BREMERTON — The Port Angeles girls swim team finished third in an 11-team Swimvitional held at the Olympic Aquatic Center this weekend.
The Roughriders had 192 points, behind just 3A Central Kitsap (257) and 3A Gig Harbor (220). Silas was a distant fourth at 159 and East Jefferson had 54 points, good for ninth.
The 200 freestyle relay team made up of Mackenzie DuBois, Sara Wilson, Danika Asgeirsson and Harper McGuire picked up a first-place finish for the Riders, achieving a team-best time for the season.
DuBois made her debut in the 100 butterfly, placing second in a close race against an opponent from Silas High School, touching in just half a second behind. But the biggest win for DuBois was qualifying for the state championship meet. She is the first Riders swimmer to to achieve state qualifying recognition this season.
“It’s a huge accomplishment to attain state time standards so early in the season,” said coach Sally Cole.
In the 500 freestyle, junior Yau Fu finished third in another close race for the Riders. Fu clocked in just 0.3 seconds after a competitor from Gig Harbor.
“It was a back-and-forth race between those two from the start. At one turn, Yau was leading, and at the next [Gig Harbor] took the advantage. It continued that way for just under 6 minutes and the Riders were on their feet cheering her on the whole time. It was fun to watch,” Cole said.
McGuire and Wilson also claimed individual third-place finishes. McGuire in the 200 freestyle and Wilson in the 100 butterfly. And the 400 freestyle relay crew of Wilson, Lizzy Shaw, Rachel Cooper and Fu took home another third-place finish
“I’m so proud of these girls. To see improvement week after week is hard and these eight keep doing it. I’m excited to watch them perform in the postseason,” Cole said.
Other personal records accomplished this weekend were Lizzy Shaw (200 freestyle), Fu (200 individual medley), Cooper (100 freestyle, 100 breaststroke), Brooke St. Luise (100 freestyle, 100 backstroke), McGuire (100 backstroke) and Asgeirsson (100 backstroke).
