Kentlake’s third place finish at the 4A state swim and dive championship meet at the King County Aquatic Center Nov. 11-12 was no small feat.

First, the team did it without a diver, and second they did it swimming against Skyline, which won its third straight team championship in the pool thanks to a pair of individual titles from standout Katie Kinnear and a pair of first place finishes in relays.

And to top it all off, it was the best finish for the Falcons at the state swim meet since Kentlake opened in 1997.

“This means a lot to the team, the girls worked very hard this year and everyone contributed something to the team’s success,” wrote Kentlake coach Seth Dawson in an email. “I think the key to winning the trophy was perseverance. The kids never gave up, they kept swimming hard and all of our relay’s really stepped up, we had some really great swims and scored points in all three relays. I was very proud of our kids and their accomplishments.”

That hardware for Kentlake comes thanks to a fifth place finish in the 200 yard individual medley relay which senior Sarah Dougherty led off, followed by Laura Williams, Emily Tanasse and anchored by Abby Swanson.

The Falcons added on a third place finish in the 400 free relay at the end of the meet, with Kyndal Phillips leading off, Swanson, Dougherty and Tanasse anchoring.

Phillips also had a sixth place finish in the 200 IM and a ninth place finish in the 100 butterfly while Tanasse placed fourth in the 100 backstroke and a fifth place finish in the 100 fly.

Meanwhile, Joanna Wu of Kent-Meridian finished her career for the Royals with a third place finish in the 200 free less than two seconds shy of an automatic All American time, touching the wall in 1 minute, 51.06 seconds. Wu added a silver medal with her second place finish in the 500 free, clocking in at 5:00.77.

Kentwood sophomore Natalie Lesnick finished 14th overall in the 500 freeKentridge senior Emily Mohr finished second in the 50 free with a time of 24 seconds flat and added another medal to her collection with a fourth place finish in the 100 free, stopping the clock at 52.95 seconds.

Mohr also swam the anchor for the Chargers’ fourth place 200 free relay team. Senior Emily Shonka led off the relay with Flannery Allen and Bella Chilczuk swimming the other legs.Kentridge’s 400 free relay — Shonka, Chilczuk, Allen and Mohr — finished sixth.

The Chargers finished 11th overall as a team.Tahoma senior Alannah Miller finished fourth in the consolation final of the 100 free, 12th overall.

The Bears 200 free relay of Alex Stein, Anna Pierre, Jessica Miller and Alannah Miller finished eighth. Tahoma’s 400 free relay team — Pierre, Jessica Miller, Tori Bowers and Alannah Miller — swam in the consolation final of the 400 free, finishing 14th overall.