Rachel Kon has been waiting — and waiting.

The Federal Way Eagles senior swimmer had thought about the 50-meter freestyle in an All-City Qualifier Meet atmosphere for weeks. Then the weekend came and the storm canceled the scheduled meet at Hazen.

But, after district athletic directors stepped in and made sure the meet took place for each district, Kon seized her opportunity and qualified for the WCD 3 Girls Swim and Dive Championships after posting a time of 28.02 seconds in the 50-meter freestyle Tuesday at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatics Center.

For Kon, not only did she qualify for districts, but her time finally gave her the personal record she’s been working towards since her freshman season.

“Fastest time I’ve ever gotten,” Kon said. “It’s been a long time. I’ve been trying since freshman year for that 50-free time, and to finally make it is amazing. This PR’s the fastest I’ve ever gotten.”

Kon said she’s made the time before, but it’s come in relays instead of individual competition.

The work she’d put into preparing for her moment was evident as Kon emerged from the pool and was mobbed with hugs and cheers from her Eagles teammates and coaches.

Federal Way coach Carla Boone said Kon’s put in a tremendous amount of work in the pool during the summer and throughout the season, and it was no surprise to watch Kon punch her ticket to the district championships.

“I just yelled, ‘You did it,'” Boone said. “She’s worked really hard this year. She’s had her goals, making it to league in either the 50 or the 100, she’s a senior. So having her be able to do that makes me feel really good for her.”

But Kon said she’s just been waiting, patiently biding her time, for the opportunity to beat her time in the 50 freestyle race.

This being her senior year, Kon’s taken her workout routine to new heights. She said she’s been working in the pool since school let out last June.

She joined a summer team, spending hours accumulating laps. Boone said she could clearly see how focused Kon was as fall practices approached.

“Her mindset is different, her goals are different — far more aggressive,” Boone said. “Day one of practice she had that time on her mind, and she’s regularly been one of the fastest in the pool.”

During the summer, Kon was up earlier than most of her friends.

By 7 a.m., she was already in the pool. For the following hour, Kon said it was about swimming as fast as she could, visualizing a time that would give her the PR she sought to achieve.

She put in the extra hour in the pool each day on her own time, in addition to summer team practices and competing in meets twice a week. When the summer season was over, Kon had about a month of downtime before the school season began.

But she chose not to wait. She jumped back into the pool and swam each day leading up to the Eagles first day of practice.

“I continued swimming in that lag leading up to the start of the high school season,” she said. “This has actually been a routine of mine since probably freshman year.”

Kon hasn’t missed a day of practice this season, except three days while she went on official college visits.

Kon was the first swimmer off the blocks during Tuesday’s freestyle race, and she was at least two full body-lengths ahead of the other five swimmers the entire time.

Kon said she doesn’t remember much about the race except its conclusion.

“I remember the beeper going off to get in the water,” Kon said. “Then I remember touching the wall for the finish, looking up, and seeing Boone cheering, saying I made it — made my time.”

Kon said she is considering swimming at the collegiate level but for now is undecided, but she’ll continue swimming regardless.

Kon’s done all the waiting she cares to do to top her time in the 50 freestyle race, but there’s six days until the championships.

So for the next six days, Kon won’t be hard to find. Sunup or sundown, she said, she’ll be in the pool.

“It’s a relief to know I can swim that fast,” she said. “For the next few days I’m going to build on that so I can hopefully have a good showing at championships.”

Kon wasn’t the only swimmer who earned a spot at the WCD Championships on Tuesday. Decatur’s Johanna Eipper also earned a spot in the 100-meter breaststroke.

The freshman was overcome with emotion after learning she’d earned a qualifying time. She said she routinely gets hit with a bit of stage fright when it comes to competition, but this time she just focused on swimming.

“I can’t believe it,” Eipper said. “I usually don’t like swimming in a competition setting. I tend to do much better when I’m able to get into the pool by myself and don’t have to worry about competing. But I got in the pool today and just focused on swimming as fast as I could.”

Like Kon, Eipper said she’s spent a lot of time in the pool this year and has focused on increasing her speed and concentration. She now has the opportunity to see how her work stacks up against a variety of veteran swimmers in the 100 breaststroke at the championships.

The WCD 3 Girls Swim and Dive Championships are Thursday, Oct. 27, at the Curtis Aquatic Center in University Place (8805 40th St. W.).