by MICHAEL DASHIELL
Sequim Gazette
In six league meets this season, the Wolves came up short in team scoring six times.
With the postseason kicking off this week, however, Sequim swimmers and divers have another chance to pull out some individual wins.
Sequim was slated to take on some of the region’s top athletes at the Olympic League meet on Jan. 31 — results of the meet were unavailable at press time — as a precursor to the West Central District 2A meet scheduled for Feb. 9 at Hazen High School in Renton.
The Wolves have several athletes who’ve already punched their tickets for the district meet, even before their strong performances in a pair of Olympic League losses last week.
On Jan. 24, Sequim dropped a 103-80 decision against Bremerton in a make-up meet following a snowstorm that wiped out school for a week.
“Considering we just had an unexpected week off, I think everyone competed pretty well,” Sequim head coach Linda Moats said.
The Wolves posted six first-place swims, including Steve Dewey in the 200 free, Doug Dunbar in the 100 free, Eric Prosser in the 500 free, Noe Calderon in the 100 back, Sequim’s 400 free relay team (Calderon, Dewey, Dunbar and Prosser) and Connor Christianson in diving.
Matt Cays improved his 200 free time by eight seconds.
Kyle Webster posted a strong time for his first attempt at the 200 free in competition, Moats said.
“He’s really a natural at this stroke and just needs to work on his endurance and technical timing,” she said.
Keil Wood also improved his 100 breaststroke time by five seconds.
“Some of the athletes that are used to swimming a lot more yardage during the week didn’t fare as well on improving their times, but most have already qualified for districts in the events they want to swim,” Moats said. “I expect they will be swimming much better just in time for the district meet.”
Two days later, a bigger Kingston squad dropped Sequim to 0-6 with a 105-70 win at the Olympic High School pool in Silverdale.
“Our losses are mainly a result of the small number of swimmers on the team, but also we haven’t had a full roster since the season began due to illness or other circumstances,” Moats said.
Still, the Wolves posted three first-place finishes, including Prosser in the 200 free — a district meet-qualifying time in his first attempt at the event in competition — and Sequim’s 200 free relay team, along with diver Austin Clement.
Cays dropped 10 seconds off his previous best time in the 200 individual medley while Dunbar trimmed two seconds off his 50 free sprint time.
Dewey dropped 16 seconds off his previous best in the 500 free, while Markus Petersen (500 free) and Brendon Hudson (100 breast) posted solid times for their first tries at those events.
Top swimmers and divers from the Feb. 9 district meet and those who have posted automatic qualifying times and scores compete at the state 2A meet, set for Feb. 16 in Federal Way.
Reach Michael Dashiell at miked@sequimgazette.com.
