The best YMCA swimmers from five Midwest states descended on Iowa City last weekend for the 2017 YMCA North Central Regional Championship. The Washington Watersharks sent 11 swimmers to the University of Iowa Campus Recreation and Wellness Center for the event, featuring swimmers from Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. The Watersharks won championship medals in five events in the boys 15-21 division, including two relays.

The crew of Noah Bruns, Ben Berhow, Nic Rath, and Michael Kimball took home gold in the 200-meter medley and freestyle relays. Their medley time of 1:43.5 was seven seconds faster than the field. The group’s freestyle race time of 1:32.11 was one second faster than the competition.

Berhow and Bruns claimed individual championships as well. Berhow placed first in the 100 and 200-meter breaststroke. His 100-meter performance of 1:01.8 bested the field by nearly five seconds. Berhow’s 200-meter time of 2:24.91 was seven seconds faster than second place. Bruns crossed the finish line first in the 100-meter freestyle with a time of 49.19 seconds, topping the field by seven-tenths of a second.

Watersharks swim coach Brenda Adrian says none of the times were fast enough to qualify for the national competition.