There was a time when Marissa Morris considered not swimming for Oak Harbor High School. Now, four years later, the senior is wrapping up an award-winning career.

Morris and her Wildcat teammates will compete in the 3A district meet this weekend at the Snohomish Aquatic Center

The finals begin at 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7.

The top four in each event qualify for the state meet, which is Friday and Saturday, Nov. 13 and 14, at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.

The goal at district for Oak Harbor, according to coach Erin Bull, is for all the Wildcats competing to make the finals (top 16) and to qualify several for state.

Morris and sophomore Taliah Black are the best bets to reach the state meet for Oak Harbor.

Morris (200 freestyle, 100 backstroke) and Black (200 individual medley, 100 breaststroke) dominated their events during the regular season.

Morris began swimming in 2005, then, in spite of early success, pondered dropping the sport while in middle school, dabbling in volleyball and track.

“I just got burned out,” she said. “I loved it at first, but it got old swimming back and forth in the same pool for years.

“I was anti-swim for awhile.”

Morris stuck with it to please her mother, who encouraged her to swim.

“I wanted to keep her happy,” Morris said. “And, it was a sport I was always good at.”

Morris found a new joy in the sport by embracing the team aspect of swimming and dropping year-round training.

“I love swimming now because of the team, being part of the team. I grew up with Mariel (Empinado) and Sophie (Dickinson), and they are always cheering me on.”

Empinado, Dickinson and Morris are the only seniors on this year’s team.

“Mainly, it’s about building a bond, feeling like a family,” Morris said. “We push hard and work hard for each other.”

Most highly successful prep swimmers compete with club teams during the off-season. Morris is an outlier, stuffing a scrap book with accomplishments while being only a seasonal swimmer.

Morris is a four-year letter winner, earning first-team, all-conference honors in three events as a freshman and junior and in two as a sophomore.

She dominated the longer freestyle events (the 200 and 500) during her career, but dropped the 500 this fall in favor of the backstroke because of an injury.

Bull called Morris an integral part of the team’s “core.”

“Marissa has stepped up on many occasions,” Bull said. “She has scored the most team points this season and is the anchor on two of our three relays.”

Morris is a three-year district winner and state qualifier, shooting for a perfect four-for-four this weekend.

“It has always been a goal of mine to be a four-year district champion,” she said.

In six individual events at state, she has placed between 13th and 17th.

Morris admits that those finishes would be better if she swam year-round like most state qualifiers. She, however, is willing to sacrifice a higher place on the podium for peace of mind.

And not to pollute her new-found passion for the sport.