BHS swim coach Greg Colby couldn’t have been happier when the District 2 championships ended last Saturday, as the team met or exceeded his goals going into the event.

The 200 medley and 200 free relay teams joined the already qualified 400 free team in the 3A Washington State Swimming and Diving Championships, which begin today at the King County Aquatic Center with finals tomorrow.

On the individual side, Cody Jenkins joined two teammates in the 100 fly as he finally dipped under the qualifying standard.

Overall, the team finished fourth, at least a notch or two higher than Colby had anticipated.

And for good measure, freshman Andrew McCarthy broke the school record in the 500 freestyle for the second time in a week. He clocked four minutes and 48.13 seconds, more than three seconds under his previous time.

Colby had hoped McCarthy would go under 4:50 at state, so he was a week ahead of schedule. And virtually everyone else also improved over their Metro marks.

The good vibes continued even after the Spartans left the building. Quinn Cullen (backstroke) and Jeff Yalung (breaststroke) earned “wild cards” into the meet as individuals.

“The guys did a heck of a job,” Colby said. “I was really impressed. They weren’t super-high after good swims, already looking forward to the next events.”

The meet was dominated by Mercer Island, which is likely to shatter the all-time record for points scored in the state championships. The Islanders have six automatic All-American times and two more under consideration in the 12 swimming events

The Spartans recorded three third-place finishes: McCarthy; David Ortyn in the 200 free; and the 400 free relay of Colin Chupik, McCarthy, Zak Gosney and Ortyn. All three have high seedings for state: McCarthy and the relay are fourth and Ortyn fifth.

And Colby anticipates a number of other strong swims. For example, both the medley relay and 200 free relay teams are seeded ninth.

“It would be great for them to sneak into the top 8,” he said.

All Spartan entries in both the 200 free and 100 fly are in the top 16. Chupik is 11th in the 200 IM and Yalung is three-tenths of a second away from the top 16.

McCarthy’s first school record in the 500 free highlighted the team’s third-place finish at the Metro championships the previous week.

He clocked 4:51.77 to break Austin Hallett’s 2006 standard of 4:53.60.

While McCarthy was the team’s only champion, the Spartans had a number of top-six finishes en route to their overall total of 200 points. They trailed Seattle Prep (269) and Lakeside (254).

District results

200 medley relay – Chupik, Yalung, Ortyn, Jenkins, 6th, 1:45.

200 free – Ortyn 3rd, 1:46.91*, McCarthy, 5th, 1:49.39*.

200 IM – Chupik, 7th, 2:02.58*.

100 butterfly – Ortyn, 5th, 54.86*; Jenkins, 7th, 55.14*; Chupik 8th, 55.64*.

500 free – McCarthy, 3rd, 4:48.13*, Zak Gosney 11th, 5:04.45.

200 free relay – Tanner Bogardus, McCarthy, Jenkins, Sam Pollock, 5th, 1:34.66.

100 back – Cullen, 9th, 1:00.48.

100 breast – Yalung, 10th, 1:05.25.

400 free relay – Chupik, McCarthy, Gosney, Ortyn, 3rd, 3:21.81*.

Team scores – Mercer Island 421, Seattle Prep 197, Bellevue 164, Bainbridge 135, Lakeside 126.

Metro results

200 medley relay – Chupik, Yalung, Ortyn, Jenkins, 4th, 1:46.71.

200 free – Gosney, 2nd, 1:49.92*; McCarthy, 3rd, 1:50.32*; Ortyn, 5th, 1:51.20*.

200 IM – Chupik, 3rd, 2:05.64*.

100 butterfly – Ortyn, 3rd, 55.18*; Jenkins, 4th, 56.04.

100 free – Chupik, 4th, 51.03.

500 free – McCarthy, 1st, 4:51.77.

200 free relay – Gosney, Pollock, Bjorn Ostling, McCarthy, 4th, 1:35.31.

100 back – Gosney, 4th, 59.88.

100 breast – Yalung, 4th, 1:05.65.

400 free relay – Chupik, McCarthy, Jenkins, Ortyn, 2nd, 3:22.37*.

* State qualifying times