Boys Prep Swim & Dive: Bates, Olson lead Aberdeen to 13th place state finish

Olson fifth in dive; Bates top eigth in two events as Bobcats total 76 points

Aberdeen’s boys swim and dive team had one of its best showings at the state tournament in recent memory, placing 13 overall in the team standings on Saturday at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.

Senior Tyler Bates led the Bobcats with a pair of top-eight finishes.

Bates placed fourth in the 100-yard backstroke, rallying over the final 50 yards to touch the wall with a time of 57.62.

Bates also took eighth in the 50 freestyle with a time of 22.94.

Aberdeen sophomore Zeke Olson placed fifth overall in the 2A State diving competition on Thursday, scoring a total of 216.20 points in the finals.

Olson also earned the Bobcats team points with a 13th-place finish in the 100 butterfly with a time of 59.00.

SUBMITTED PHOTO Aberdeen sophomore Zeke Olson (5) placed fifth in the 2A State boys diving competition on Thursday at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.

SUBMITTED PHOTO Aberdeen sophomore Zeke Olson (5) placed fifth in the 2A State boys diving competition on Thursday at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.

Aberdeen’s 200 medley relay team of Bates, Olson Jacob Hallak and Denny Linker survived a what head coach Rob Burns called “a scary relay exchange” to place ninth overall, winning the B final with a time of 1:48.59.

The Bobcats finished the meet with 76 points to place 13th in the team standings, just 2.5 points behind Kingston in the 34-team competition.

“I couldn’t be more proud of these boys, their efforts, their work and their competitive fire this weekend and all season,” Burns said. “Three podium places on the weekend, a top-15 team finish and season and career best times, you can’t ask for anything more. It was a pleasure to be their coach and help them get to their best.”

Pullman won the team title with 332 points followed by Sammamish (289) and Anacortes (147) in second and third, respectively.