The Renton High School swim team had its first girls state swimmer in 13 years this past fall. This winter, the boys team is breaking more streaks.

Sophomore Steve Shouldra has already qualified for state in two events, the 200 individual medley and the 500 freestyle. He will be Renton High’s first male state swimmer since Jason Takahashi in 1995.

Shouldra is a homeschooler who swims for Bellevue Swim Club.

Renton Coach Diane Pavelin said Shouldra even has a chance to complete the Ironman – when a swimmer qualifies for every state event.

“He’s mainly a distance swimmer,” Pavelin said. “Depending on what he qualifies for, he’ll just pick and choose once he gets to state.”

Shouldra will pair with a strong core of veteran swimmers to give Renton its best team in years.

That core consists of seniors Andrew Vu, Jesse Lin, Jacky Tran, junior Jeremy Odden and sophomore Aslan DaVault. All five swam at districts last season for the Indian team that placed 19th.

Another swimmer to watch is sophomore Tyler Pascual. Pascual started swimming just last year, but Pavelin said he’s making great strides.

“We’re trying to enjoy this year as much as we can and do as well as we can with this group,” Pavelin said.

Having another state swimmer is a big plus for a Renton swim program on the rise. The team has 23 swimmers this season, the biggest team in Pavelin’s eight years coaching at Renton.

“It’s a great boost for the program to be able to say we have kids who have gone to state,” she said. “It used to be that going to state and placing was a relatively common occurrence, but there’s been a big drop… This sheds a brighter light on the program and hopefully that leads to more kids swimming.”

Renton swims next against Evergreen on Jan. 14. The Indians will compete with Hazen and Lindbergh in an all-city meet Jan. 18 at Hazen.