Spencer Pake, after leading Washington High School to consecutive state championships in 2016 and 2017, has resigned as head swimming coach.

Pake had been serving as assistant principal at Chocowinity Primary School during his tenure as Pam Pack coach, but was presented early in the summer with the opportunity to be principal at Bath Elementary School.

“I was lucky enough to be chosen for the position. I started in mid-July,” Pake said. “I’m excited to be here. I love the staff. I love the students and parents. I’m just looking forward to my career here at Bath.”

He said he realized quickly that, with his new position, he would have to leave the Pam Pack program he swam as a student and late coached. Principals aren’t supposed to coach athletics. Pake wanted to keep the news under wraps until the team’s end-of-season party.

“It was hard to tell them. It’s been my life for 14 years, but they all understood,” Pake said. “I’ll still be there to help as much as I possibly can. It makes me feel good that I can still be involved a little bit.”

One way Pake is going to stay involved is by signing up to be an official. He’s also going to help along his successor, Kaitlyn Richards, as she takes over as head coach. Richards, like Pake, is a former Pam Pack swimmer. She holds a handful of records that stand to this day.

“I definitely have big shoes to fill, but I’m excited to take on the challenge,” Richards said. “I’ve been swimming my whole life with (Scott and Spencer) Pake. Seeing how they’ve coached and learning from them has been awesome. Getting to apply what I’ve learned from them and what I’ve learned myself … I feel very prepared to take on this challenge.”

Richards has worked with Pake in the past. She has helped out with East Carolina Aquatics’ summer league. Knowing members of the team should help ease her into the position.

“I assured her that she can do it, that she’d be great at it, and that I would be here to assist her in any way possible. I was really happy when she told me she would be taking over,” Pake said.

Pake’s legacy will be one of greatness. Washington has fielded teams that have competed at the highest levels in their respective sports. Few, if any, have had as much championship success as the Pam Pack boys in the past two years.

 

Washington won its first 1-A/2-A eastern-regional championship in 2016. It went on to surge late to win the state-championship meet. Then, this past winter, the Pam Pack boys stormed out and never looked back en route to a dominant win for their second-straight state title.

“It’s every coach’s dream to go out on a high. I was fortunate enough to be able to do that,” Pake said. “I’m really happy that somebody is taking over that is going to love it and put as much into it as I did.”

Richards is already settling into her coaching duties. She said she has a parent’s meeting coming up. Her first season at the helm is right around the corner.