Boys swimming: Ellefson takes 200 free title at districts

By Sequim Gazette Staff • February 14, 2024 1:30 am
Photo by Eric Ellefson / Sequim's Colby Ellefson races to two top-two finishes at the West Central District meet last week, earning his third trip to the 1A/2A state swimming finals.

Sequim High senior Colby Ellefson is headed back to the state swimming meet — and he’ll go there for the first time as a district champion.

Ellefson edged Josh VanHuis of Kingston by 0.03 of a second to win the 200 freestyle at the West Central District meet held Feb. 8-10 in Renton.

After winning the preliminary heat of the 200 freestyle with a time of 1 minute, 55.81 seconds, Ellefson did better in the finals, winning with a time of 1:54.59, edging out VanHuis by a fraction of a second.

Colby Ellefson

One of four Sequim swimmers who trained and competed with the Port Angeles High team until the postseason, when they swim with Sequim colors, Ellefson added a second state berth with a 5:18.91 finish in the 500 free, just behind Kingston’s VanHuis.

Last season as a junior, Ellefson placed eight in the 500 free and 10th in the 200. In 2022 as a sophomore, he was 12th in the 500 free and 15th in the 200 free. He holds school records in both events, as well as the 100 backstroke and 200 individual medley.

Photo by Eric Ellefson / Sequim's Colby Ellefson, right, is congratulated by Sequim swimming coach Britt Hemphill after winning the 200-yard freestyle at the West Central District meet in Renton last week.

Ellefson’s Sequim teammates this season included Jasper Flath, Adrian Osborne and Bowen Zhu.

Port Angeles finished eighth at the district meet with 83 points while Sequim finished 12th with 29. Sammamish won the district championship with 295 points.

The state 1A/2A swim meet is set for Feb. 15-17 at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.