Pope John swimmers in national championships

Two Pope John XXIII Regional High School swimmers, senior Kai Batchelor and junior Hunter Gallo, swam at the YMCA National Championships in Greensboro, N.C., from March 31 to April 4.

In a competition with more than 500 swimmers and 139 teams from throughout the nation, Batchelor and Gallo competed in multiple events, achieved multiple lifetime best times and ranked high in the final results.

Batchelor, who qualified for the national championships for the fourth time, placed 12th overall in the 50 Freestyle with a time of 20.81 seconds and 12th overall in the 100 Butterfly with a time of 49.14 seconds.

In the 100 Freestyle, he was 17th overall with a time of 45.37 seconds, and he was 26th overall in the 200 Freestyle with a time of 1 minute 41.83 seconds.

In the 400 Medley Relay, Batchelor was sixth overall with a time of 3 minutes 21.11 seconds and was ninth overall in the 400 Freestyle Relay with a time of 3 minutes 4.12 seconds. He placed 12th overall in the 800 Freestyle Relay with a time of 6 minutes 50.18 seconds.

Gallo, who qualified for the championships for the second time, was 48th overall in the 100 Breaststroke with a time of 58.42 seconds. In the 50 Freestyle, he was 127th overall with a time of 22.09 seconds.

The two swam together on relays, placing fifth overall in the 200 Medley Relay with a time of 1 minute 31.46 seconds and 12th overall in the 200 Freestyle Relay with a time of 1 minute 24.52 seconds.