CARY — Washington dominated the 400-yard freestyle relay. The Pam Pack boys finished about four seconds ahead of second place, which was the perfect exclamation point in their second-consecutive 1-A/2-A eastern regional championship on Saturday.

They did so in landslide fashion. Washington finished with 316.5 points. Second-place Croatan trailed distantly with 234 points.

After never having won a regional title — let alone a state championship — a year ago, Washington coasted past the east’s competition. The boys earned first place in six events. Kevin Andrews successfully defended his 100-yard backstroke crown. A.J. Howard won the 100-yard butterfly and Justin Clark topped the 100-yard freestyle. Three relay teams won first, too.

The ultimate goal is still ahead of them. The dominant showing at the regional meet gives the Pam Pack confidence heading into the state championship on Thursday.

“We’ve got a lot of good momentum going. They boys, they all swam really well today,” coach Spencer Pake said. “If we can get a little bit of rest this week — we’ve got to keep working — then come back on Thursday, swim like we did tonight, I think we’ve got another good shot at a title.”

Howard added, “I’m feeling pretty great. We’re going to go into states level headed, but we’re looking pretty good right now.”

Even though the Pam Pack has its sights set squarely on repeating as state champion, the significance of what they’ve accomplished to this point is not lost on the boys. They’ve built the program into the most dominant boys team in the 1-A and 2-A classifications.

“You don’t hear of that too often from a team out of the east coast,” Pake said of the back-to-back regional titles. “They’ve got it in them. I know they can do it. We’re just going to work hard this week and come back next Thursday.”

Andrews added, “My freshman and sophomore years, I never really thought much about being regional or state champions as an option for us. It kind of snuck up on us and we realized we did have a chance last year to win it all.”

Seniors Tony Lovenberg, Andrews, Howard and Clark spearheaded the team’s success, as they have for four years now. The Pam Pack’s underclassmen rose to the occasion on Saturday, too.

Sophomores Hodges Tubaugh and Harrison Schmidt were two of the team’s younger members to have their best swims yet at the regional championship. Freshman Patrick Lovenberg got to race against his older brother in the 200-yard individual medley. He also proved that, despite his age, he’s able to hang with the east’s top swimmers in the breaststroke.

“We’re going to lose four seniors that have scored a lot of points for us and they’ve been leaders,” Pake said. “They can experience this and, next year, step up and be my leaders.”

Lady Pack continues to develop

Washington’s girls got their time to shine. While the Lady Pack had no individual representatives, they competed in the 200-yard medley, 200-yard freestyle and 400-yard freestyle relays.

“The girls had a great meet. They all had personal bests and relay bests,” Pake said. “I’m very proud of the way they performed.”

It was the girls’ squad that made an impact at the state level when they boys were growing into the contenders they are now. As the cycle goes, Washington continues to build onto the foundation that could become a championship group in the future.

“They continue to get stronger and stronger,” Pake said. “They’re a very young team, so I’m very pleased with their future.”

Cole makes Southside history

Southside’s Darah Cole became the first to don Seahawks’ colors at a regional swim meet. Cole competed in the 100-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke, and narrowly missed out on qualifying for the state championship.

Cole, a freshman, was anxious going into her first-ever event at a regional. Pake reminded her how long she’s been swimming. She went out and continued blazing a trail for herself and for Southside.

“She was really nervous,” Pake said. “She stepped up and got two of her best times. I think she took 14th in both of them, so she was just shy of states, but she’s only a freshman. She’s got a lot of success coming in her future.”