By By BRIAN HAINES, Brian@wdnweb.com, Sports Writer
As has been the case all season, the higher the lever of competition, the better the performance turned in by the Washington swim team.
One week after its fantastic outing in the NCHSAA 3-A East Regional swim meet, the Pam Pack traveled to the Cary Aquatics Center in Raleigh to compete in the state meet and returned with the two best finishes by a Spencer Pake-led team.
The Coastal Conference-winning girls team ended their season finishing ninth in the state, while the boys team, which placed second in the conference, place 10th overall in the state.
“It was a very good meet for us,” said Pake, Washington’s seventh-year swim coach and this year’s Coastal Conference Girls Coach of the Year. “We’ve never placed in the top team in the state for either (boys or the girls) teams and the kids are really happy about it.”
Charlotte Catholic won the state meet on the girls side by tallying a mind-blowing 417 points, while Marvin Ridge placed second (296) and Oak Hill took third (266). The Pam Pack posted 98 points.
In the boys meet, Cardinal Gibbons tallied 261 points to take the gold, while Charlotte Catholic earned second with 216 points and Chapel Hill’s 201 points was good enough for third place. Washington earned the 10 spot with 82 points.
Overall, Washington set six school records and medaled in three events. Pam Pack senior Brandon Niederhauser was a force as he took second place in 50-yard freestyle as well as the 100-yard freestyle to come home with two silver medals. Washington’s rising star swimmer Emily Pfeiffer was the only girl to medal as she placed second in the 100-yard breaststroke.
With a time of 21.82 in the 50-yard freestyle, Niederhauser missed out on grabbing gold by .02 seconds. The senior was just as astounding in the 100-yard freestyle as he swam a time of 47.24. Both times broke Washington school records.
“He really wanted that state championship, but he fell just short. But, I don’t think he was too disappointed because he had personal-best swims,” Pake said. “We were really happy for him. He has had a great high school career and hopefully he can move on and swim for a college.”
Pake said that Niederhauser has come a long way since his freshman season.
“He has developed from a little boy who came in as a freshman swimming a 25 (seconds) in a 50 freestyle to a man that is great and powerful in the water,” Pake said. “It has just been great to watch him develop and to be a part of it.”
Pake is also enjoying watching the development of Pfeiffer, the young sophomore who swam a 1:06.85 in the 100-yard breaststroke to take second, while darting through the water for a time of 2:10.32 in the 200-yard individual medley to place sixth, both of which set Washington High School records.
“She is really talented, she is probably the most talented swimmer that Washington High School has ever seen. The sky is the limit for her,” Pake said. “She is just sophomore and she is already pushing for state titles. We are really proud of her.”
Pfeiffer was also a part of the 200-yard medley relay team that Chandler Beach, Jessica Penhollow and Kaitlyn Richards and swam a time of 1:59.79 to take eighth place.
Washington grabbed seventh place in the 200-yard freestyle relay as Penhollow, Richards, Riziki Omonde and Pfeiffer finished with a time of 1:45.84.
The Pam Pack also took a top-ten finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay as Beach, Richards, Penhollow and Omonde finished at the 3:55.49 mark.
Penhollow placed 14th in the 50-yard freestyle (26.78), while Omonde took 16th place (26.89).
Beach nabbed 19th place in the 500-yard freestyle (5:48.12), as Richards was right behind her at 21st place (5.56.68). Beach finished off the meet by taking 17th in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:25.33.
“I feel great (about the girls’ performance), I was on Cloud Nine,” Pake said. “They’ve worked so hard all year, all of the girls, and to perform the way they did was great. All their relay’s were top-10 relays. I was real proud of them.”
The boys had two top-10 relay teams as Niederhauser, Robert Sandy, Luke Harris and Charles Pfeiffer swam a time of 1:33.92 in the 200-yard freestyle relay to set a Washington school record and place sixth in the state. That same group set a school record in the 400-yard freestyle, as they dropped six seconds from their regional time to swim a 3:27.17 and place eighth.
“They have been strong in relays all year and as we got closer and closer to the state they kept dropping more and more time,” Pake said. “They were just so fast at the states that I was beside myself. I knew they had it in them. I reversed the orders a little bit as part of my strategy to see if we could get a little faster. I let Luke Harris anchor in the morning (prelims) and I let Charles Pfeiffer anchor at night and they both dropped a considerable amount of time.”
Pake praised the effort of Pfeiffer, a senior who has had a tremendous Pam Pack career.
“He swam the fastest he has ever swam during this state meet,” Pake said. “He went out with a bang.”
Pfeiffer placed 18th in the 200-yard individual medley as he swam a personal-best time of 2:10.45. Winstead swam a personal-best 1.00.98 in the 100-yard butterfly to take place 21st, while Harris also put forth a personal-best time of 2:03.66 in the 200-yard freestyle relay to finish 23rd in the state.