Kentridge’s boys swim and dive team led the North contingent at the South Puget Sound League championship meet with a second place finish followed by Mount Rainier in third and Tahoma in fourth.
Swimmers from the Kent schools started the meet off with three placers in the top five in the 200 yard medley relay. Kentridge won the event and Kentwood finished third while Kentlake took fifth.
Falcons senior Erik Fulmer won the 200 free with a state qualifying time of 1 minute, 48.23 seconds.
Kentlake’s 200 free relay team of Quentin Knox, Evan Eidal, Jake Hagen and Fulmer, finished sixth.
Knox tallied a second place finish in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:08.40.
Tahoma senior Stephen Shin finished fourth in the 200 free with a time of 1:55.45. Shin added a second place finish in the 100 backstroke.
Bears senior Michael Cox, who has overcome injuries suffered in a car crash before school started in the fall, finished third in the 200 individual medley to qualify for the West Central District meet.
Mitch Halbert, a Tahoma senior, qualified for districts with a sixth place finish in the 100 free.
Tahoma’s crowning achievement for the meet was the 200 free relay team’s win in a school record and state qualifying time of 1:33.23. Halbert led off, Tyler Rinck swam the second leg, Shin took the third while Cox anchored. The Bears 400 free relay finished the meet with a fourth place spot.
Kentwood’s Kevin Molloy finished fourth in the 200 IM, touching the wall in 2:09.66, while Brian Wright finished sixth in that event. Both qualified for the district meet. Wright added a seventh place finish in the 100 backstroke.
“Kevin has been to state for the last two years and we expect him to go again this year,” wrote Kentwood coach Sharon Wright in an email before the league meet. “We would also like three other boys to go (to state) as well individually but preferably two relays.”
Conquerors sophomore Edward Quintos earned a spot at districts with his fifth place finish in the 100 breaststroke.
Aaron Connell, a Kentridge senior, finished fifth in the 200 free and will swim at the district meet. Connell took fourth in the 500 free with a time of 5:26.08.
Heading into the league meet Conks coach Sharon Wright was pleased with the improvement of the team which went from 4-4 last season in SPSL North dual meet competition to 6-2 this year, without a single club swimmer on the squad.
“Our team grew by coming together and being one against our toughest competitors,” Sharon Wright wrote. “These boys stepped up for four meets in a row right after winter break.”
With an eighth place finish at the league meet, the Conks stepped up again.
But it was definitely a big weekend for the Chargers at the SPSL meet.
Kentridge junior Chase Bublitz qualified for state in the 200 IM with a time of 1:56.66.
Bublitz and Fulmer finished one-two in the 100 fly. Bublitz posted a state-qualifying time of 56.45 seconds.
Nick Watson added to the individual wins for Kentridge with his first place finish in the 100 backstroke. With a 23.22 second 50 free, Watson earned a fourth place finish, while teammates Brenton Ho and Kyle Bige finished seventh and eight respectively in the same event. All three qualified for the district meet in the 50 free.
Chargers junior Dennis Liu won the 100 breaststroke and finished third in the 100 free with a district-qualifying time of 50.50 seconds.
Kentridge’s 200 free relay team finished second with Ho leading off, Mitchell Tate on the second leg, Connell swimming the third leg and Bublitz anchoring.
Kentridge wrapped up the league championship meet with a win in the 400 free relay.
The district meet is set for Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Curtis Aquatic Center.
