By By BRIAN HAINES, Sports Writer
The Pam Pack swim team picked a good time to have its best overall meet of the season. The Washington swimmers gave a strong performance on Tuesday as the boys team won its first meet of the year, while the girls placed second as the Pam Pack battled conference foes D.H. Conley and J.H. Rose.
The Pack will have plenty of time to savor its victory as it heads into the holiday break and won’t swim again until Jan. 5.
The boys team racked up 111 points, topping D.H. Conley (89) and J.H. Rose (60), while the girls tallied 70 points to finish under Conley (152) and ahead of J.H. Rose (43).
The Pack boys were able to take first place in the 100-yard breast stroke and 200-yard freestyle relay, while taking second in 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle, the 200-yard medley relay and the 400-yard freestyle relay.
Dayne Winstead’s time of 1:12:2 captured first in the 100-yard breaststroke, while Brandon Niederhouser, Will Davis, Ted Hodges and Luke Stroud took first place in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:51:82.
Hodges also qualified for regional competition in the 200-yard freestyle with a second place time of 2:07.83, while his time of 58:38 in the 100-yard freestyle earned him another second place finish.
Pake said the role of seniors Hodges and Winstead has been vital to his young team.
While the girls team was missing one of its leaders in Anna Pfieffer, they still swam strong and took second.
Shannon Niederhouser was part of both the girls first place finishes, as she won the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 1:06:63, and was part of the 200-yard freestyle relay team that took first with a time of 1:58:59. Also on that team were Jessie Howard, Leanna McFaden and Shelby Smithwick.
Niederhouser also took second in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 29:55.
Brittany Jackson got edged out in the 500-yard freestyle, but came in second with a time of 7:12:59. Jackson also helped the 400-yard freestyle team (Blakelee Wolfe, Lara Watkins, and Jackie Parker) take third place.
After the meet, Pake said he was impressed with Jackson’s effort.
Pake also liked the effort of his relay teams.
Pake said his team’s hard work at practice has paid off.
Pake also cited the team’s dedication to fundamentals as a reason for the Pack’s decrease in time.
Washington will be back in the water on Jan. 5, when it hosts West Carteret.