For more than 20 years the initials KSC in the Prince-Mont Swim League represented the Kettering Swim Club. When the club folded, the Kettering Kingfish swim team found a new home at Lake Arbor Pool. Now in its fourth season, the Kingfish Swim Club is rapidly climbing through the ranks.
KSC started in 2006 in Division G, which includes the smallest Prince-Mont teams. In 2007, the team moved up to Division F, and this summer it advanced to Division E. Kingfish has given every indication than it could advance to a higher division again next summer. Saturday morning the team improved to 4-0 with a 308-265 victory over Severn Crossing. This week, KSC will host the Bannister Swim before moving on to the Division E meet on July 25 at Brandywine.
"After Kettering closed down a group of parents decided to keep the name Kingfish and just moved over to Lake Arbor," said John Mason, the head coach with the Central Chesapeake USA Swimming club, who is an assistant to Angela Cummings with Kingfish. "We probably have anywhere from 30 to 35 kids that swim with Central Chesapeake that belong to KSC. We had maybe 60 swimmers two years ago and now we're up to 107. The first thing we worked with them on was technique. Once their technique got better then we worked on lowering their times."
In the victory over Severn Crossing, KSC's Ashlie Osegueda (Bloomsburg University) won the 15-18 girls' 50-meter butterfly (35.06 seconds), the 100-meter freestyle (1 minute, 10.6 seconds) and took the 100 IM (1:24.75). She then anchored the 9-18 girls' graduated 200 free relay that began with Sydney Mathis, Alexis LeMone and Jordan Wilcher.
Mathis won the 9-10 girls' 25 fly (20.81), the 50 free (37.03) and the 25 backstroke (20.7). LeMone finished second in the 11-12 girls' 50 free (34.85) and 50 breast (49.60) before taking the 50 back (40.90). Wilcher finished second in the 13-14 girls' 50 breast (54.06), then rebounded to take the 50 back (45.28) and 100 IM (1:39.22).
The Kingfish are equally strong on the boys' side with William Vargas, Samuel Galloway, Austin Holmes and Tyler Holmes combining to win the 9-18 boys' graduated relay. The two KSC mixed relays finished one-two with Jillian Boucree, Sloane Butler, Ryan Mathis and Enrique Evans (1:32.10) combining to edge teammates Laila Michel, Jordyn Foster, David LyewSang and John Alexander Jr. (1:35.53).
Galloway won the 11-12 boys' 50 fly (36.25), the 50 breast (41.59) and the 100 IM (1:23.50) by a combined margin of 24 seconds. Austin Holmes won the 13-14 boys' 50 fly (36.56), 50 free (32.35) and 100 IM (1:24.62). Tyler Holmes finished second to Bowie High school junior Tyler Lynch in the 100 free then rebounded to beat Lynch in the 50 back (36.43) and 100 IM (1:16.16).
Kingfish also had wins on Saturday from Saadiq Louisy, Jordyn Foster, Christopher Jones, Devin Mayo, Wydell Wilson, Malcolm Mallar, Brittany Hatcher, Jillian Boucree and Amber Braswell.
"We're glad to be able to compete at Lake Arbor," Mason said. "It's a nice, six-lane pool. It's been open as long as the golf course, but for 20 years nobody used it. It's great to be outdoors in the summer – you need that vitamin D."
E-mail Ted Black at tblack@gazette.net.