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“To tell you the truth, I’m not sure which one it was,” said a laughing O’Neill, who is starting her third season as coach of the River Ridge girls swim team. “The running joke around here is whoever swims the event last holds the record because they swap the records back and forth so often.”
O’Neill has learned it’s probably best to update the school record book in pencil rather than pen because identical twins Kiana and Shanell Sullenberger have been constantly re-establishing benchmarks since they were freshmen with the Hawks three years ago.
The Sullenbergers hold 10 of 12 individual school records at River Ridge, missing only the 100-yard backstroke and 500-yard freestyle.
“It would be incredible to leave here holding all 12 records,” said Kiana, who along with her sister is home-schooled. “That’s certainly one of the goals this season.”
However, tops on their to-do list this year is capturing a state title – a feat both narrowly missed last season.
The Sullenbergers finished second and third in the 100 breaststroke – the duo’s best event – at last year’s Class 2A state meet with Shanell finishing in 1:05.75 and Kiana directly behind her, stopping the clock in 1:05.90. Katie Kaestner of Anacortes won the event in 1:04.43 – a qualifying time for All-American consideration.
In addition, Shanell grabbed a third-place finish at the state meet in the 200 free (1:56.74), while Kiana finished third in the 200 individual medley (2:16.06).
Both played large roles in helping the Hawks finish fifth in the 200 medley relay and eighth in the 400 free relay as River Ridge collected a seventh-place team finish at the 2010 state meet.
According to their coach, should one of the sisters win the 100 breaststroke at this year’s state meet, there will be no jealousy given their close bond.
But that’s not to say there isn’t a little sibling rivalry between them.
“We’re definitely competitive,” Kiana said. “We want to beat each other. We want to have bragging rights over the other on a school record even if it’s just until the next meet when the other one breaks it again. It’s there, but at the same time we are each other’s biggest supporters. She motivates me to want to improve.”
It’s been that way since they started swimming six years ago.
Despite spending their youth in Hawaii surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, the Sullenbergers didn’t get into competitive swimming until they moved to Washington.
“We’ve always been around the water. We would just splash around as kids,” Shanell said, “but we didn’t start swimming competitively until we were 11. Our father was a competitive swimmer and he didn’t want us to get burned out at a young age. Starting at 11 is really a late age compared to a lot of swimmers. Most are starting at 5 or 6, but I think it was completely the right decision. … We’re still learning and becoming better swimmers.”
The decision to wait hasn’t hampered the chances Kiana and Shanell will swim at the next level.
They are currently in contact with several schools in Washington, and have attracted interest from such out-of-state schools as UNLV and Colorado.
“There’s not a stroke they can’t do,” said O’Neill, who swam the 100 and 200 backstroke and 200 freestyle at Washington State University. “They’re just a dream to coach.”
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For the second consecutive year, North Thurston went undefeated during the 2010 regular season on its way to a fourth-place team finish at the 2A state swimming and diving championships last November. The Rams return five state finalists who also were key members of the three state finalist relay teams – senior Katy Tiernan and Samantha Anders, and juniors Arriya Hagen, Samantha Minor and Ashley Bierman. “The Rams look strong and have the depth and potential to continue a winning tradition,” coach Jack Ayres said. Ayres returns as girls coach, in addition to coaching the boys. He started up the girls swim program at North Thurston in 1969. … The sky’s the limit for River Ridge twins Kiana and Shanell Sullenberger, who are each vying to win a state title before their senior season is finished in two months. The pair have combined to hold 10 of 12 school records and were on the cusp of earning All-America honors last season as juniors. … Once again, teams from Olympia and Capital will start every meet down 13 points because they’ll be without diving. Olympia, which went unbeaten at 9-0 in 2010, has a good blend of youth and experience, led by senior Miranda Early, who placed seventh in the butterfly at last year’s 4A state meet. “The mixture of experience and young talent should bode well for the Bears,” coach Mel Smith said. … The Cougars, who won the 3A Narrows League meet last season, have a strong freshman class and combined with the strong returnees “will help make Capital a very competitive team,” coach Burke Anderson said. Junior Hansi Willoughby swam in the 100 free and 400 free relay at state last year. … The Tumwater/Black Hills combined team will be thin on Black Hills swimmers with only two participants, not enough to field a four-person relay. Coach Laurel Smith said she expects big results from Ha Yoon Lee based on her drop in times last season. … The Centralia-Chehalis-Rochester combined team earned its first double-dual win Tuesday night, besting Mark Morris (98-69) and R.A. Long (116-34). Chehalis junior Kelly Giffey, an all-around specialist, is one of the team’s top swimmers. The team’s practice/dual meet pool inside Thorbeckes Fitlife Center in Centralia is under consideration for closure.
