Raiders lose showdown with Curtis

By CASEY OLSON

The Mirror

The improbable run of the Thomas Jefferson High School girls swim team ended Tuesday afternoon in the water of the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center.

The Raiders, who are still in the midst of their best season in recent memory, were upended by the Curtis Vikings 117-69. The loss was the first of the season for TJ after starting the South Puget Sound League South Division season with a perfect 7-0 record. The victory improved Curtis to 8-0 and should lead to the SPSL South title.

The Vikings have one league meet remaining against Bethel next Tuesday. Jefferson will take on Federal Way in its final SPSL South dual meet.

Curtis had too much depth for the Raiders, who earlier this season beat traditional powers Decatur, Puyallup and Rogers. The Vikings finished first or second in all 12 events and garnered the pivotal third-place points, which usually decide the winner of a dual meet, in 10 of the events.

The Vikings got things going from the opening gun after winning the 200-yard medley relay in a state-qualifying time of 1:58.46. Curtis went on to finish one-two in the second event of the day — the 200 freestyle — to grab an early 21-9 lead in the team score.

After TJ sophomore Amy Friedhoff snared the Raiders’ first victory in the third event of the day — the 200 individual medley in a time of 2:17.34 — the Vikings finished 1-2-3 in the 50 free to go up 42-20 and basically ending Jefferson’s hopes. Curtis went on to finish 1-3-4 in the 100 butterfly and the 100 free to lead 64-30 at the halfway point in the meet.

The Raiders’ other individual wins came from Bonnie Ray in diving with 113.15 points, Justina Coe in the 500 free (5:51.30) and Friedhoff in the 100 backstroke (1:05.28).

Jefferson also got second-place finishes from Tasia Esparza in the 100 fly (1:07.2), Kerri Blegan in the 100 free (59.30), Jewel Klahn in the 100 breaststroke (1:14.68) and Friedhoff, Esparza, Coe and Blegan in the 200 medley relay (1:59.56). The Jefferson team of Blegan, Tavasci, Esparza and Friedhoff also won the 200 free relay in a time of 1:48.24.

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