win the medal for the match. Jamie Neill countered with a 37, but three O’Dea golfers tied with a 38 to help win the match 105 to 97. Eastside Catholic was third with 90 points.

Paul DeBarros shot a 38, while Austin Hurt and Ricky Ulloa posted a 40. Kyle Hurt finished with a 41 on the par 36 course.

“When their first golfer is under par, it’s kinda tough to beat that,” Dwyer said. “I think Jamie played well, but Austin had a bad hole. They all had a bad hole and that’s what threw them off.

Bainbridge did better on Monday as they finished first in the league opener against Seattle Prep, Eastside Catholic and West Seattle at Wing Point Golf and Country Club.

Neill shot a two under 33 to medal, while Austin and DeBarros each shot 38. Kyle finished with a score of 39 and Zack Cram shot a 40 as the Spartans finished with 100 Stableford points.

Dwyer said the team was disappointed in their loss on Wednesday, but is glad to get it out of the way now.

“We’re fortunate to have it out of the way,” he said. “Now we can refocus on what kind of scores we need to achieve.”