Newport diver qualifies for state

Newport junior Oey Chang earned a fourth place finish at the District 2 Qualifying meet, earning a score of 345.10 in the finals and punching a ticket to the 4A state swim and dive meet in February at King County Aquatic Center.

Chang scored 171.10 in the preliminary round before coming back with a mark of 254.10 in the semi-finals.

Bellevue junior Chase Jones was a district qualifier in Class 3A for the Wolverines, earning a score of 280.6 in the finals.

Jones scored 117.95 in the prelims and 189.3 in the semi-finals and was the second highest 3A KingCo finisher at the meet.

Newport falls to Issaquah

Issaquah beat Newport 96-90 in a 4A KingCo dual meet last week.

Andrew Pana won the 200 yard individual medley for the Knights, swimming a time of two minutes, .31 seconds.

Dave Makhervaks won the 100 fly in 55.87 and Aaron Elhajj took the 100 free in 51.15. Pana also took the 500 free and helped his team to a win in the 400 free relay.

Interlake fell 115-70 to 4A Inglemoor in a dual meet, but got a host of postseason qualifying times in the process.

Jake Beauchamp earned a district time in the 200 free, while teammate Eric Yang punched a KingCo meet ticket in the same event.

Michael Lorr, Todor Dimitrov and Tsukasa Ito all earned postseason spots in the 200 individual medley, while Albert Furlong and Alex Lorenz did likewise in the 50 free.

Islanders slip past Bellevue

Bellevue lost to Mercer Island in a 3A KingCo dual meet by a single point, 93-92 Tuesday.

The Wolverines took the win in the 200 medley relay, as Michael Stanchi, Morgan Ciliv, Todd McCarthy and George French swam 1:40.06. Stanchi also touched first in the 200 free in a time of 1:49.70, with Ciliv the winner in the 200 individual medley in 1:57.87.

McCarthy won the 100 fly for the Wolverines in 53.11 and took the 100 backstroke in 55.31.

Bellevue also took the 200 and 400 free relays, with French, Daniel Prang, Marco Stanchi and Ciliv winning the 200 and Prang, Sebastian Steen, Michael Stanchi and McCarthy taking the victory in the 400.

Bellevue also beat crosstown Newport in a KingCo dual meet, winning 114-71 behind a sweep in the relay races.

Postseason nearing in pool

The KingCo swim and dive meet is Feb. 7-8 at the University of Washington and Juanita High School.

The first session of preliminary heats begin at 2 p.m. Feb. 7 at UW and includes Newport, Interlake and Sammamish. The second preliminary session begins at 6:30 p.m. and includes Bellevue.

The finals are slated for the following day, with heats starting at 3:45 p.m. The diving finals take place at Juanita at 9:30 a.m. Feb. 8.

The 3A Sea-King District meet is Feb. 14 and 15 at Mary Wayte Pool (8815 SE 40th St., Mercer Island).

The 2A bi-district swim and dive meet is set for the same dates at Fidalgo Pool in Anacortes, and will include district qualifiers from Sammamish and Lake Washington.

The top five finishers in each event qualify for state, with the top five teams punching state tickets in relay events.