Central finds smooth waters

The Tigers breezed to a 126-point victory.

Southeast Missourian

The Central boys swimming team cruised to the Show Me Conference meet title and picked up another state qualifier Thursday in a record-setting day at Black River Coliseum in Poplar Bluff, Mo.

Kris Metje, Jason Mercer and Hunter Givens each won two individual events and Central added two relay wins to compile 436 points.

Notre Dame, which was second in the three-team meet with 310 points, was led by Jameson Kuper, who set two conference records in victories and was named the meet's most valuable swimmer.

"It was a great night," said Central coach Dayna Powell, whose team also set two records. "We had several best times, and now we're looking forward to next week."

Next weekend is the state meet, which will include five individual entries and three relays for Central.

Givens earned his first state qualifying time by winning the 100-yard freestyle in 51.42 seconds. He also won the 100 backstroke in 1:01.77.

"I'm real happy for Hunter Givens," Powell said. "He's been able to swim every event for us all year, and he was close to state cuts in about five different things."

Givens, a sophomore, will join two-event qualifiers Metje and Mercer, both juniors, at the state meet for Central.

Metje won the 500 freestyle in a conference-record time of 5:14.60 and captured the 200 IM but came up short of a state qualifying time in that event. He is qualified in the 200 and 500 freestyle events.

Mercer won the 50 freestyle in 23.57 seconds and set a conference meet record in the 100 butterfly with a mark of 57.23 seconds. He will swim those two events at state.

Central also won the 200 medley relay and the 400 freestyle relay, and diver Aaron Zlokovich led the school's 1-2-3 finish in that event.

Kuper, a junior, set his two meet records in events where already had earned state cuts. He improved his season-best time in the 200 freestyle to 1:50.13, breaking his own 2-year-old conference mark. He won the 100 breaststroke in 1:03.32, another conference record.