Ben Slack placed in the top five in two events at the Kentucky 13 & over Long Course State Championships, held July 27-30 in Elizabethtown.
Slack placed 4th in the men’s 200 meter butterfly final with a time of 2:22.04. He placed 5th in the 100 meter butterfly with a time of 1:04.08, nearly breaking a SKY team record set by former Russellville swimmer Corey Hall back in 2006 (1:03.67). He was also in medal contention in the 50 meter freestyle and 100 meter freestyle, where he placed 8th in both final events.
Slack, 14, participated in eight events at the state meet in the men’s 13-14 year old category. Of those eight events, he made the championship finals in four and the consolation finals in three others. He set personal best times in all eight events at the state meet.
Other events Slack made finals in were the men’s 200 Free (16th), 400 Individual Medley (16th), and the 200 Individual Medley (16th); he also placed 18th in the 400 Free.
Participation in an individual event at Kentucky Long Course Swimming State Championships is restricted to those swimmers who have either met or swam faster than the LCM time standard for the event during the qualifying period of July 14, 2016 through July 2017. Those swimmers who have qualified are invited to the state meet to participate in a preliminary round. The top 16 swimmers then compete in Consolation and Championship finals. The term “long course” refers to a 50 meter, Olympic size, pool.
Slack swims for Southern Kentucky Swim Club in Bowling Green, which is affiliated with USA Swimming, the national governing body for competitive swimming in the United States. He will be a sophomore at Russellville High School this fall, where he is a member of the RHS swim team.