Senior Rhys Birky broke a 14-year-old record in the 500 freestyle Thursday, as Coach Doug Peargin’s boys and girls teams ran off with easy wins over Philomath and North Marion.
Birky’s 4:56.18 cracked the mark set by Bruce Davis of 4:58.00 in 1987.
“Rhys doesn’t get to swim the 500 much but I knew he had a shot at the record,” Coach Peargin said. “He has natural speed and I knew we could win the meet and give him a shot at the mark, too.”
Birky already holds the school record in the 100 free and is a member of the recording holding 400 freestyle relay squad.
“I hope to give him a shot at the 200 free this year sometime,” Coach Peargin said. “Rhys can carry himself well in all distances. He’s a good all-around swimmer/athlete.”
Teammate Sean Martin posted four wins and three event winners included Bate, Ecker, Birky, Yunke, Starha, Blank and Duncan.
“Overall, the team looks good for this time of year,” Coach Doug Peargin said. “We’ll get in some big yards over Christmas vacation and then we’ll start getting ready for district and state.”
Calendar: The Huskies compete again January 3 at the Stayton Invitational.
Girls Results
SHHS 85, Philomath 64, North Marion 20
200 medley: SHHS A, first, 2:07.59 (Yunke, Starha, Blank, Duncan); SHHS B, third, 2:19.40 (Gilliland, Coulter, Foucht, VanCleave).
200 freestyle: Yunke, first, 2:27.25; Gilliland, third, 2:47.18.
200 IM: Foucht, second, 2:45.84; Coulter, fourth, 2:54.40. First: Johnson, PHS, 2:28.83.
50 freestyle: Duncan, 28.12; VanCleave, third, 31.14.
100 butterfly: Blank, second, 1:12.09; VanCleave, fourth, 1:41.38. First: Eng, PHS, 1:05.35.
100 freestyle: Starha, second, 1:03.96; Duncan, third, 1:06.99. First: Johnson, PHS, 1:00.25.
500 freestyle: Yunke, second, 6:53.34; Gilliland, third, 7:24.30. First: Eng, PHS, 5:46.33.
200 free relay: SHHS A, 1:56.94 (Starha, Duncan, Yunke, Blank); SHHS B, fourth, 2:23.53 (Larsen, Helfrich, Ross, Smith).
100 backstroke: Blank, first, 1:11.50; Foucht, second, 1:17.07.
100 breast stroke: Starha, first, 1:22.23; Coulter, third, 1:29.15.
400 free relay: SHHS A, second, 4:57.09 (VanCleave, Gilliland, Helfrich, Foucht); SHHS B, sixth, 5:34.50 (Smith, Larsen, Ross, Coulter)
Boys Results
SHHS 90, North Marion 44, Philomath 31.
200 medley relay: SHHS A, first, 1:57.08 (Martin, Bate, Birky, Ecker); SHHS B, third, 2:11.87 (Burford, Stratman, Starha, Lovik)
200 freestyle: Martin, first, 2:04.00; Slauson, second, 2:11.42.
200 IM: Ecker, second, 2:25.95; Stratman, fourth, 2:40.48. First: Miller, NM, 2:19.55.
50 freestyle: Bate, first, 25.94; Coulter, third, 27.53.
100 butterfly: Birky, second, 59.45; Slauson, fourth, 1:16.78. First: Bark, NM, 59.06.
100 freestyle: Burford, second, 58.90; STarha, sixth, 1:03.89. First: Miller, NM, 56.76.
500 freestyle: Birky, 4:56.18 (new school record)
200 free relay: SHHS A, first, 1:40.55 (Martin, Bate, Ecker, Birky); SHHS B, second, 1:50.15 (Slauson, Starha, Burford, Coulter)
100 backstroke: Ecker, first, 1:00.45; Stratman, third, 1:15.42.
100 breast stroke: Martin, first, 1:17.53; Bate, second, 1:23.82.
400 free relay: SHHS A, second, 4:03.06 (Slauson, Stratman, Coulter, Burford). First: NMHS, 3:57.40.