What is the best team at Garfield? Is it the boys basketball team, with sensational athletes and sophomore Tony Wroten? Is it the boys tennis team, KingCo champions four of the last five years? Is it the chess team, holder of the state title? Or is it girls swimming, whose consistent excellence was continued this year with a second place finish at the state championships?

Sophomore Louisa Dunwiddie has this perspective: “Chess isn’t even a real sport, boys basketball hasn’t wont state since like 1996, and tennis, well, that’s cool if you like short shorts and cardigans.”

Last year the Lady Bullfrogs dominated the regular season and went into state knowing that they had as good a chance as any to win. The team swam well, but crucial disqualifications cost them the outright title. Instead, they had to settle for a 1st place tie, shared with Inglemoor, their bitter rivals.

Despite the loss of Ernst and fellow stud Gabby Guieb, the team was well positioned for 2008. Senior captain Melissa Oishi led the team throughout the 2008 season. Junior Maddy Morgan and sophomore Fiona Majeau gave the team a powerhouse core around which to build. The KingCo conference also fielded fewer competitive teams than last year, which allowed Garfield to spend the season warming up for districts.

Just as in 2007, the team swept through the regular season undefeated. The team had its share of high points. In just one meet Morgan posted state qualifying times in every single event. Oishi made it to state in the 100 meter breaststroke. Both Dunwiddie and Majeau qualified in the 200 and 500 meter individual medley (IM) as did junior Jordan Hanna in 100 meter breaststroke and 200 IM. Sophomore Electra Scott made it in the 100 meter backstroke and seniors Stephanie Willis and Carolyn Samuelson were on qualifying relay teams. The Lady Bullfrogs were ready for state.

Unfortunately for Garfield, another team was gearing up for a run at the state championship. Jackson High School had just been bolstered by the arrival of two mega-talented sisters: sophomore Amber and junior Courtney McDermott.

More so than in other sports, high school swimming requires a nucleus of high level athletes. The meet scoring system places emphasis on relays, which double points allotted for victories in those events. Also, it is far more desirable to have just a couple of very adept swimmers than a excess of merely good ones, as only the top sixteen swimmers statewide in each category net their team points.

In contrast with the Garfield team, which featured many good swimmers, with only a medium sized differential between the stars and the contributors, the Jackson team featured only the McDermott sisters, along with 50 meter specialist Alana Pazevic. In the format of the state meet, it is better to have the Jackson combination.

Though Morgan won the 100 meter backstroke and Majeau finished second in the 200 and 500 meters, the meet was not even close. Pazevic retained her state crown in the 50 free. Jackson, maximizing the potential of its core group, used its prodigious top swimmers to win 200 meter medley relay and the 400 meter free relay. And then there was Amber McDermott.

Fresh off her win this August at the junior national championships in the 500 meter free, the only question in that event at state was how much Amber McDermott would win by. Her final time of 4:41:98 was awe inspiring. Not only did she beat second place Majeau’s mark of 4:56:21 (itself an All-America time) by over 14 seconds, she surpassed the longstanding state record in that ever by eight seconds. Only a sophomore, McDermott swam fast enough to have finished second in last year’s boys competition.

Though McDermott will be around for the foreseeable future, the Garfield team still has plenty to look forward to. Majeau, Scott, Hanna, Morgan, and Dunwiddie are steadily improving. There is also the possibility the McDermott will disappear from the high school swimming to compete on a higher level. Either way, the broad talent base present at Garfield will keep the dynasty around for years to come.