PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles boys swim team trounced Bremerton 131-51 in the Roughriders’ final home meet of the year.
The Riders claimed victories in 10 out of 12 events.
The meet kicked off with the Port Angeles 200 medley relay team of Thomas Jones, Edward Gillespie, Miles Van Denburg and Isaac Meek storming to first place. Their winning time outpaced the Knights by a commanding four seconds.
The 200 freestyle brought one of the night’s most exciting races as it was a battle between teammates Jones and Van Denburg. Neck and neck through the entire race, the two swimmers were tied at the 150-yard mark with identical splits of 1:30.17. Ultimately, Van Denburg edged out Jones by a razor-thin margin, touching in at 1 minutes, 58.58 seconds to Jones’s 1:58.96. Patrick Ross also delivered a standout performance, finishing fourth with a personal best of 2:06.00 — a time that qualified him for district.
In the 200 individual medley, first-timers Meek and Jensen Wolfe impressed, finishing second and third, respectively, both earning district-qualifying times. Wolfe showed dramatic improvement over last season by shaving 26 seconds off his time.
Finn Thompson took first in the 50 freestyle with a time of 23.62 — a full three seconds ahead of the nearest Bremerton swimmer.
The Riders had a clean sweep in the diving. Grant Butterworth earned first with 161.65 points, highlighted by a standout inward 1½ somersault dive that earned 30.80 points from the judges. Jack Root and Liam Nicholson rounded out the podium with second and third places, respectively.
Ross and Gillespie went stroke-for-stroke in the 100 butterfly, with Ross surging in the final 50 yards to secure second place in 1:03.32. Gillespie finished third with a time of 1:03.86.
Meek cruised to a comfortable victory in the 100 freestyle, clocking in at 59.49 — three seconds ahead of his competitors.
The 500 freestyle delivered yet another thrilling battle between Jones and Van Denburg. After trading leads throughout the grueling 20-lap event, it was Jones who pulled ahead in the final stretch to finish first with a personal-best 5:14.30. Van Denburg finished at 5:15.51, while teammate Charlie Kasten completed the Roughriders’ sweep with a 6:19.32 finish.
The 200 freestyle relay delivered a show-stopping finish that had the entire crowd on the edge of their seats as Port Angeles battled Bremerton leg for leg. Gillespie set the pace with a lead-off leg identical to Bremerton’s, clocking a 26.52 split. The intensity only built as Meek and Ross pulled Port Angeles slightly ahead and by the time the final swimmers took to the water, Port Angeles’ lead was razor-thin at just 0.31 seconds.
Port Angeles’ senior anchor Thompson powered through his leg with a blistering 22.96 split. Thompson secured the win with a thrilling 1.35-second margin over the Knights.
Thompson also captured first in the 100 backstroke (1:01.78), with Wolfe adding a second-place finish (1:11.04). In the 100 breaststroke, Gillespie and Killian Waknitz delivered a one-two punch, both clocking personal bests with times of 1:12.69 and 1:12.77, respectively.
The Riders capped off the evening with a commanding performance in the 400 freestyle relay, with the team of Jones, Van Denburg, Ross and Thompson taking first.
The Port Angeles Roughriders dive team also made a strong debut Saturday in Auburn, competing in its first 11-dive meet of the season against divers from across Washington.
Root led the team, finishing 15th out of 34 divers with 204.70 points, earning a district championship berth. His forward 1½ somersault scored 22.10 points. Butterworth placed 17th with 199.65 points, just 0.35 shy of the 200-point district-qualifying mark, while Nicholson took 22nd with 178.85 points.
