Mercer Island boys swim team coming together in the pool

Islanders score third-consecutive Kentridge Invite win Jan. 9.

January 19, 2016 3:44 pm
Mercer Island’s Kyle Bailey competes in the 200 free during the Islanders’ meet against Woodinville Thursday
Mercer Island’s Kyle Bailey competes in the 200 free during the Islanders’ meet against Woodinville Thursday

When this year’s Kentridge Invitational rolled around on Jan. 9, Mercer Island boys swim and dive coach Chris Conroy wasn’t sure what to expect from his team.

The annual invite features over 40 teams and serves as a barometer for where teams rank at the midway point of the season. The Islanders won the meet the previous two consecutive years, yet the young season had so far brought mixed results.Mercer Island suffered a 116-69 loss to Bainbridge in December and was coming off a holiday break with a significant portion of the team out of action.

“That was kind of a turning point for us,” Conroy said. “We had 12 workouts during winter break, and those guys who were there worked really hard and it totally paid off.”

For the third-straight year, Mercer Island took the top spot at Kentridge, winning with a team score of 590. Bainridge was second at 442.5, and Issaquah rounded out the top three with a score of 434.

Mercer Island won two events, with Ben Gore taking the 200 free (1:44.23) and the Islanders’ team of Gore, Conner Vacca, Jimmy Markwith and Carson Coe winning the 200 free relay (1:29.46). Mercer Island’s team of James Richardson, Killian Riley, Vacca and Gore were third in the 400 free relay (3:22.14), while Nate Robinson, Kyle Bailey, Richardson and Markwith were sixth in the 200 free relay (1:44.27).

The Islanders had two of the top three finishers in the 500 free, with freshmen Killian Riley placing second (4:53.61) and Jake Headrick third (4:54.42).

Other Mercer Island highlights included Richardson placing fifth in the 100 back (55.04) and eighth in the 100 fly (55.03). Markwith was seventh (50.89) and Vacca eighth (50.94) in the 100 free. Coe was fifth (22.68) and Vacca sixth (22.74) in the 50 free. Kyle Bailey was seventh (1:03.68) and Ford Witman was eighth (1:04.08) in the 100 breast. Bailey was also ninth in the 200 IM (2:06.15).

Conroy said Kentridge provided a good opportunity for the Islanders to prepare for a competitive environment, as well as evaluate where they need to improve.

“All the heats are very competitive because there’s so many teams and so many heats in each event,” Conroy said. “It might be a kick in the pants for a few guys that there’s six weeks left [and they] got to get to work.

“These next couple weeks are just going to be so crucial in how we attend practice and how we perform every day in practice if we’re going to meet our goals in the next couple weeks of the season.”