2021-2022 Metro League Power Rankings By: Jeffrey Woods

SEATTLE: As the 2021-2022 regular season wraps up for Swimming in the Metro League we’re taking a look to see who were the best teams this year. These power rankings can give you an idea of where these teams will finish at the conclusion of the season.

1. Lakeside (7-0) At 7-0 the Lakeside Lions are the top team without a single question, the Lions have had impressive wins over 4 teams who have over a .500 winning percentage in Garfield (120-63) Ballard (117-62), Roosevelt (124-52) and O’Dea (132-54). Lakeside certainly looks like a team that will be a serious contender for the state championship this season.

2. O’Dea (5-1) The O’Dea Fighting Irish have been nearly invincible this season, while not having every player present in some matches the Fighting Irish have still been able to put up an impressive 5-1 record. The Fighting Irish are expected to bounce back strongly after a crushing 132-54 loss to the Lakeside Lions, the only thing keeping them from that top spot. The Fighting Irish are a team that can certainly make a run at a state championship if they play like they have all season (except the Lakeside match).

3. Garfield (4-2) The Garfield Bulldogs have been fantastic this season with 100+ points in every victory this season, however the Bulldog's best win is against the 2-4 Bishop Blanchet Bears. The Bulldogs losses occurred against the elite Lakeside Lions and O’Dea Fighting Irish where they were handled well. Garfield scoring is elite however putting up 60+ points every match, the Bulldogs could certainly be a problem in the playoffs.

4. Eastside Catholic (4-1) The Eastside Catholic Crusaders have been great this year putting up 100 points or more in every win so far. However, the Crusaders have only played 2 teams with over a .500 winning percentage. In one of those matches and their only loss of the season came against the O’Dea Fighting Irish who dominated by a score of 53-122. This gives me the sense they struggle against great competition.

5. Roosevelt (3-2) Roosevelt has had an impressive season this year with a huge win over a solid Ballard squad by a score of 113-70. However, there’s not enough evidence to prove the Roughriders are an elite team. The Roughriders like most teams in the Metro League did lose to the O’Dea Fighting Irish and got dominated by the Lakeside Lions which proves they truly do struggle against elite competition.

6. Ballard (5-2) The Ballard Beavers do have 5 wins on the season which is tied for the second-highest in the Metro League, along with 100+ points in every victory. However, the Beavers have not faced either the Garfield Bulldogs or the O’Dea Fighting Irish. The Beaver's loss to the Roosevelt Roughriders puts them at the 6 spot along with the fact that 4 of their 5 wins came against teams with fewer than 4 victories.

7. Franklin (4-2) The Franklin Quakers are solid with a 4-2 record however they’ve struggled to score especially against weaker opponents like Nathan Hale and Seattle Prep. Franklin sits at the 8 spot because they have been able to pull out the wins but they were certainly close to finishing lower.

8. Bishop Blanchet (2-4) The Bishop Blanchet Bears are easily the best team with a below .500 winning percentage, the Bears have had to play 3 elite teams in Garfield, O’Dea, and Lakeside where the Bears got dominated against Lakeside and O’Dea but only lost to Garfield by a score of 72-101, proving they can hang around with some of the better competition. If the Bears had a weaker schedule, I could certainly see them being a 4+ win team.

9. Ingraham (3-2) The Ingraham Rams sit at a 3-2 record but had a pretty good season overall, all of their wins are against winless teams, but the Rams lost to the Ballard Beavers only by a score of 74-105. The Rams did lose to a very average Bishop Blanchet Bears squad 66-104 proving they aren’t a competitive team.

10. Lincoln (Seattle) (2-3) The Lincoln Lynx have failed to reach 100 points this season and have been completely dominated in their two losses against teams with a winning percentage higher than .500. The Lynx have only beaten winless teams and are just not very competitive.

11. West Seattle (1-3) The West Seattle Wildcats got absolutely embarrassed the first two matches against two good teams in Ballard and Garfield. However, they’ve been able to turn around their season with a 90-39 victory over Cleveland and a closer 67-88 loss to Franklin.

12. Nathan Hale (0-5)

The Nathan Hale Raiders are a decent 0-5 team, that might sound idiotic at first, but the raiders have shown some fight throughout the season by only losing to Franklin by a score of 73-88. The Raiders have also scored more than 40 points in every match this season.

13. Seattle Prep (0-5) At 0-5 there’s not much to be said, the Seattle Prep Panthers haven’t won this year and have had every match except the match against Franklin which ended in a 62-86 loss be a complete blowout.

14. Cleveland (0-4)

The only reason the Cleveland Eagles aren’t 15 is that they’ve been slightly more competitive than the Chief Sealth Seahawks with a high score of 39 this season.

15. Chief Sealth (0-3)

The Chief Sealth Seahawks is an automatic win for whoever they’re facing, every single loss has been a blowout where they haven’t put up more than 33 points.