Back in the water: Pam Pack open swimming season with win over Dixon

Published 6:13 am Friday, November 22, 2024

By Jason O. Boyd

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The newest edition of the Washington High School swim team took to the lanes Wednesday against Dixon.

Hanging in the rafters of the Hildred T. Moore Aquatic & Fitness Center were the two state championship banners the Pam Pack won in the 2016 and 2017 seasons. They serve as reminders of what the program has done and what it strives to achieve each season.

Washington’s team wasn’t as big as Dixon’s but its results were. The Pam Pack looked good in several events and showed there are more good things to come as the season unfolds.

“Most of us have only been back in the water for like two weeks,” said Lydia Smith, a junior and one of the captains on the team. “Some of the football players just started practice this week.

“So, honestly, the goal was just to survive the first meet. Everybody did really well, though. I mean, our times were a little rough compared to last season, but they’ll for sure drop, and everybody did really well, at least.

“We had some people swimming stuff they don’t normally swim, so everybody did great.”

The enthusiasm was certainly there as teammates cheered on others. Their drive and determination were already being seen as they went back and forth in the pool, completing laps in events such as the freestyle, butterfly and backstroke. Even the Pam Pack teams showed promise in their events.

“The conditioning, obviously, we’ll work on, but once the competitiveness started tonight, we saw improvement from practice to the first meet,” Washington coach Lane Raper said. “Aubrey Willard and Lydia Smith, you know, are basically really our team leaders.

“You know, coming in, they just do their job and step up, and they kind of lead everybody else to take it to another level.”

Dave Niederhauser, also a junior, said many on the team made the switch from fall sports to swimming and have been working hard for the start of the season.

“We all practiced a little hard the last week, like in between, trying to get ready for this,” he said. “So, it went pretty well, I think.

“I think we’re going to do pretty well (this season). I mean, we have a good team this year, a bunch of good seniors and juniors that have been swimming for a while. I’m very excited, but I think we’ll do pretty well.

It helps to have experienced swimmers like Smith and Aubrey Woolard, another captain, serving as anchors on a team working to get better.

“It works really well,” Smith said. “So, like one of our captains, Aubrey Woolard, she does really good with butterfly. I’m the other captain. I generally do backstroke and freestyle.

“We have another girl who’s really good at breaststroke, and we all just kind of complement each other. So, it makes for really good relays because each one of us has something that we’re really fast in.”

Once the team gets it all together, Raper believes the sky is the limit for his team.

“You know, with the Christmas break and Thanksgiving break, you know, once we get back, you know, get back into that condition and then be ready to roll for regionals and stuff,” Raper said.

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