POULSBO — The Port Angeles Roughriders took first in every event in their first away meet of the season, cruising past Kingston with a commanding 129-44 win.
Riders coach Sally Cole said it was a balanced performance, with four different swimmers each taking first in two events.
“The first away meet is always tricky,” Cole said. “You never know how the team is going to respond when you disrupt their rhythm, but this team really showed how much they’ve grown today.”
Port Angeles opened strong with a first-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay. Lynzee Reid, Mia Francis, Chloe Kay-Sanders and Lizzy Shaw brought home the first victory of the night, finishing 26 seconds ahead of the Buccaneers.
Francis, Lilly Mahaney and Ellie Karjalainen had a quick turnaround for the 200 freestyle, but that didn’t stop them from sweeping the event, with Karjalainen finishing 30 seconds ahead of Kingston’s fourth-place swimmer.
“Mia is swimming with more confidence in her freestyle events this season,” Cole said.
“She’s dropped a ton of time across every distance — 11 seconds in the 100, 15 in the 200, and an incredible 44 in the 500. Her progress has been fun to watch.”
Anaya Tejeda dug deep in the 200 individual medley.
The butterfly leg gave her a 0.22-second lead, but Kingston surged ahead by half a second after the backstroke. Over the breaststroke and freestyle legs, the freshman powered through to win by 0.18 seconds.
Seniors Shaw and Reid kept the momentum going with wins in the 50 freestyle and diving. Shaw finished four seconds ahead of Kingston with a 28.31, while Reid earned top marks in diving, with her back dive in pike scoring 25.6.
Tejeda continued her winning ways in the 100 butterfly, pulling ahead in the final 25 yards for another come-from-behind victory.
In the 100 freestyle, Shaw notched her second win of the meet, with Jessique Rodriguez taking second — 11 seconds ahead of Kingston.
The Riders swept the 500 freestyle, with Amayah Nelson taking first and posting her season-best time. Mahaney followed in second with another personal best, and Karjalainen claimed third in her first distance swim.
The 200 freestyle relay of Kay-Sanders, Francis, Karjalainen and Mahaney kept the Riders rolling, finishing 12 seconds ahead of Kingston.
Reflecting on Mahaney’s performance, Cole offered praise.
“Lilly was on her game tonight. She showed up ready to compete, hit personal bests across the board and even dropped time on her 50 free relay leg.”
Port Angeles swept the next event as well, with Reid taking first in the 100 backstroke at 1:10.75 in a new district time and a four-second personal record. Cole praised her senior backstroker: “Lynzee is really hitting her stride in the backstroke. She crushed a personal best in her 50 backstroke leg of the medley relay and came back even stronger to dominate in her 100 back. She’s swimming with focus, and it shows.”
Nelson finished second, while Molly Kussin took third with a seven-second personal record, narrowly out-touching Kingston by just 0.03 seconds.
Francis claimed her second individual win of the night in the 100 breaststroke, with senior Kay-Sanders taking second. The meet concluded with a resounding win in the 400 freestyle relay as Tejeda, Shaw, Nelson and Reid touched first over a minute ahead of Kingston (1:02).
The Riders will look to keep their streak alive today when they face Sequim at the Shore Aquatic Center at 3:30 p.m.
Calendar
Today
Football: North Kitsap at Sequim, 7 p.m.; Port Angeles at Bainbridge, 7 p.m.; Annie Wright at East Jefferson (Port Townsend), 7 p.m.
Girls Swimming: Sequim at Port Angeles, 3 p.m.
Saturday
Football: Crescent at Wishkah Valley, 1 p.m.
