Washington High School (WIAA) 2A Girls Swimming and Diving State Championships
- November 9-11, 2023
- King County Aquatic Center, Federal Way, Washington
- Short Course Yards (SCY)
- Results on MeetMobile: “2023 Girls State Meet 2A”
In large part due to a perfect four for four performance from freshman Sutton Forbis, Sammamish High School came away with the school’s second straight WIAAA 2A Swimming and Diving State Championships title.
Forbis started off her high school career by claiming two individual titles, taking the top spot in the 200 IM and 100 back. She opened opened her meet by leading a one-two finish for Sammamish in the IM. Forbis led the event by a wide margin, taking first by over six seconds in a time of 2:05.67. She was followed by fellow freshman Neve Chene, who touched at 2:11.91.
Her performance in the 100 back was equally dominant, with her time of 56.63 being the only finish under a minute in the back. While that time was more than enough to claim the state title, it was still short of her lifetime best of 55.81 from March. That time was good enough to earn her a twelfth place finish at the Sectionals Championships held at Federal Way.
Forbis also helped Sammamish open and close the meet with state titles in the 200 medley relay and 400 free relay. In the medley relay, she split 26.34 on the backstroke leg to help her team to a final time of 1:49.78. She also served as the leadoff leg on the 400 free relay, splitting 52.70 as the team won in 3:39.38.
Joining Forbis in claiming multiple state titles at the meet was Bellingham’s Grace Sorensen. The sophomore opened her meet by claiming the top spot in the 200 free, beating the defending champion Brigid Dinnen by over a second to claim her first state title in 1:52.80. Her second performance of the meet also featured her defeating the defending champion, beating Sammamish senior Ava Gruner to take gold in the 100 fly. Sorensen’s winning time of 55.99 puts her just three tenths of a second off of the state record in the event.
Samantha Mandeville claimed the top spot on the 1-meter board, winning the event with a score of 317.75. Mandeville finished fourth in the event last season as a sophomore.
While Sorensen took down a pair of defending champions in her events, Gabbie Patti, a junior at Bremerton, defended her state title in the 50 free. After winning the event in 24.05 a year ago, she claimed her second title in the race this season in 24.22. She also added a runner-up finish in the 100 free, finishing behind Dinnen (52.53).
After finishing in third a year ago, Pullman’s Poppy Edge claimed gold in the 500 free. A senior, Edge led the field by over six seconds to take the win in a time of 5:19.46.
The 200 free relay went to North Kitsap High School, with Tiffany Le, Ashley Husmoe, Audrey Crossgrove, and Shosho McLain combining for gold in 1:41.56.
After spending her first two years of high school competing in Arizona, Rebecca Yamada ended her first season of high school swimming in Washington with a state title in the 100 breast. The junior finished well ahead of the field, touching in 1:08.86. That time marks a three second improvement from her time a year ago at the Arizona High School State Championships.
Team Scores
- Sammamish – 343
- Pullman – 200
- North Kitsap – 159
- Port Angeles – 143
- Bellingham – 141
