Cono Presti felt comfortable Saturday.
Beechwood’s senior swimmer possibly made his 200- and 500-yard freestyle opponents somewhat uneasy. He was the only Northern Kentuckian to win twice at the KHSAA First Round state swim and dive meet at Scott High School.
In the 200, Presti beat Ryle’s Nash Parsons by a little under a second and fellow Raider Chase Knopf by almost two. In the 500, he finished a little over 12 ticks ahead of Knopf and 13 in front of Highlands’ Charlie Herfel.
Being at ease was the main topic Presti discussed with Beechwood coach Chris Konerman.
“Before his race, we both said, ‘you know, he’s got to swim his own race,’ and last (week’s) regionals, he didn’t really swim his own race’,” Konerman said. “It wasn’t comfortable.”
Presti said stroke rate – the number of times his arms hit the water per 25 yards – was too high in last week’s 200. Instead of the 14 he wanted for the first 100 yards, he was up to 17.
“Also, my hips, looking back, my hips were a little low in the water; keeping those up reduced that drag,” Presti said.
Saturday, Presti swam the first 100 in 49.54 seconds to Parsons’ 49.91. Presti finished the final 100 in 52.01 to Parsons’ 52.32.
“And then, like, keeping my stroke longer this weekend, the beginning of that race was really what did it for me, allowed me to, like, make sure I had that back end speed.”
In the 500, Presti trailed Knopf by 36-hundredths of a second after 100 yards, 52.54-52.90. Over the last 400, however, Presti was a shade under 12 seconds ahead.
While some teams concentrated on placing as many top three automatic state qualifiers as possible, Presti thought about the semi-state.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s my senior year,” Presti said. “I only swim the 500 one more time, and then, assuming I make the finals, I get to swim again, and that’s it for high school. I’m shooting for some team records – I want to swim fast.”
Floyd unworried
Ryle had three individual automatic qualifiers: Parsons (100 and 200 freestyle); Knopf (200 and 500 freestyle) and Tyler Rice (100 breaststroke). The 200 and 400 freestyle relay teams also advanced.
The Raiders are shooting for a third straight Combined title, in which boys and girls scores are added together. As for Saturday …
“Just swims to get to where we need to go,” Ryle coach Jeff Floyd said. “Looking for auto bids and limited use of energy.”
Highlands sent four to state: Herfel (200 individual medley), Luke Deegan (200 medley relay); Noah Gracey (100 butterfly) and Chanith Abeysinghe (100 freestyle). The Bluebirds also won the 200 medley relay.
Covington Catholic sends Andrew Boh in the 200 individual medley and 100 Breaststroke, and Will Dusing in the 100 butterfly and 100 breaststroke.
Parker Davis was Simon Kenton’s lone automatic qualifier, finishing third in the 50 freestyle. Davis won the 50 free region title last week, a feat that hadn’t been accomplished by a Pioneers swimmer since the 70’s.
The top three finishers in each event automatically qualify for the state meet at the University of Kentucky’s Lancaster Aquatic Center. The next 15 fastest swimmers from sub-state sites at Scott, Bowling Green and Louisville also advance based on their times.
State preliminary rounds begin at 10:30 a.m. Feb. 20. The 1-meter diving final begins at 2 p.m., followed by the swimming finals at 6:40 p.m.
Who’s going to State
Here’s a list of Northern Kentucky automatic qualifiers:
Beechwood: Cono Presti, first, 200 and 500 freestyle.
Covington Catholic: Andrew Boh, second, 200 individual medley and 100 Breaststroke Will Dusing, third, 100 butterfly and 100 breaststroke.
Highlands: 200 medley relay, first; Charlie Herfel, first, 200 individual medley; Luke Deegan, third, 200 IM; Noah Gracey, second, 100 butterfly; Chanith Abeysinghe, third, 100 freestyle; 200 freestyle relay, first.
Ryle: Nash Parsons, second, 100 and 200 freestyle; Chase Knopf third, 200 freestyle and second in 500 freestyle; first, 200 freestyle relay; Tyler Rice, first, 100 breaststoke; 400 freestyle relay.
Simon Kenton: Parker Davis, third, 50 freestyle.
PHOTOS: More photos from Saturday’s boys KHSAA first round meet at Scott provided by Charles Bolton
