The Washington swim team saved its best for last as nearly every athlete cut time in Friday’s NCSHAA 3-A state meet at the Triangle Aquatics Center.
Both the Pam Pack girls’ and boys’ teams earned top-25 finishes as the girl’s placed eighth and the boys finished in 14th place.
“It was a very good meet,” Washington coach Spencer Pake said. “Just about everybody dropped time and had great swims.”
The Pam Pack girls flexed their power in the 100-yard breaststroke as University of North Carolina-bound senior Emily Pfeiffer placed second and Megan Baldwin rocketed into fourth place to medal.
“Emily got barely out-touched but it was a good swim. State runner up, we’ll take it,” Pake said. “The top-four at state medal, and Megan Baldwin turned in one of her best times and was able to sneak in and take fourth place.”
Pfeiffer would also place fourth in the 200-yard freestyle, while Baldwin swam her way to sixth place in the 50-yard freestyle.
Once again, Washington was strong in the relay races as Pfeiffer, Baldwin, Kaitlyn Richards and Lanie Godley teamed up to take fifth in the 200-yard medley relay, while Jessie Penhollow, Pfeiffer, Baldwin and Godley placed fifth in the 200-yard freestyle. In the 400-yard freestyle, Chandler Beach, Rylee Anderson, Penhollow and Richards powered their way to a 14th-place finish.
Individually, Godley propelled herself into 14th place in the 100-yard butterfly, Richards took 24th in the 100-yard backstroke and Anderson placed 24th in the 200-yard freestyle.
“The girls came to compete. I was very pleased,” Pake said. “They all swam great and I couldn’t ask for anything more. It’s a long day and it takes a lot of focus and I’m very proud of them.”
The same could be said for the boys’ team, as just about every swimmer turned in a personal best in at least one event on Friday.
“The boys did a phenomenal job,” Pake said. “They had some great swims.”
The 400-yard freestyle relay team of James Martin, Eric Lovenberg, Robert Sandy and Luke Harris led the charge and placed 10th.
Mason Beach, Daniel Crozier, Sandy and Martin would guide the 200-yard medley relay team to a 20th-place finish, while Lovenberg, Sandy, Harris and Christian Crompton helped the 200-yard freestyle relay team take 12th.
Harris also excelled in the 200-yard freestyle to take 17th-place.
“He turned in a season best time,” Pake said. “It was some phenomenal swimming.”
Sandy came up strong in the 50-yard freestyle and finished 22nd, while Lovenberg capped off a stellar first season with the Pack by placing 24th in the 200-yard IM and in the 500-yard freestyle.
“He swam his best time of the year in the 500,” Pake said. “I think he was a little upset with his placement but there was a lot of talent in that pool. H’s just a freshman, it’s a honor for him just to be able to swim in the state.”