The Kentridge High boys swim team’s one-two punch was in full effect Saturday during the South Puget Sound League meet at Rogers High in Puyallup.
Senior Cameron Whiting and freshman phenom Chase Bublitz continued to dazzle, securing three individual first-place finishes as the Chargers brought home second place with 223 points. Beamer won the meet with 235 points while Mount Rainier finished a distant third behind Kentridge with 199 points.
Whiting cruised to a title in the 200-yard individual medley, touching-out in a state-qualifying time of 2:03.41. Whiting added a second-place finish in the 100 free (49.09) and swam the anchor legs on both of Kentridge’s second-place relay teams (200 medley and 400 free).
Bublitz was just as good, winning titles in the 50 free (22.51), the 100 backstroke (56.46) while also swimming on both of Kentridge’s second-place relay teams.
Kentridge diver Matt Drui added a third-place finish, registering 283.15 points while the Chargers 200 free relay team (Dennis Lui, Jack Dacus, Luke Dyer and Tim Berquist) swam to a fourth-place finish with a time of 1:35.79.
Kentlake, which took fourth with 155 points, was the next highest local finisher. Tanner Keeling-Garcia continued to shine for the Falcons, grabbing first-place finishes in the 100 breaststroke (1:02.00) and 100 butterfly (54.96). Christian Knoblock added a second-place finish in the 50 free (22.75) while Erik Fulmer chipped in third-place finish in the 100 breaststroke (57.59).
Meanwhile, Kentwood diver Jesse Dehnert, who established a new school record earlier in the season, delivered another golden performance. Dehnert, a junior, dominated the diving competition, winning with 328 points, well ahead of second-place Terry Kriss of Auburn Riverside (302.40). The nearly 26-point gap between first and second place was the biggest spread among the 23 divers in the competition. The performance helped the Conquerors finish in 11th place with 31 total points.
Like Dehnert, Kent-Meridian’s Matt Bailey also continued his strong season, grabbing a team-best fourth-place finish in the 200 IM, touching out with a time of 2:06.32.
The SPSL meet set the stage for West Central District competition, which is slated to run from Feb. 3-5. The diving portion of the meet will take place at Foss High in Tacoma on Feb. 3. The swimming portion of the meet will be held Feb. 4-5 at Rogers High in Puyallup.
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