RENTON — The Port Angeles boys swim and dive team won the Class 2A West Central District championship at Hazen High School.
Roughriders coach Rich Butler believes this is the first time the boys program has earned this crown.
Port Angeles participated in a three-way dogfight to claim its title, with several lead changes between Port Angeles, Steilacoom and Liberty.
Two first-place finishes in the 200-yard medley relay and the 400 freestyle relay, as well as individual victories by John Macias in the 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke in Saturday’s finals propelled the Roughriders to victory.
The margin of victory over second place Steilacoom was 13 points.
Port Angeles’ 400 freestyle relay team of Wei-Yan Fu, Tristin Butler, Jay Liang and Macias set a new meet record with a time of 3 minutes, 22.12 seconds.
Butler said the Riders were greatly assisted by the success of their divers.
Scott Methner led the divers with a second-place finish. He, along with Vincent Ioffrida (10th) and Jesse Denton (12th) tallied 29 points.
“It was truly a team effort,” Rich Butler said.
Sequim’s Prosser advanced to state in both of his individual events.
Port Angeles is sending all three relays and 11 individual swimmers to this weekend’s state championship meet at King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.
Macias took first in the 100 freestyle and the 100 backstroke.
He broke is own school record in the 100 back with a time of 53.71 seconds. He swam the 100 free in 48.71 seconds.
Macias also teamed up with Liang, Fu and Tristin Butler in the 200 medley relay to take first and qualify for state.
Tristin Butler tallied a pair of third-place finishes in the 200 individual medley and the 500 freestyle.
Liang came in right behind Butler in the 200 individual medley, taking fourth. Both swam state-qualifying times in the event.
Butler was part of a cadre of Riders who placed in the 500 free. Karsten Hertzog came in fourth and Milo Atwater was fifth, while Nathan Bock was 12th.
Butler’s time qualifies him for state, while Hertzog and Atwater qualify for state via allocation.
Hertzog and Atwater also earned allocations to state in the 200 free, taking fourth and fifth, respectively.
The two each received another state allocation by taking fifth in the 200 freestyle relay along with Dario Andereozzi and Kody Kuch.
Fu put forth a state-qualifying time in the 100 butterfly, taking third, and placed eighth in the 50 free.
Liang earned a state allocation in the 100 breaststroke by finishing fifth.
Port Angeles swimmers who reached districts but did not advance out of the preliminary stage are Bock (200 free), Kaleb Sheldon (200 free and 100 fly), Andereozzi (200 individual medley and 100 fly), Smit Kataria (100 back) and Nathan Beirne (100 breast).
Crescent diver Lucas DeFrang took third in the 1-meter dive.
Teammate Patrick Singhose qualified for districts in the 100 fee and 200 fly, but did not advance past the prelims.
Prosser doubles up
For Sequim, Prosser entered the meet in eighth place in the 200 individual medley and sixth in the 100 backstroke.
He finished sixth Saturday in the 200 individual medley, dropping almost two seconds off his best time and qualifying for state by allocation.
He also qualified for state by allocation in the 100 back.
Matthew Craig, a relative long shot in diving considering his short season and that this is his first year diving, qualified for districts at the Olympic League meet and was seeded ninth for the district preliminaries.
He ended up qualifying for state by allocation after finishing seventh at districts.
The Wolves’ 200 freestyle relay team of Wendall Lorenzen, Andy Hanstead, Chas Prosser and Christian Goodrich made it to the district finals, where it placed 11th.
