PHOTO: The Port Angeles Roughrider swim team placed second at the district meet and will send 12 swimmers to the state championships in Federal Way.
By Oly Archibald
PORT ANGELES — There will be plenty of green and white at the Federal Way Aquatic Center, as Port Angeles swim coach Sally Cole is taking 12 swimmers to the state meet.
Qualifying for state are Thomas Jones, Edward Gillespie, Miles Van Denburg, Patrick Ross, Adam Kaminski, Isaac Meek, Jebow Nabua, Killian Waknitz, Jensen Wolfe, Eli Warren, Liam Sholinder, and Jack Root.
The Roughriders finished second at the district meet.
Highlighting the performance was the 200 medley relay team, which placed first with Jones, Gillespie, Van Denburg, and Ross.
Individually, Miles Van Denburg finished third in the 200 freestyle, Adam Kaminski placed second in the 100 backstroke, and Eli Warren took fourth in diving.
The Roughriders also earned a second-place finish in the 200 freestyle relay and a third-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay.
Meanwhile, the Port Angeles flag football team wrapped up its season with a third-place trophy at state. The Roughriders fell to Lynden 28-14 in the semifinal, then bounced back with a 14-0 win over Klahowya to claim third place.
In boys district basketball tonight, the Roughriders hit the road to face a red-hot Clover Park T-Wolves team.
Clover Park enters at 17-4 overall and 12-2 in league play, co-champions of the South Puget Sound League with Fife. The T-Wolves have won 15 straight games, with their last loss coming December 18th to Bremerton. On January 27th, Clover Park rolled past Fife 72-52.
Six-foot-two senior point guard Marshall Scott scored 26 points in the first half of that game and finished with 30. The high-flying T-Wolves average 70 points per game while allowing just 50, using a lightning-fast, full-court press defense. Clover Park also features nine seniors on the roster.
For Port Angeles, slowing the tempo and using their size inside will be key, especially in trying to get the smaller T-Wolves into foul trouble.
The Roughriders will look to slow down Clover Park’s 6-foot-2 senior point guard Marshall Scott, shown here dunking against Fife. Scott scored 26 points in the first half of that game.
A Roughrider win sends Port Angeles to a semifinal Thursday night in Bremerton against the winner of tonight’s Sequim–Bainbridge game. A loss would send the Roughriders on the road Thursday for a loser-out game against the loser of that matchup.
Tonight’s game will be broadcast on KONP Newsradio, with the pregame show at 5:45 and tipoff at 6:00.
Greg Thomas and Dustin Clark will have the call.
Roughrider head coach Kevin Ruble will lean on his NCAA Tournament experience as Port Angeles looks to pull off an upset against Clover Park tonight.