In just over a week, Washington’s swim team will return to Cary for the first time since it won the 1-A/2-A state championship there last year. The Pam Pack is once again the host team for the eastern regional championship, and is well on its way to defend its crown.

The Pam Pack boys plowed through all of its regular-season competition. Coach Spencer Pake loaded the schedule with the best competition he could find. Washington’s last meet before the postseason saw it scoot past Croatan, which is one of its top threats in the east.

“I wouldn’t necessarily say there’s a target, but you can tell other teams are bringing their A game,” Pake said. “We’ve had several close meets with some very good teams, and at the end, we were able to pull out some victories.”

Both the boys and girls squads have asserted their dominance in recent years. If Washington was ever under the radar, last year’s title win has put it on the map. The boys got everyone’s best shots this season, and they’re hungry for more.

“I feel like they want it again,” Pake said. “They want it more. The majority of the swimmers were there last year, so they know what it takes and they know what it feels like. They’ve been doing a good job preparing themselves for this.”

The ultimate goal is to repeat as state champions. However, many of the boys have individual objectives that will help lead the entire team back to the top of the mountain.

“I feel pretty good,” Tony Lovenberg said of the postseason. He’s a vital part of the Pam Pack’s relay teams. Individually, he excels in the 100-yard breaststroke, 500-yard freestyle and 200-yard IM. “My times have gotten better and I think I’ve gotten a little stronger. As a team, I think we’re going to do well again.”

Kevin Andrews won the 100-yard backstroke crown last season. For him, it was a payoff for years of dedication leading up to the championship meet. He’s been putting in even more work this time around so that he can wrap up his high school career as a back-to-back champion.

“I’m pretty excited to get back to it again and give it another try,” Andrews said. “Hopefully I’ll be another champion. … I’m just making sure I’m prepared as well as they will be in the final events. We’re mainly just working hard going up to the meet.”

Andrews blazed a path that some of his teammates plan to follow this year. He was the first male in program history to claim an individual title. Other seniors plan on cementing their legacy over the course of the next few weeks.

“Kevin, A.J. Howard, Justin Clark and Tony Lovenberg — all four of my seniors — they all have a chance, with good swims, to medal at both regionals and states,” Pake said.

Howard added, “Good times, fast people, we should be good. … I’m hoping to get an individual state championship in both the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard butterfly, and that our two relays can pull it out.”

Pake and all of the team’s senior leaders reiterated one common point: Washington is staying relatively modest with its success. They want to remain dedicated in their level of preparation and don’t want to get ahead of themselves.

Pake is also hoping that the girls will have some representatives at the state championship. He believes the relay teams have a chance.

The quest to repeat continues on Feb. 4 at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary. The meet will follow a 4:05 p.m. coaches meeting. The state championship will also be in Cary on the following weekend.