Panthers do it again

Published 9:00 pm Saturday, February 17, 2007

FEDERAL WAY – Nailed it but good.

With a performance that was thoroughly dominant the Snohomish Panthers hammered the field to earn their second straight title in the Class 4A boys swim and dive state championships at the King County Aquatic Center Saturday.

“This one is just as sweet,” Snohomish coach Rob Serviss said as the Panthers celebrated with their legion of raucous red-clad fans. “This is a hard thing to do in any year. I’m so happy for the guys; to work so hard all year and then reach their goal.”

The Panthers – who rolled up 266.5 points to easily outdistance second-place Redmond (164) and surprising third-place Bothell (162) – needed all of 1 minute, 36.12 seconds to send their colorful faithful into a joyous frenzy.

It took that short duration of time for Eric Pedack, Garren Riechel, Dan Ferguson and Michael Turner to reach a preseason goal and shatter the state record in the opening event, the 200-yard medley relay.

The previous mark of 1:36.48 was set by Wilson in 1990.

“That got the whole team fired up,” Serviss said. “To do it in the biggest venue, in front of a packed house, it’s amazing.”

“It’s almost a 20-year old record so it really means a lot to us” said Pedack, a junior, who looked self-assured before he opened the race with an unofficial 25.46 second backstroke leg. “When you have guys like Garren and Dan and Michael behind you there’s no need not to be confident.”

The team title was already clinched by the time the same foursome came back in the final event to take second in the 400 freestyle (3:13.46).

In between, the Panthers overwhelmed opponents with 10 top-eight individual performances, highlighted by Riechel’s title in the 100 breaststroke in a school-record time of 57.46.

“I’m really happy with that,” the 6-foot-21/2 freshman sensation said of an effort that was the 12th fastest in state history. “I wasn’t expecting it.”

“Every once in a while an athlete like Garren comes along who is super talented,” Serviss said of Riechel who added a third-place finish in a 200 individual medley race won by Bothell senior Chris Winchell.

“Swimmers like Garren never have any doubt or fear,” Serviss continued.

“They just go out and get faster. … we’re eagerly anticipating seeing what he’s capable of.”

Snohomish – the only team to qualify units for all three of the point-rich relays – also snagged a fourth-place finish in the 200 freestyle relay (1:30.99, Ken McClelland, Miles Labitzke, Logan Goodman and Nick Hyrciuk).

Pedack flung his goggles aside and pumped his fist in jubilation after coming from fifth seed to take second in the 100 backstroke.

“Best swim I’ve ever had,” Pedack said. “I’ve never been so happy, but I’m still much more excited about the medley.”

“He’s a kid who works really hard every day and he earned that spot on the podium,” Serviss said of Pedack who added a fourth-place effort in the 100 butterfly.

Ferguson, another junior, was a solid fifth in the 100 freestyle. He placed sixth in the 200 freestyle.

“Incredible,” Serviss said of his team’s effort. “We talked about how in prelims we were really good in the first half of the day, but struggled in the back half.

“I challenged the guys that today when they felt the strain and the burn today to choose better. … I am just so proud.”

“This teaches the guys if you set your mind on something you can do it,”

Serviss continued. “They can use that knowledge their whole lives.”