Kentridge’s boys swim team put together another strong performance at the West Central District meet Feb. 3-4 at the Curtis Aquatic Center.
After taking second at the South Puget Sound League championship meet a week earlier, the Chargers finished in fourth place while Kentwood took ninth. Kentlake took 11th, while Tahoma and Kent-Meridian secured 17th and 18th respectively.
Kentridge sophomore Chase Bublitz led the pack with a pair of first place finishes in the 50 yard freestyle and the 100 yard butterfly, with times of 21.83 seconds and 53.56 respectively.
He came in almost a second faster than the automatic state qualifying time in the 50 free which is 22.85 seconds. Bublitz was also well under the automatic state cut for the fly which is 55.50 seconds.
The 400 free relay team comprised of juniors Kyle Bige and Nick Watson along with sophomores Dennis Liu and Bublitz finished in third place with a time of 3 minutes, 23.75 seconds.
Liu also finished fourth in the 200 IM with a time of 2:05.11, about two seconds shy of an automatic state cut, but still fast enough to earn a spot at the 4A championship meet next weekend.
Watson came in eighth in the 100 back with a time of 59.29.
Kyle Bige, a Kentridge junior, finished eighth in the 100 free with a time of 51.22.
The Chargers 200 free relay — with Malcolm Allen leading off, Bige on the second leg, Aaron Connell third and anchored by Zack Haverland — finished sixth with a time of 1:36.97.
Kentwood’s 200 medley relay won the consolation final with Dane Turnbull on the first leg followed by Kevin Molloy, Logan Stoick and anchored by Varrick Anderson.
Molloy finished seventh in the 200 IM with a time of 2:09.11 and fourth in the 100 breaststroke, touching the wall with a time 1:04.90.
Turnbull finished seventh in the 100 backstroke, stopping the clock at 59.18 seconds.
For Kentlake, junior Erik Fulmer took second place in the 200 free, and third in the 500 free with times of 1:47.19 and 4:53.77 respectively.
Fulmer’s district time in the 500 free was well under the automatic state cut of 5:01.90.
Kentlake’s 400 free relay of Mitchell Krassin, Kyle Koon, Quentin Knox and anchored by Fulmer, finished eighth with a time of 3:35.21.
Tahoma’s Mitch Halbert won the consolation final in the 50 free with a time of 23.64.
Kent-Meridian senior Mathew Roland finished sixth in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:06.64.
Results from the district dive competition were not made available to the Reporter prior to the press deadline.
The state championship is set for Feb. 17-18 at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.
