PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles Roughriders boys swim and dive opened 2026 with a bang, rolling past the Olympic Trojans 136–46 in their first dual meet of the year.
Port Angeles won 10 of the 12 events on the night, including five sweeps, while posting three new district-qualifying times, 30 personal bests and another state-qualifying performance.
The meet began with immediate momentum in the 200-yard medley relay.
The Riders’ quartet of Adam Kaminski, Edward Gillespie, Miles Van Denburg and Patrick Ross touched first finishing eight seconds ahead of Olympic.
“Kaminski set the tone on the opening backstroke leg, building a seven-second lead that PA never relinquished,” coach Sally Cole said.
Van Denburg followed with a strong showing in the 200 freestyle, taking first in 1 minute, 51.69 seconds, improving on his existing state time by a hundredth of a second. Cooper Disque added a highlight of his own, dropping eight seconds for a personal best of 2:27.48 to finish second.
The 50 freestyle produced the first Port Angeles sweep of the night. Kaminski, Thomas Jones and Jebow Nabua went 1-2-3, all swimming personal bests with times of 24.34, 26.29 and 26.83, respectively.
Diving brought another sweep for the Riders. Liam Sholinder led the way with 122 points, highlighted by a forward 1 somersault 1 twist that earned 26.6 points from the judges.
In a forward 1 somersault 1 twist, the diver is required to forward flip (somersault) while simultaneously completing one full 360-degree rotation (twist) before landing.
Jack Root placed second with 113.25 points, followed by Eli Warren with 95.45.
Van Denburg returned to the top of the podium in the 100 butterfly, winning by 14 seconds. Behind him, Cliff Hales delivered one of the most competitive races of the meet, closing hard over the final 50 to finish just half a second out of second place. Hales’ time of 1:08.73 was a five-second personal best and a new district qualifier. Nabua rounded out the event, swimming the 100 fly for the first time.
Another sweep came in the 100 freestyle. Ross edged teammate Gillespie for the win with a personal best of 54.03, while Gillespie followed closely in 54.61. Killian Waknitz completed the sweep with a personal best of 1:04.40.
Distance events continued to favor the Roughriders. In the 500 freestyle, Jones touched first in 5:16.78, a season best by 3.5 seconds. Charlie Kasten and Caige Lovell-Komatsu followed, both posting sizable personal bests of five and 7.5 seconds, respectively.
Freshman state time
One of the night’s biggest highlights came in the 100 backstroke. Kaminski captured first place with a state-qualifying time of 58.16, slicing a second and a half off his previous best. Jensen Wolfe and Hales finished second and third, both improving their times by a second.
The final sweep of the meet came in the 100 breaststroke. Gillespie took first, while Isaac Meek placed second in his first time swimming the event, earning a district-qualifying time of 1:14.21.
Disque finished third with another district time of 1:18.83. Disque, who began swimming only at the start of the season, has quickly emerged as one of the team’s hardest workers, making his postseason qualification a particularly rewarding moment.
Port Angeles closed the meet on a high note in the 400 freestyle relay. Ross, Van Denburg, Jones and Kaminski powered to a first-place finish, winning by 13 seconds to cap a dominant opening-night performance for the Roughriders.
“I’m really impressed with Adam,” Cole said of the freshman. “He’s been looking up to this team for years, and now that he’s here, he’s doing everything he can to show he deserves it. He works hard, takes direction, and races every chance he has. He’s a great addition to the team, and it’s exciting to think we’ll have him for another three years.”
Port Angeles visits North Kitsap on Wednesday.
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Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at sports@peninsuladaily news.com.
