The Salina Central boys swim team put together a solid performance on their home turf Thursday afternoon, placing fourth in a competitive six-team meet dominated by Derby High School.
Ben Sheppard led the way for the Mustangs, taking third place in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 24.70 seconds and following that up with a second-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle (55.12). Carson Ablard backed up his teammate with a third-place showing in the 100-yard freestyle (56.15).
Logan Fairclough continued his strong season in the distance events, claiming third in the 200-yard freestyle (2:10.55) and putting together a gutsy performance in the 500-yard freestyle to take third place with a time of 6:09.84.
The Mustangs showed their relay strength in the meet's final event, as the team of Ablard, Fairclough, Jake Schmitz, and Sheppard pushed Derby to the limit in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The Salina Central squad finished in 3:52.27, less than a second behind Derby's winning time.
Matthew Whelchel, representing Southeast of Saline, had one of the meet's standout performances by winning the 100-yard backstroke in 1:03.32.
Derby High School won the overall team competition with 592 points, followed by McPherson (417) and Andover Central (320). Salina Central tallied 190 points for fourth place, while Southeast of Saline (36) and Centre (20) rounded out the field.
