Renton’s Steve Sholdra made some impressive history at the 3A state swim and dive meet Feb. 18-20 when he finished second in the 500 freestyle with a time of four minutes, 42.06 seconds.

To say it’s been a long time since a Renton High swimmer broke 4:45 in the 500 freestyle would be an understatement.

The last person to do it? Mark Prothero, who held the school record in the event for nearly 36 years until Sholdra broke it.

Sholdra’s effort led Renton to a 19th-place finish at the meet, an impressive finish for a team that hasn’t scored points at state for years.

“It was really cool that we placed in the top half,” he said. “We have a lot of sophomores and I’m excited about the team going forward.”

The 15-year-old sophomore peaked at the perfect time. He shaved six seconds off of his 500 time from districts the week before.

“I really wasn’t expecting a six-second drop,” Sholdra said. “It was surprising, but I am really pumped.”