The Clarkston and Pullman girls’ swimming teams each have several athletes competing in the Washington Class 2A state tournament. Preliminaries are set to begin at 8:45 a.m. today at the King County Aquatics Center in Federal Way, Wash.

Pullman’s 200 and 400 freestyle relays each shattered district and school records in the district tournament Nov. 6 at Washington State’s Gibb Pool.

First and second-place finishers in each event at the district meet automatically qualify for state. Third and fourth places get allocated for a chance at an at-large berth.

The Greyhounds’ 200 free relay of Poppy Edge, Bree Myers, Mya Reed, and Madi Weber finished with a time of 1:41.72. The four broke the school record by 0.96 seconds and the district mark by a whopping 2.88 seconds.

The 400 relay Edge, Myers, Melrose Gilbert and Reed swam a 3:43.74, besting the school record by 1.41 seconds and the district record by 2.16 seconds.

Those two relays have the top times in the state.

“The younger core has pushed the team tremendously,” Pullman coach Amy Ripley said. “We have four seniors, and two of them (Reed and Gilbert) compete in the relay. They really want to be on top of the list of best performances after every meet.”

Clarkston swimmer Natalie Graham posted a state-qualifying time in mid-October at a home meet in the 200 individual medley of 2:19.12.

“She’s a powerhouse,” Clarkston coach Savannah Kaschmitter said. “She’s the fastest ­swimmer I’ve coached during my eight years here,”

Graham, a senior from Asotin High School, is one of two Panthers that make up Clarkston’s roster. She also will compete in the 100 backstroke.

“We’re super lucky to have her on our team,” Kaschmitter said. “She has a 3.8 GPA, which is great. Once this is over, I’m going to miss her so much. She’s a great kid.”

Clarkston’s 200 medley relay of Sarah Broemmeling, Makayla Doughtery, Graham and Liza Higgins earned a wild card berth after a fourth-place finish at the district meet.

“It’s three seniors and a freshman, and they hold themselves accountable,” Kaschmitter said. “They don’t let anyone slack off, but they keep a positive attitude at practice which makes all the difference.”

The 200 free relay of Higgins, Jordyn Sawyer, Graham, Dougherty also will be competing.

Pullman has a swimmer competing in every event, but its strength sits on its relay teams.

“So far, we’re looking pretty good,” Ripley said. “Our medley relay is seeded third, so hopefully we can overcome that and take the top spot. I am very confident with our 200 free relay and our 400.”

With several athletes competing in different events throughout the meet, there will be little time to recover in between events.

“I worry about it a little bit, I really do,” Ripley said. “Just because a lot of the turnaround time is eating into the relays. The nice thing is I have options.”

The Greyhounds have the option of relying on alternates during the relays.

“Something I haven’t had before is reliable alternates,” Ripley said. “It’s not going to make a huge difference because my alternates are good and they know what’s at stake and they’ve been practicing as though they’re going into that spot. A lot of the time when a team of our size goes with an alternate, there’s a difference in time, but not with us.”

According to Ripley, the biggest hurdle Pullman needs to overcome is maintaining momentum through the prelims.

“We tend to perform really well in prelims and that’s it,” she said. “During the second day when the points count, they start to fall off. They have to still be a top performer on that second day.”

Pullman has some athletes who are favored to finish on top of the podium. Reed is the top seed in the 100 freestyle.

“She’s always been determined to be a state champion and I really see it,” Ripley said. “I see her potential and I can see her dream coming true. She’s been practicing so hard.”

Pixley may be contacted at tpixley@lmtribune.com, (208) 848-2268 or on Twitter @TreebTalks.

Area qualifiers

Pullman

200 medley relay — Abby Adams, Madi Weber, Nelly Peng, Codi Thomas

200 freestyle — Poppy Edge, Melrose Gilbert, Adams

200 IM — Bree Myers, Weber, Peng

50 free — Mya Reed, Emma Bryson

100 butterfly — Thomas

100 free — Reed, Myers, Bryson

500 free — Edge, Gilbert, Estelle Uberuaga

200 free relay — Edge, Weber, Myers, Reed

100 backstroke — Adams

100 breaststroke — Weber, Thomas, Kiara Donolo, Uberuaga

400 free relay — Edge, Myers, Gilbert, Reed

Clarkston

200 medley relay — Liza Higgins, Makayla Dougherty, Natalie Graham, Sarah Broemmeling

200 IM — Graham

200 free relay — Higgins, Jordyn Sawyer, Graham, Dougherty

100 back — Graham