MHS swimming: Owls win six races in KC

Marshall senior Khris Ward set new personal records while finishing second in the 100 freestyle and backstroke at the Tom Horn Invitational.
(Chris Allen/Democrat-News)

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That was an impressive tally, considering the Owls only entered eight of the 11 events -- and mainly with their top four. Therefore, Marshall lacked the depth to place higher than third among the six schools with 95 points, behind Rockhurst (216 points) -- which won all the races the Owls didn't enter -- and Smith-Cotton (116).

Marshall took the top prize of both 200-yard relays behind seniors Khris Ward and Eden Elfrink, junior Bock Musick and sophomore Tyler Nichols. The combo beat the Hawklets by 1.45 seconds in the medley (1:44.95) and 1.56 seconds in the freestyle (1:32.37).

One indicator that the Owls are peaking at the right time is that seven of the nine individual event entries set personal records, including two new school standards. Musick broke his own mark, set last year at Hannibal, while winning the 50 freestyle (22.07 seconds) and Nichols shattered Mason Weber's time by .93 seconds during his first-place run in the 500 free (4:50.04).

Nichols won the 200 free (1:51.86) by 1.04 seconds and Musick took the 100 free (49.62) by .44 seconds over Ward, both of them lowering the times in the event.

Ward was also second, by 1.7 seconds to Rockhurst's Cal Bayer, in the 100 backstroke (59.31) -- knocking .19 seconds off his time.

Elfrink was fifth in the 50 free (24.27), while personal records were set by junior Quaid Hayob in the 100 breaststroke (1:15.46) and sophomore Kirton Joshi in the 500 free (7:46.56).

The Owls will enter both 200-yard relay teams along with Ward, Musick and Nichols in the maximum two individual events at the MSHSAA Championships, to be held Friday and Saturday in the St. Peter's Rec-Plex.