POULSBO — Eight ticks of the second hand are all that stand between Mike Colasurdo and a state-qualifying time for the 100-yard butterfly event. That’s not bad for a swim stroke the Kingston junior took up just this year because he thought it looked cool.

Colasurdo swam a 1:06 in the 100 butterfly when the North Kitsap/Kingston (NK2) high combined swim team met Gig Harbor on Dec. 11 at the North Kitsap Community Pool. Although score was 122-48 in Gig Harbor’s favor, there was a sweet sense of victory in individual performances for NK2.

“It feels great to be so close to a state qualifying time this soon in the season,” Colasurdo said.

While eight seconds may sound like a sliver of time, when it comes to one of the most difficult competitive swim strokes, it can be an eternity. But that isn’t deterring Colasurdo, who is determined to hit the mark.

“Mike’s making some really big improvements. He’s really just now learning how to swim butterfly,” said coach Greg Braun. “His splits are good. We’ll just have to work on building up a little more strength.”

Colasurdo’s already mapped out his plan for the rest of the season.

“I’ll focus on fly and do it in the (medley) relay, too,” he said. He’ll still compete in other events to rack up points for the team during meets. Colasurdo, like a majority of those on the NK2 swim team, had never swam a competitive stroke before joining the team last year.

As for taking on the butterfly, he said, “I wanted to do it because I thought it looked cool.”

Freshman Tim Shoop, who swims for the junior varsity team, also had quite a performance in the pool on Tuesday, knocking a full 17 seconds off his 100-yard freestyle. The first-year swimmer couldn’t believe his ears when the time-keeper told him he’d swam a 1:34.

“When I found out, I didn’t believe it. I asked the timer to tell me again,” Shoop said.

What’s amazing about Shoop shaving so much time off the clock is that he’s one of the swimmers who began this season as a non-swimmer, said assistant coach Norene Reeves.

“To watch him swim, I thought my heart was going to come out of my chest. It was a phenomenal accomplishment” Reeves said.

Now that he has a sense of victory in the pool, Shoop wants to continue improving.

“I’m going to work hard at practice and keep doing what the coaches tell me to do,” he said.

Sophomore Tyler Rencher turned in an outstanding performance with two personal records, with a 0:27:46 50-yard freestyle and a 6:41 500-yard freestyle.

Rencher would like to dabble in other events, but thinks he’s finding his niche in the 500-yard freestyle.

“I really like the 500. It’s kind of growing on me,” Rencher said. “I didn’t think I’d like it.”

Braun also pointed out Kingston senior Aaron Bilbao’s 100-yard breast stroke is down to 1:14, which is three seconds faster this week than last.

Bilbao’s magic number to get a state-qualying time in his best event is a 1:03.

Braun is as pleased with his team’s individual accomplishments as he is that the swimmers are feeding off each other’s enthusiasm. “Everything is coming together. Almost everyone on the team had a personal best time today. That’s just exciting,” he said.

The team’s next home meet is at 3:30 p.m. Jan. 10 against Henry Foss High School in Tacoma.