Local swimmer wins three Tri State titles

Cazden Del Chiaro (right) and Nevada Neptunes coach Karen Claypool display one of the awards Del Chiaro won at the Tri-State Class A Swimming Championships in Siloam Springs, Ark., over the weekend. Del Chiaro won three events and finished with six total medals. (Submitted photo)

SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- Fort Scott swimmer Cazden Del Chiaro won three events and six total medals in the Tri State Class A Swimming Championships, held here Friday and Saturday.

Del Chiaro, who competes for the Fort Scott Hurricanes, qualified for this meet by also swimming for the Nevada Neptunes and meeting qualifying standards. The weekend before, Del Chiaro helped the Hurricanes to their eighth straight Southeast Kansas Swimming League championship by earning the high-point championship in the boys' 15-18 division.

Swimmers in the Tri State Championships qualified by competing in three Tri State meets over the summer and making the cut for Class A times.

Preliminary heats were held with the six fastest in each age group qualifying for finals.

Del Chiaro was also the high-point champion at this meet as well as medaling in the following events:

* 15-18 200-yard freestyle, first in 1:56.69 in the finals. He was best in the preliminaries in 1:57.82. He was the only swimmer in either the prelims or the finals to finish in under two minutes.

* 15-18 100-yard freestyle, won the finals in 53.15 after swimming 52.96 -- the only time under 53 seconds -- in the preliminaries.

* 15-18 50-yard backstroke, first in prelims in 27.56 and in finals in 27.55.

* 15-18 50-yard freestyle, third in finals in 24.27 seconds and second in the preliminaries in 24.20.

* 15-18 50-yard butterfly, third in prelims in 27.38 and third in finals in 27.16.

* 15-18 50-yard breaststroke, third in finals in 31.99 after turning in the second-best preliminary time of 31.77.

Del Chiaro will join a USA Swim team in Joplin for the fall and winter seasons.