BEAVERTON — While most local student athletes are preparing for district competitions, swimmers representing Cove and La Grande are bound for the Tualatin Hills Aquatic Center in Beaverton starting with preliminaries on Friday, Feb. 16.

Action for the 4A/3A/2A/1A begins at 1:45 p.m. on Feb. 16 with finals taking place on Feb. 17 starting at 1:15 p.m.

Local fans will be looking at the La Grande team of Hannah Zamora, Rinnah Lynch, McKinley Kruse, Shiloh Lynch, Cecilia Villagomez Edvalson, Opal Alf Rippee, Reese Kyle and Anica Setser in the girls 200-yard medley relay as the Tigers hit the pool with the fastest qualifying time in the state.

In the boys 200-yard medley relay, La Grande hits the water with a eighth quickest qualifying time with a team made up of Jake Weigand, Evan Zastrow, Jayden Riley, Zane Ricker, Griffin Gorham and Oliver Gorham.

Cove sophomore Becca Koza makes the trip to state with the fastest time in the girls 200-yard freestyle, faster than the rest of the field by six seconds. The boys 200-yard freestyle finds two Tigers in the water with Ricker qualifying third among the state swimmers and Weigand qualifying ninth.

The girls individual medley race will feature two La Grande competitors as Rinnah Lynch qualified with the second best time in the state and Zamora comes in 10th in the state. For the boys, Zastrow will hit the water with the sixth fastest qualifying time.

The 50-yard freestyle sprint race will feature Cove’s Sarah Koza qualifying only two/one hundredths of a second behind leader Layla Breta, of Newport. La Grande’s Lynch hits the starting blocks as the fourth fastest qualifier.

For the Tigers, Kruse will need a good race after qualifying 10th for the girls 100-yard butterfly. Also for La Grande, Riley slides in as the final qualifier for the boys 100-yard butterfly.

Cove’s Becca Koza will be the favorite in the girls 100-yard freestyle after taking over the top qualifying time. La Grande’s Lynch is the fifth quickest time in the race.

The Tigers will be cheering Setser on in the 500-yard freestyle and in the same distance for the boys, Ricker comes in as the third fastest qualifier.

The girls 100-yard backstroke will feature two Tigers as Lynch leads all swimmers with the quickest time, while Zamora will be just a few lanes away after qualifying fourth. The boys race will feature Weigand, who qualified third.

Cove’s Sarah Koza will be back in the pool for the girls 100-yard backstroke less than one second behind the fastest qualifier. La Grande’s Kruse will join Koza after qualifying eighth. For the boys, Tigers will see two swimmers as Zastrow qualified sixth and Riley enters the race as the 12th qualifier.

The La Grande team of Setser, Zamora, Kruse, Rinnah Lynch, Shiloh Lynch and Chandler swim the preliminaries of the 400-yard freestyle relay just two seconds behind the leading time of the Newport team. The boys team of Zastrow, Riley, Weigand, Ricker, Oliver Gorham and Griffin Gorham qualified fourth for the relay for the boys.