By By STEVE FRANKLIN, Sports Writer
It was a terrific start to the season for the Pam Pack swim team on Wednesday, as six boys posted regional qualifying times to lead the Washington boys’ team (155 points) to a victory over D.H. Conley (116 points) and Swansboro (71 points) in a tri-meet at the SusieGray McConnell Sports Complex Aquatics Center.
Meanwhile, the Lady Pack had four regional qualifiers as it earned a second place finish with 127 points , behind D.H. Conley, which amassed 155 team points. Swansboro took third with 66 points.
The Pack boys scored victories in seven of the 11 events.
The 200-yard medley relay team of Charles Pfeiffer, Will Davis, York Winstead and Luke Stroud started off the afternoon by posting a regional qualifying time of 2:00.04 to win their event.
Davis and Stroud also teamed up with Joey Davenport and Colin Daw to win the 200-yard freestyle relay in a regional qualifying time of 1:46.82.
In the individual events, Stroud and Pfeiffer paced the Pack with a pair of victories. Stroud cruised to victory in the 50 and 100-yard freestyle races, while Pfeiffer won both the 200-yard individual medley and the 500-yard freestyle competitions.
Davis also scored a victory in the 200-yard freestlyle event for the Pack, and despite finishing second to D.H. Conley’s Cody Shaw in the 100-yard breast stroke, wound up posting a regional qualifying time of 1:13.35.
In girls action, the foursome of Riziki Omonde, Anna Pfeiffer, Shannon Niederhauser and Shelby Smithwick shattered their own school record in the 200-yard medley relay, as they touched the wall in 2:06.86 to beat their previous record by more than three seconds.
The same foursome also scored a victory in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:53.05.
Anna Pfeiffer continued her stellar day with wins in the 100-yard butterfly and 100-yard breast stroke, posting regional qualifying times in both. Shannon Niederhauser picked up the only other victory for the Lady Pack, as she cruised to an easy victory in the 50-yard freestyle.
The Lady Pack had multiple second-place finishers, with Jessie Howard finishing second in both the 200 and 500-yard freestyle races, Smithwick taking second in the 50-yard freestyle, Niederhauser claiming the runner-up slot in the 100-yard freestyle, and Ormonde finishing second in the 200-yard individual medley. Ormonde’s runner-up finish earned her a spot in regionals.
Washington will return to the pool on Saturday, when Coastal Conference foes South Central and D.H. Conley come to town. The meet begins at 9 a.m.