With another strong, deep swimming team, Olympia aims to get over its Curtis hurdle

The Evergreen State College hasn’t sponsored intercollegiate swimming for more than a decade.

Yet, as the home pool of both high school programs in Olympia and the Evergreen Swim Club, as well as a regular site for high school district championships, the campus is the epicenter of the sport in the lower South Sound.

Olympia senior Emma Song has immersed herself in Evergreen’s waters since age 7, and come away steeped in the knowledge of the area’s more experienced and enthusiastic coaches.

“I started with the Evergreen Swim Club. Our coach, Scott Putzier, was so amazing, I really wanted to stick with swimming,” said Song, whose best individual events are the 100-yard breast stroke (1:11.70) and 200 individual medley (2:25.16).

“He always brought our team together.”

These days, Song occasionally gets instruction from retired Bears’ coach Don Martin, a school Hall of Famer she calls a “legend.” Most important, she says, are Olympia’s current 12th year coach Mel Smith and assistant Tracy Larson.

“They’re an awesome combination,” Song said. “He’s an icon out on the pool deck in those long white socks. My class is the first Tracy’s been with all four years and she’s super supportive.”

Smith has guided the Bears to second-place finishes behind Curtis in the Class 4A SPSL the past two seasons. Olympia has lost only five dual meets since joining the league in 2016.

They head into Saturday’s league meet at Rogers with nine swimmers already qualified for the 4A West Central District meet and hopes of expanding that total to 18.

“We’ve got fantastic depth,” Smith said of his 48 member squad, 29 of whom will compete at the league meet. “We’ve got a solid group of seniors including Emma and Anna Daniels-Brown. They’re all very capable.”

Song, a 3.98 student who is active in student government at Olympia, is the lone senior on a 200 medley relay team that includes sophomores Lauren Wilson, Jenny Chang and Carissa Putt. She’s been a team captain the past two seasons.

“She’s dedicated to making sure everyone of her teammates has a good experience,” Smith said.

Song enjoys being a leader on a big squad.

“A lot of other sports at (Olympia) cut people, but I love having a big team,” she said. “We get to connect with a lot of different people.”

Song would like to get her 100 breast time down to 1:08 and a school record, but doesn’t stress as much on details when it comes to the 200 IM.

“That’s the fun part from my perspective. I just sprint every single stroke,” she said. “In practice, I do work on each one, but more so on the breast stroke since that’s where I get most of my power from.”

Meanwhile, Wilson, a 4.0 student, is the leader of the pack among the younger Bears. She participated in three events at state last season — the 100 fly, 100 back and 200 medley relay. Earlier this season, she helped the Bears to four first-place finishes in the South Sound Relays.

Her best marks in her specialties this fall have been 59.51 in the 100 fly and 1:02.72 in the 100 back.

“She’s committed, hard-working and focused,” Smith said. “We can use her anywhere, she doesn’t have any disadvantages. If a coach suggests something, she pays attention and puts it to use.”

Wilson points to her versatility in describing herself as a swimmer.

“I’m pretty well-rounded, I can swim all the strokes fairly well,” she said. “I try to be a good teammate.”

She’s stalking the Olympia record for the 100 fly and hopes to break it at state meet.

“In the fly, I have to think more. You have to have a specific breathing pattern,” she said. “In the back, I just kind of go for it.”

Like Song, she appreciates Olympia’s large squad.

“We have a really inclusive team,” she said. “We all support each other and it brings the best out of us.”

Wilson says she’s continuing to peak as postseason approaches. Song, too, has a plan.

“You need to focus on technique and get a lot of rest,” she said. “And a key factor is always your mindset. If you can’t believe it now, it won’t happen later.”

This story was originally published October 17, 2018 at 10:28 AM.