Some of our area’s best swimmers have been keeping busy this summer as a number of them have recently competed in both regional and national events.

Tim Gallagher, a graduate of Kingston High School who is committed to swim at the University of Hawaii, has won an invitation to the U.S. Olympic Time Trials next June after his performance at the Phillips 66 National Championships in California.

Gallagher won the “D” final, a heat set aside for the top 18 and under swimmers, in the 200-meter backstroke event with a time of 2:01.13.

Gallagher had trailed by .02 after the first 150 meters, but was able to pick up the pace down the stretch and finish first and beating his preliminary time by 1.8 seconds. Gallagher also swam a 56.59 in the 100-meter backstroke (see next week’s issue of the North Kitsap Herald for a full story about Gallagher).

At the Pacific Northwest Swimming Senior Long Course Championships last week at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Eleanor Beers a senior at North Kitsap, took home first place in the 100-meter butterfly with a time of 1:01.53.

Beers, representing Bainbridge Island Swim Club, also took second in the 50-meter free “A” finals with a time of 26.27 and took part in the BISC’s 200-meter medley relay, which finished 15th.

Nathan Ramey, a North Kitsap graduate who is headed off to University of Utah, finished third overall in the 400-meter individual medley with a time of 4:37.52. Ramey, competing for the Poulsbo Piranhas Swim Team, also qualified for the “A” finals in the 400-meter freestyle and 200-meter breaststroke events, finishing eighth in both. He also took third in the “B” final of the 200-meter freestyle event with a 1:58.36 mark.

Isabel Hendryx, also a swimmer for Poulsbo Piranhas and a North Kitsap graduate, placed seventh in the “B” finals in the 200-meter backstroke with a time of 2:27.73. Hendryx also finished third in the “C” final of the 100-meter backstroke (1:07.79).

Central Kitsap’s James Sanchez was a busy man at the PNS championships. He participated in the 100-meter backstroke, the 100 and 200 butterfly, the 200-meter medley relay and the 400-meter freestyle relay for Bainbridge Island Swim Club.

Sanchez finished sixth in the 200 medley relay with teammates Kevin Houseman, Brendan Kerns and Ian Lipton with a time of 1:49.49. Sanchez, Lipton, Tyler Stewart and Jude Wenker took eighth in the 400 free relay thanks to a 3:43.06 mark.

His best individual performance was a 12th overall placement in the 100-meter backstroke (1:02.91) during the “B” finals. He finished second in the “C” final of the 200-meter butterfly (2:16.06) and fifth in the “C” final of the 100-meter butterfly (59.37).

North Kitsap’s Eleanor Beers won the 100-meter butterfly event at the PNS Long Course championships in Federal Way last week. Mark Krulish/Kitsap News Group

North Kitsap graduate Isabel Hendryx swam the 100 and 200-meter backstroke events at the PNS Long Course championships. Mark Krulish/Kitsap News Group