PORT ANGELES — The best swimmer on the Olympic Peninsula wasn’t necessarily an individual, but a unit.
It’s a foursome that has the potential to dominate 2A state swim meets for years to come.
The Port Angeles swim team came darn close to winning the state 2A championship, getting edged out in the end by an extremely deep Liberty squad that came into the 2A state meet as two-time defending champions.
Port Angeles and Liberty ended up dominating the state meet, as Liberty scored 322 points to Port Angeles’ 260. The third place team, Anacortes, had just 185 points.
That squad was led by senior Jaine Macias and freshmen Kenzie Johnson, Felicia Che and Nadia Cole. Macias, Johnson, Che and Cole won the state 2A 200-yard medley in school-record time.
However, the damage wasn’t limited to just that one race. Macias also won the 100-yard breaststroke and came in third in the 100 butterfly, and the four girls teamed up again in the 200 freestyle relay to finish fourth.
Johnson came in third in the 100 backstroke, also breaking a school record, while Cole came in fourth in the 100 breaststroke.
This came after an absolutely dominant performance at the West Central 2A District meet.
The four girls won the 200 medley relay at District, while Cole won the 200 individual medley, Che won the 100 butterfly and Macias won the 100 breaststroke in meet-record time. The four girls also finished second at District in the 2oo freestyle relay.
It’s a bit hard to believe that three out of these four girls were competing as freshmen, going up against girls two and three years older than them. Port Angeles Coach Rich Butler will have Johnson, Che and Cole to coach for another three years. Butler said the prospect of coaching three of these girls for another three years as they get older and faster and the potential for possible state championships is exciting.
Interestingly, Liberty, the biggest roadlock in Port Angeles’ way for a team state championship, is another pretty young sophomore-heavy team that only graduates a couple of major senior members, so the Roughriders will continue having their work cut out for them trying to get past this school.
The three freshman will have to do it without Macias, who is a senior. Butler said she is going to be very difficult to replace.
“There’s some big shoes to fill with Jaine graduating,” Butler said. “We really don’t have one person waiting to take over.”
The good news is those three freshmen will get stronger, more experienced and likely much faster over the next three years, so they can carry the load while breaking in a new partner. The Roughriders had several other girls who placed in the top 12 at state, so the potential is there for someone to step into Macias’ place, perhaps not necessarily replacing her times, but complementing Port Angeles’ remaining Big Three.
“With three girls, each one of them getting faster, the challenge is finding one more to fill [Macias’ spot]. That’s a big puzzle piece,” Butler said.
In addition to her sheer speed, Macias’ senior leadership will also be tough to replace, Butler said. Macias was focused during the run through District and State and helped her younger teammates remain relaxed.
“She was very calm and collected, and was very comfortable. It was neat to see,” Butler said.
Che, Cole and Johnson can also be expected to improve in their individual events. Johnson and Cole already have a third- and a fourth-place individual finish at State on their resume as freshmen. Butler said you can expect to see these girls stay hungry and remain in the top three in various individual events as they get older.
Rounding out the powerful Port Angeles swim and dive team is Cassii Middlestead, who came extremely close to winning the state diving championship to, you guessed it, a Liberty diver. Middlestead finished second by just three points (338.8 to 335.25). Middlestead is also just a junior so is expected to return next year.
