The Puget Sound swim team had their first meet of the season when they traveled to Caldwell, Idaho to take on the College of Idaho Coyotes.
Headed into their first meet of the season, the swim team wanted to start their season with a bang on Saturday, Oct. 7. They were able to do just that, thanks to a dominating performance that saw them win 16 of the 22 events in the competition.
The Loggers set the tone early, sweeping the men’s and women’s 200-yard medley relay. The women’s ‘A’ team set the pace for their race by putting up a time of 1:57:80, almost two full seconds faster than College of Idaho. The men’s team also lived up to the standards set by their teammates, as their ‘A’ team finished with a time of 1:45:73 to take their race.
The boys kept it going later in the match, as junior Derek Franzel (Moscow, Idaho) came up big in his home state, placing first in the 1000 yard freestyle, the Mens 500 yard freestyle, and the Mens 400 yard IM. Indeed, Franzel’s success paved the way for the Logger men to win 10 of the 11 events in which they participated.
Freshman Kevin Henley (Evanston, Ill.) won his two first collegiate events by placing first in the 50 yard freestyle and the 100 yard freestyle. Senior Maxwell Cohen (Albuquerque, N.M.) also won the 100 yard butterfly with a time of 55:03, and freshman Zander Biro (Lafayette, Calif.) took the 100 yard backstroke.
On the women’s side, they were not quite as dominant as their male counterparts, but still racked up plenty of victories, placing first in six of the 11 events that they entered, thanks to contributions of many different members of the team.
In the individual events, seniors Jessica Jaynes (Denver, Colo.) and Ann Barrington (Lake Oswego, Ore.) finished on top in the 100 yard breaststroke and the 500 yard freestyle, respectively.
Freshmen Samantha Anders (Olympia, Wash.) and Auri Clark (Juneau, Alaska) each had solid debuts; Anders won the 100 yard backstroke, and Clark finished first in the 100 yard butterfly.
It all added up to a dominant victory for both Logger teams. The women’s team won by accruing 114 points to College of Idaho’s 85. Indeed, the men won by an even more decisive margin, triumphing 152-40 over the Coyotes.
On the whole, it was an encouraging first meet for the Loggers, especially given the relative youth of the team.
With 12 freshmen on the team, there is reason to believe that the best days may still lie ahead for Logger swimming, and their victory over College of Idaho was a strong step in the right direction. Though it was not a conference victory, the Loggers should feel good about themselves going forward.
The Loggers are off for over three weeks, and their next meet will come on Oct. 28, when they will attend the NWC Relay Meet to kick off their conference schedule.
