CARY — Washington’s stellar season continues Friday in Cary as the Pam Pack contends for a regional swimming championship. The boys are poised to have a dominant showing. The young girls squad has a lot of promise, too, and should gain a lot from the experience.

The boys are strong across the board. Coach Spencer Pake is confident in all three of the Pam Pack’s relay teams, which are seeded second in the east. In the individual events, Kevin Andrews is the top-seeded backstroke swimmer.

“I’m really confident basically up and down on the boys’ team,” he said. “Everyone that made regionals just about should be — if we stay mentally strong and don’t make errors — making it to the state championship.”

The boys have had incredible success this season, but they’ve been tested, too. Croatan has competed in the last three meets that Washington has hosted.

“I want to say that the Croatan team has, by far, been the best team in the east that we’ve faced this year,” Pake said. “Some swimmers have had to step up big in some close races to win. Overall, the boys’ team has been able to overwhelm the competition by pulling away at the end.

“We scheduled well by having Croatan coming the last three times. Me putting different people to race their faster swimmers has really made them stronger.”

Swimmers will have to continue to step up at this point in the season. The level of competition is going to be the best the boys have seen this season, but it’s also familiar territory for a lot of them. Senior Eric Lovenberg is someone Pake expects to have a chip on his shoulder at regionals.

“I’m looking for Eric Lovenberg to have a breakout meet,” Pake said. “He’s my senior leader and he really gets himself pumped up. He gets excited about the regionals and the state championships. Last year, he really surprised me at the state championship level as a junior.

“This year, I think he’s a little disappointed in a few of his swims. He’s not really at the level where he was at the state championship last year. I really think he’s going to step up to the challenge. We’re going to see him drop a lot of time.”

Continuity is the name of the game for the girls’ group. Pake said he’s seen consistent improvement from them throughout the year and hopes that continues at regionals.

Senior Rylee Anderson is the only girl competing in an individual event, but others will be swimming in the relay events. The experience of going to regionals and swimming against this caliber of competition will pay dividends in the future.

Placing in the top-12 will punch their tickets to the state championships.

“I’m really proud of how far they’ve come and just getting in that top-12 in those relays would mean a lot to them and to me,” Pake said. “I want to bring them to the state championships and get that experience under their belts.”

As a team, Washington is at a disadvantage because the program doesn’t have a diving team. The team will lose those points, which could make the difference in a regional championship.

Washington is hosting the meet. That means that the program is in charge of everything from arranging the hospitality to security to checking teams in. The added responsibilities don’t take anything away from preparations, though.

“It’s just more work and I’ve got a great group of parents that help me out,” Pake said. “That’s the only reason I agree to do it year after to year. I’ve got a great system of support.”