CENTREVILLE — Last week’s Bayside Conference high school championship swim meet was the occasion of a breakout performance for junior Tucker Ervin, who as the runner-up in the 100-yard freestyle and 100 breaststroke had the highest place-finish for Kent County’s team of four girls and seven boys.
Also making headlines for the Trojans was senior Mary Jane Joiner, who established a school record in the 500 free.
Joiner stopped the timer in 5 minutes, 53.34 seconds, more than a full second faster than the previous record of 5:54.54 that Gwen Trice set in 2001 — long before Joiner was born.
The meet, held Saturday, Feb. 7 at the Queen Anne’s County Family YMCA in Centreville, drew all the schools on the Eastern Shore that offer swimming as a varsity sport.
Kent Island’s boys brought home a third straight team championship, winning all but one event while amassing 485 points.
Stephen Decatur was second with 417 points, followed by Queen Anne’s (307), Kent County (164) and Cambridge-South Dorchester (121) to round out the top five.
Pocomoke (26) and Easton (22) completed the field.
The top two place-finishes were reversed on the girls side with Stephen Decatur (456) outscoring Kent Island (395).
Then came Easton (332), Queen Anne’s (274), Kent County (124) and Cambridge (80).
Joiner was third in the 500 free and fourth in the 200 free.
Ervin medaled in three events, earning silver in the 100 free and 100 breast and bronze as the leadoff in the third-place 200 free relay.
Printed here are complete results for Kent County. Due to its small roster, KCHS was not able to enter every event.
GIRLS
200 medley relay of Brenna Thorpe, Emi Karlik, Mary Jane Joiner and Lyric Frase, 2:24.22, fifth.
200 freestyle: Joiner, 2:12.20, fourth. She holds the school record of 2:08.06.
50 free: Frase, 32.20, 12th; and Karlik, 32.38, 13th.
100 free: Frase, 1:15.20, eighth; and Thorpe, 1:17.66, 12th.
500 free: Joiner, school record of 5:53.34, third.
100 backstroke: Thorpe, 1:33.30, 11th.
100 breaststroke: Karlik, 1:33.44, 11th.
400 free relay of Joiner, Thorpe, Karlik and Frase, 4:51.34, fifth.
BOYS
200 medley relay of Tucker Ervin, Andy Messick, Lynden Saunders and Nate Sutton, 2:02.62, fourth.
200 freestyle: Messick, 2:25.80, 10th.
50 free: Colin Fry, 30.86, 14th; and Alex Kukhianidze, 33.78, 17th.
100 butterfly: Saunders, 1:06.36, fourth.
100 free: Ervin, 52.86, second; Sutton, 1:08.85, 13th; and Fry, 1:15.09, 15th.
500 free: Saunders, 5:56.59, fifth.
200 free relay of Ervin, Messick, Sutton and Saunders, 1:45.47, third.
100 backstroke: Kukhianidze, 1:46.35, 11th.
100 breaststroke: Ervin, 1:09.47, second; Messick, 1:19.98; seventh; and Sutton, 1:30.21, 12th.
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Next up for Kent County’s swimmers is the Class 1A-2A-3A East Region meet tomorrow [Saturday, Feb. 14] at the Arundel Swim Center, Annapolis. This is the qualifier for the state championships the following weekend.
The top three place-finishers in every event in each of the four regions automatically advance to states Feb. 21 at the University of Maryland.
Also, individuals and relays who in their region meet final have the top 12 times statewide — excluding automatic qualifiers — also advance to fill out the field of 24 competitors for each event.
The 1A-2A-3A East Region includes Eastern Shore rivals Cambridge, Easton, Kent, Pocomoke and Stephen Decatur; Chesapeake, Northeast and Southern of Anne Arundel County; and City College, Carver Vo-Tech, Forest Park, Frederick Douglass, Patterson, Dunbar and Southwestern of Baltimore City.
