Sequim Gazette staff

Back in the fast lane.

Sequim junior Eric Prosser is returning to the state 2A meet after earning top-five finishes in both the 200 individual medley and 100 backstroke events at the West Central District meet in Renton Feb. 14-15.

On Friday, Prosser bumped up his position in the 200 IM among district qualifiers to fifth, up from a seventh seed, to earn a spot in the district finals. Needing only to not get disqualified the next day to keep his place at state, Prosser improved his personal best from 2:17.22 to 2:17.07.

In the 100 backstroke event on Friday, Prosser improved his time by nearly 2.5 seconds and qualified for state by allocation by placing fourth. His time in Saturday’s final was a bit slower but he held on to fourth place.

Teammate Markus Petersen also competed in the 100 backstroke, finishing 16th in preliminaries.

“He is already taking notes on how to improve next season,” Sequim head coach Linda Moats said of Petersen.

Lindbergh won the district team title with 268 points, followed by Steilacoom (232) and Port Angeles (178). Sequim placed 14th.

Prosser moves on to the state finals, held Feb. 21-22 in Federal Way. Prosser competed as a sophomore last year, placing 24th in the 100 backstroke. He also competed with Sequim’s 200 medley and 400 free relay teams.