Team completes state meet in spite of illness

Port Townsend High School’s Redhawk swimmers concluded their season at the WIAA 2A State Championship in Federal Way Nov. 10-11.

PT seniors Corinne Pierson and Maisie Gould had competed at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in past years, but it was the first time for junior Jamie Rogers, sophomore Veda Dosey and freshman Mary d’Arcy.

“Whoa, this place is huge,” d’Arcy said of the King County Aquatic Center, which was built for the 1990 Goodwill Games, and has what swimmers call “fast water,” according to PT swim coach Peter Braden.

The Redhawks entered a 200 medley relay with Pierson, Dosey, Rogers and d’Arcy, and a 400 free relay with Rogers, Gould, d’Arcy and Pierson, with Pierson also swimming the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke. PT senior Ally McCallum attended as an alternate for the 400 free relay.

Braden knew the team had the odds stacked against it, with three of the four swimmers in each relay missing a day of school due to illness the week of the meet.

“The Redhawks were not deterred and gave it their all,” Braden said. “The medley relay was seeded 21st overall, but improved their entry time, qualified for the consolation finals and finished 16th, with a time of 2:04.20.”

Pierson first swam the 100 butterfly, but missed her best time.

“In hindsight, I should have scratched her from the fly and rested her for the back,” Braden said.

Pierson’s backstroke Friday, Nov. 10, was her second-fastest time ever, and qualified her for the consolation finals Saturday, Nov. 1, in which she finished 14th.

“She went out her first 50 as she trained, but her cold caught up with her the second half of the race,” PT assistant swim coach Shannon Minnihan said.

Pierson leaves the Redhawks with a storied career, as co-captain in both her junior and senior years, and with team records in the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke, as well as part of the team record for the 200 medley relay.

Pierson plans on swimming in college – the school yet to be determined – but Braden hopes it’s somewhere in the Pacific Northwest, so he can watch her compete.

The meet was won by 2A powerhouse Liberty High School, with Olympic League teams North Kitsap and Port Angeles finishing second and third.

The Redhawks finished 30th out of the 43 teams that had qualified for the meet.

After her first year of coaching the Redhawks, Minnihan is already looking forward to next year.

“We have girls planning on swimming for the Redfins, the local club team, so they’ll be coming back stronger and ready to go,” Minnihan said.