PRINCE FREDERICK — In what may be a program first — and surely for the first time in Grayson Wise’s four years as head swim coach at alma mater Kent County High School — every Trojan who competed in the Class 1A-2A-3A East Region qualifying meet moved on to the state championships.
Wise told The Evening Enterprise that what was especially exciting was that a handful of Trojans qualified in individual events as well as relays.
The region meet was Feb. 15 at the Edward T. Hall Aquatic Center.
The top three place-finishers in every event in each of the four regions automatically qualified for states (Feb. 22 at the University of Maryland).
Also, individuals and relays who in their region meet final had the top 12 times statewide — excluding automatic qualifiers — also advanced to fill out the field of 24 competitors for each event.
For KCHS that meant that senior Izzy Anderson, junior Mary Jane Joiner, sophomore Tucker Ervin, senior Henry Martinez and junior Lynden Saunders advanced, as well as the boys 200 medley and freestyle relays and the girls 400 free relay.
Martinez had the best finish, and qualified on his place-finish.
He was the runner-up in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle, defeated in both races by seniors from team champion La Plata High School in Charles County.
The 50 free was almost a dead heat with Clinton Cupples (21.86) touching out Martinez (21.89). Martinez lowered his own school record.
Gavin Abelende (46.36) beat Martinez (48.15) to the wall in the 100, but again Martinez re-established his own school record.
Joiner had the best finish for Kent County’s girls, fourth in the 200 free in a season best of 2 minutes, 8.33 seconds. She holds the school record of 2:06.74.
Also notable was the season-best time of the 400 free relay of Joiner, freshmen Allee Hall and Lyric Frase, and Anderson, who lopped more than 13.5 seconds off the previous best time.
Printed here are complete results for KCHS.
In team scoring, Kent County’s boys placed seventh and the girls placed ninth. The region consists of 16 schools — four from Calvert County, five from Charles County and Eastern Shore schools KCHS, Queen Anne’s, Kent Island, Easton, Cambridge-South Dorchester, Pocomoke and Stephen Decatur.
GIRLS
200 freestyle: Mary Jane Joiner, season best of 2:08.33, fourth.
200 individual medley: Izzy Anderson, season best of 2:32.23, ninth.
50 free: Allee Hall, personal best of 33.31, 22nd; and Lyric Frase, 35.67, 26th.
100 butterfly: Joiner, season best of 1:06.54, fifth.
100 free: Hall, personal best of 1:15.88, 20th.; and Frase, 1:19.26, 23rd.
100 backstroke: Anderson, season best of 1:07.42, sixth.
400 free relay of Joiner, Hall, Frase and Anderson, season best of 4:35.21, eighth.
BOYS
200 medley relay of Tucker Ervin, Andy Messick, Henry Martinez and Lynden Saunders, season best of 1:53.23, sixth.
200 freestyle: Messick, 2:34.29, 21st.
200 individual medley: Saunders, personal best of 2:28.87, 10th.
50 free: Martinez, school record of 21.89, second.
100 free: Martinez, school record of 48.15, second; and Ervin, personal best of 53.88, eighth.
500 free: Saunders, personal best of 5:48.88, eighth.
200 free relay of Ervin, Messick, Saunders and Martinez, season best of 1:39.94, fifth.
100 breaststroke: Ervin, personal best of 1:08.29, fifth; and Messick, 1:24.15, 19th.
