Whitworth College swimmer and former SHHS standout Rhys Birky has qualified for the national Division III tournament to be held in late March in St. Louis, Mo.
Birky’s team recently won the Northwest Conference championship held at Federal Way, Wash., sweeping the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 200 freestyle, 200 medley relay, 200 freestyle relay and 400 freestyle events.
The squad was 100 points ahead of the second place finisher.
Birky made a national B cut in his 100 freestyle race and was a member of the 800 freestyle relay that earned an A cut for the nationals.
The Whitworth College squad has had a two-year run of 30 consecutive dual meet victories.
Birky said college swimming is “a step up” from high school in terms of conditioning.
“In the middle of the season, we’ll put in 16,000 yards every day and over Christmas we upped that to 20,000 yards,” Birky said. “We probably put in 20 hours a week in the pool plus meets on the weekends.”
A laptop computer helps him keep up with his business major classes.
“I’d say my best event is the 100 freestyle,” Birky said. “Last year I improved some over high school but this year I cut two seconds which is a lot in a 100.
Birky is now swimming 21.3 in the 50 free and 46.8 in the 100 free.
The Whitworth team will be in St. Louis for about a week although the meet will last three days.
“I’m enjoying college here,” Birky said of Whitworth. “It’s a small, private school. I love it.”
Birky is the son of Rich and Gretta Birky. His sister, Dani, is a member of the SHHS swim team.