Hayden beats Rogers as Scots splash Timberwolves

MILL CREEK

The Shorecrest boys swim team did some tinkering with its lineup against Jackson.

The end result, however, was another Western Conference South Division dual meet victory as the Scots prevailed 106-64 over the Timberwolves Jan. 11 at the West Coast Aquatics Center.

Shorecrest won five out of the eight individual races and swept the relays.

“We swam really well today, great races,” said interim head coach Susie McDowell. “We were on the winning end of close races. That was real positive.”

The Scots had five second-place finishes among the individual events and relays.

The race of the meet pitted Shorecrest’s Tyler Hayden going up against Jackson’s Jimmy Rogers in the 200-yard individual medley. This was only Hayden’s second time swimming the event this season but he pulled out a narrow victory over Rogers, finishing in a state qualifying time 1 minute, 59.91 seconds. The Wolfpack senior clocked in at 2:00.30.

“He came back in the freestyle to win it,” McDowell said. “It was a good time to go under two minutes. It’s not usually an event he does. It was a really good swim for him.”

Hayden bettered his previous time by about three seconds.

Even after the 200 individual medley, Hayden still has enough left to post a win in the 100 butterfly (56:76).

Shorecrest’s Max Williamson and Cliff Plesha finished first and second in the 100 freestyle with times of 54.61 and 54.64, respectively.

“The 100 freestyle was a really good swim for us,” McDowell said. “Both went 54.6, which was really good for them.”

Other winners for Shorecrest included Kevin McKay in the 500 freestyle (5:17.25) and Blake Titcomb in the 100 breaststroke (1:12.80).

With the regular season winding down the Scots are figuring out where their strengths lie. The Northwest District 3A championships are set for Feb. 8-9 at Fidalgo Pool in Anacortes.

“We starting to become more clear what people and events are for the postseason,” McDowell said. “We’re looking to do well at the district meet.”

So far none of the relays have qualified for state but McDowell has high hopes.

“We’re hoping to get those state times or be able to qualify by allocation at the district meet,” she said. “I think we’ve got a shot at those, particularly in the freestyles.”