Washington coach Spencer Pake said he wanted to take a big bus to the state meet and he got his wish this weekend as the Pam Pack swimmers turned in a strong performance at the NCHSAA 3-A East Regional meet on Saturday as the girls’ team placed fourth and the boys’ team took eighth.
“I said I before the meet that I would very pleased if the girls could get into the top-four and the boys could get in the top-10 and that’s exactly what happen,” Pake said. “I’m very, very pleased with the team and its performance.”
Chapel Hill won the girls’ meet with 468 points and was trailed by Cardinal Gibbons (362), North Guilford (213) and Washington (212).
In the boys’ meet, Cardinal Gibbons led the way with 449 points, while Chapel Hill (421) took second and North Forsyth (176) placed third.
Including alternates, Pake estimated that he would be taking a total of 20 swimmers to next Saturday’s state meet as the Pack girls qualified in nine events, while the boys’ team advanced in seven.
In order to qualify for the state meet a top-12 finish is required.
Senior Emily Pfeiffer was dominant one again as she was able to repeat as regional champ in the 100-yard breaststroke and took second in the 200-yard individual medley.
The Pack had tremendous success in their relays as senior captain Kaitlyn Richards, who was recovering from jaw surgery, teamed up with Pfeiffer, Jessica Penhollow and Megan Baldwin to place third in the 200-yard medley relay, Lanie Godley, Penhollow, Baldwin and Pfeiffer garnered silver in the 200-yard freestyle relay and Penhollow, Chandler Beach, Richards and Godley took fourth in the 400-yard freestyle relay.
Godley also advanced in the 200-yard freestyle (fifth-place), along with breakout performer freshman Rylee Anderson who finished in 12th-place to grab the last spot to state in the event. Also advancing in individual events was Baldwin, who placed third in the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard breaststroke, Godley, who took fourth in the 100-yard butterfly and Richards, who placed 12th in the 100-yard backstroke.
The Pack boys were also strong in the relay events and qualified for state in all three. Eric Lovenberg, Daniel Crozier, Robert Sandy and James Martin placed 10th in the 200-yard medley, Christian Crompton, Martin, Luke Harris and Sandy took eighth in the 200-yard freestyle and Martin, Lovenberg, Harris and Sandy propelled the Pack to a fifth-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle.
Individually, senior captain Harris placed eighth in the 200-yard freestyle and 10th in the 100-yard freestyle, Lovenberg grabbed 12th in the 200-yard IM and 10th in the 500-yard freestyle and Sandy took 12th in the 50-yard freestyle.