Four members of the Bainbridge Island Swim Club – David Ortyn, Andrew McCarthy, Todd McCarthy and Kim Williams – were selected to represent the Pacific Northwest Regional swim team at the Western Zone Championships in Gresham, Ore. Aug. 5-Aug. 9.

A total of 17 Regional teams (769 athletes) representing the 13 western states competed at the Mount Hood Community College pool. There are four zones across the country. The four BISC swimmers were chosen for the 77-member team based upon qualifying times they achieved during the past year. The PNS team traveled and lodged together the entire week.

After four days of preliminary daytime heats and nighttime finals, the PNS team had a 50-point lead going into the final day. But like most sports, anything can happen, and the championship which has evaded PNS for the past 29 years was thought to be lost after a tough day of competition on Saturday.

Perhaps appropriate in a sport where the difference between first and second can be determined by hundredths of a second, they won by nine points, beating out Pacific Swimming of Northern California by a score of 1,070 to 1,061. So after 30 minutes of uncertainty and anxiety, the BISC swimmers joined the rest of the PNS team for a victory plunge in the pool.

The BISC swimmers brought home a total of 18 top-eight finishes:

Todd McCarthy helped the boys’ 11-12 year-old age division 400 meter freestyle and 400 individual medley relay teams to first-place finishes.

Individually, he raced in the boys’ 11-12 100 backstroke and placed second with a time of 1:08.98. He also placed second in the boys’ 11-12 50 backstroke with a time of 32.76, seventh in the boys’ 11-12 50 freestyle with a time of 28.83, ninth in the boys’ 11-12 100 freestyle with a time of 1:03.86, 13th in the boys’ 11-12 100 butterfly with a time of 1:13.32 and 16th in the boys’ 11-12 200 IM with a time of 2:38.73.

Ortyn’s top individual finish was third in the boys’ 17-18 400 IM with a time of 5:00.67. He also placed eighth in the boys’ 17-18 100 butterfly with a time of 1:02.66, fifth in the boys 17-18 200 butterfly with a time of 2:17.55, fifth in the boys’ 17-18 200 IM with a time of 2:22.59 and he placed 15th in the boys 17-18 100 backstroke with a time of 1:08.24. 

He helped the PNS boys’ 17-18 relay teams place seventh in the 400 free relay, third in the 400 medley relay, 10th in the 200 medley relay and sixth in the 200 free relay.

Andrew McCarthy placed fourth in the boys’ 13–14 1500 freestyle with a time of 17:22.35 and fourth in the boys’ 13-14 800 freestyle with a time of 9:05.76. He also took fifth in the boys’ 13-14 400 freestyle with a time of 4:23.38, ninth in the boys’ 13-14 200 freestyle with a time of 2:07.23 and 27th in the boys’ 13-14 100 freestyle with a time of 1:00.29. 

With the PNS boys’ 13-14 year-old relay teams he helped them take ninth in the 400 free relay, 11th in the 400 medley relay, eighth in the 200 free relay and 10th in the 200 medley relay.

Williams took third in the girls’ 11-12 400 freestyle with a time of 4:46.00, which is the third fastest time in this event for 11-year-old girls in the nation. 

She also placed 12th in the girls’ 11-12 200 IM with a time of 2:38.63), 21st in the Girls 11-12 200 free with a time of 2:21.78, 24th in the 50 breaststroke with a time of 39.41 and 26th in the 100 freestyle with a time of 1:05.17.

Williams helped the B relay team place seventh in the 400 free relay.

–With information supplied by Carolee McCarthy