Sumner shines at big swim, dive invitational

17 Spartan swimmers broke their own personal records.

By Kevin Hanson • January 15, 2019 9:45 am
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The Sumner High squad gathered for a photo at the King County Aquatic Center. From left: Austin Mackey, Ben Naylor, Dylan Tomsic, Conner Poore, Ryan Wike, Tyler Ouimet, Jack Harrington, Gabe Ford, Garrett Lockhart and Joey Schwendeman. Submitted photo
The Sumner High squad gathered for a photo at the King County Aquatic Center. From left: Austin Mackey, Ben Naylor, Dylan Tomsic, Conner Poore, Ryan Wike, Tyler Ouimet, Jack Harrington, Gabe Ford, Garrett Lockhart and Joey Schwendeman. Submitted photo

Sumner High coach Maari Bennet had nothing but good things to say following her team’s participation in the big Kentridge Invitational.

The swim and dive competition, staged Saturday at the King County Aquatics Center in Federal Way, brought together athletes from 40 schools. They combined for 176 heats in 12 different events.

“Needless to say it was a long day, but our boys swam their hearts out,” Bennett said in an emailed wrap-up of the event. On the day, she said, Spartan swimmers were responsible for 17 new personal-best marks.

The coach singled out the following highlights:

• Sophomore Garrett Lockhart went from 2:20.12 to 2:12.09 in the 200-yard freestyle and qualified for the upcoming league meet. Also, he dropped from 2:33.98 to 2:29.24 in the 200 Individual medley, another league-qualifying mark.

• Freshman Jack Harrington went from 34.92 to a 32.98 in the 50-yard freestyle.

• Sophomore Andrew Gallagher broke the 30-second mark for the first time in the 50 freestyle, swimming a 28.70.

• Sophomore Austin Mackay swam three races, then jumped at the chance to swim a relay leg with the Bonney Lake team.

• Sophomore Joey Schwendeman swam a personal record time of 24.14 in the 50 free and missed a district-qualifying time by .44 of a second. He also swam a PR in the 100-yard freestyle and missed a district time by one second.

• Senior Ben Naylor swam a PR of 23.01 in the 50 freestyle, a district-qualifying time. He missed a state-qualifying time by .76 of a second. He also had a PR in the 100 freestyle with a time of 51.43 and qualified for districts.

• Sophomore Justin Conner swam a PR of 27.87 in the 50 free.

• Sophomore Ryan Wike easily qualified for districts in diving; sophomore Gabe Ford went from a 1:06.20 to a 1:03.84 in the 100-yard butterfly; freshman Dylan Tomsic swam a PR and went from 1:10.81 to 1:09.83 in the 100-yard backstroke and qualified for the league meet; freshman Tylan Holms swam a PR of 1:20.81, dropping four seconds off his best time in the 100-yard breaststroke; and sophomore Conner Poore dropped three seconds off his best time in the 100-yard breaststroke and qualified for the league meet.

“It honestly was the best swim meet we’ve had, ever,” Bennett concluded. “The participation, the camaraderie, the cheering for teammates, the parents, the siblings, the high fives, the endless smiles and the great swims made it one for the record books.”

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