Shorewood swimmers drop squeaker to Wolf Pack

Published 9:42 am Friday, February 22, 2008

SHORELINE — A gallant final charge wasn’t enough to keep the Shorewood girls swim team from falling to Jackson in a showdown of unbeatens Oct. 1 at Shoreline Pool.

The Timberwolves clipped the Thunderbirds 95-85 to move into position to secure no worse than a second-place finish in the Western Conference 4A South Division standings.

With the loss, Shorewood appears headed for third place.

Jackson never trailed and led by as many as 20 points through eight events. But with strong showings in the 200-yard freestyle relay, backstroke and breaststroke, the T-birds shrunk the gap to eight points going into the final event.

The tension quickly subsided, as the Wolf Pack’s 400-yard freestyle relay team pulled away for an easy win, handing Shorewood just its second league loss in two seasons.

While their depth carried them to a sizable win over Edmonds-Woodway the week before, the T-birds ran into an even deeper team in Jackson.

“Overall, they have a better team than we do,” Shorewood coach Susie McDowell said.

Down 70-50 with four events remaining, Shorewood made its move. The team of Laura Hill, Kelsey Wright, Erin Warness, and Emily Maryatt won the 200 freestyle relay and Jackie Benson and Hill finished first and third in the 100 breaststroke.

Benson’s time of 1:09.47 was her second state qualifying time of the meet. She also beat the state standard in the 200 individual medley by more than a second. Hill’s time in the breaststroke was a half-second shy of the state standard.

“We had a lot of good swims and that’s what we need to focus on,” McDowell said.

Angie Wang’s 100 butterfly victory helped Jackson increase its advantage back to double digits after Shorewood pulled within four by sweeping the diving competition.

“It was an awesome swim meet,” Wolf Pack coach Drew Whorley said. “The best one we’ve had this season for sure.”