The Phoenix Pirates made a serious splash at the OSAA State Swim Meet in Tualatin over the weekend. Phoenix finished 10th in the 1A-4A boys' team standings as the Pirates placed in three events during Saturday's finals. All PHS swimmers who helped earn points in the meet will return next season. Freshman Quin Davis led the way. He joined River Delco, Cody Martin and Makaio Potts on the 200 freestyle relay team that finished fourth while placing fifth in the 500 freestyle and sixth in the 200 freestyle. Delco and Potts also qualified for the meet in individual events. Delco was seventh in both the 50 (23.89) and 100 (53.18), just missing a spot in the finals. Potts was eight in the 100  butterlfy (59.97) and 12th in the 100 backstroke (1:06.34). Both are juniors. The team of Davis, Delco, Potts and Eli Cruise placed 12th in the 200 medley preliminaries (1:52.41). Davis had a busy day on Saturday, earning spots on the medal stand in all three events. Davis finished the 200 in 1:57.35 and the 500 in 5:08.53 before swimming the leadoff leg of the 200 relay.  The Pirates totalled nine team points in the meet to earn their 10th-place final standing.  

A considerable crew of Pirates are state-bound! Phoenix qualified swimmers in six individual events and a pair of relays at the OSAA Special District 2 meet in North  Bend over the weekend. The season will continue at the OSAA State Swimming Meet in Tualatin on Friday and Saturday. Freshman Quin Davis leads the way after winning both the 200- and 500-yard freestyle events in North Bend. Davis won the 200 on 1:52.90 before setting the pace in the 500 in 5:11.40. For the state meet, Davis will be seeded fourth in the 500 and sixth in the 200. Juniors River Delco and Makaio Potts are also state-bound in a pair of individual events. Delco was third in the 50 freestyle (24.00) and second in the 100 freestyle (54.90), qualifying as a wild card entry in both events. He’ll be seed 10th in the 50 and ninth in the 100 at State. Potts was fourth in the 100 butterfly (1:00.74) and third in the 100 backstroke (1:04.10) to earn wild card spots in both events. Potts is seeded ninth in the butterfly and the backstroke. The Pirate trio teamed with Eli Cruise to finish fourth in the 200 Medley relay (1:53.10). They’ll be the 12th seed at State. Cody Martin joined the crew for the 200 Freestyle relay, which finished fourth as well (1:39.56). They are seeded seventh at State. Phoenix finished fifth as a team at the district meet with 141 points. The Phoenix girls finished ninth with 52 points.

The Phoenix swimming teams continue to get a taste of what the upcoming OSAA District Meet will look like. The Pirates took part in a three-school meet at Echo Hollow Pool in Eugene on January 26. The boys finished second to host Marist while the girls were third as Hidden Valley took team honors. PHS was second to Marist in the combined scoring. With the district meet coming up on February 9-10, Phoenix received strong performances from the usual band of Pirates. Juniors Makaio Potts and River Delco both won a pair of individual events (Potts the 100 butterfly in 1:04.19 and the 100 backstroke in 1:08.57 and Delco the 50 freestyle in 24.90 and the 100 breaststroke in 1;11.39) for the Phoenix boys, who got a win from freshman Quin Davis in the 200 freestyle (1:56.01). Davis added a second in the 500 freestyle (5:27.51). Potts, Cody Martin, Delco and Davis combined to win the 200 freestyle relay (1:42.21) while the same crew was second in the 200 medley relay in 1:58.32. The team of Cail Decker, Brayden Winters, Bryan Tellez and Martin was second in the 400 freestyle relay in 4:37.70. Ariah Potts (50 freestyle in 29.32) was the lone event winner for the Pirate girls, who got a second from Laurelin Jansen in the 100 freestyle (1:08.12) and a second from a pair of relays. Potts, Isabella Olvera Suarez, Genesis Orozco and Abigail Corona combined in the 200 freestyle relay (2:29.84) while Potts, Orozco, Addie McConnell and Jansen posted a time of 5:17.22 in the 400 freestle relay. The Pirates return to action on Wednesday when they will swim in a meet at Rogue X in Medford before heading to Grants Pass on Friday.

The Phoenix swimming teams broke in Medford's new aquatic center in style on January 13. The Pirates continued what has been an impressive season, with the boys defeating both South Medford and Cascade Christian while the girls downed Cascade Christian in a three-team meet the City of Medford's sparkling new facility. Phoenix won a total of nine events on the day. The 200 Medley Relay team of Makaio Potts, River Delco, Quin Davis and Cody Martin started the fun, winning their event. Other winners for PHS included Quin Davis (200 freestyle in 1:59.58), Potts in the 100 butterfly (1:05.05), Delco in the 100 freestyle (54.22), Davis in the 500 freestyle (5:37.19), Laurelin Jansen in the 100 backstroke (1:13.22), Potts in the 100 backstroke (1:06.75), Delco in the 100 breaststroke (1:11.25) and the 400 freestyle relay team of Delco, Cruise, Potts and Davis (3:54.88). Phoenix returns to action on Saturday, January 20 when it will take part in the Skyline Conference meet at the Grants Pass YMCA.

The Phoenix swimming teams keep flexing their muscles in what is becoming a memorable season. The Pirates were again impressive in a multi-team meet, finishing second to host North Bend in a three-team event on January 5. The Pirates finished second to the Bulldogs in the team scoring for girls, boys and combined. Phoenix, which gets an opportunity swim at the new Rogue X facility in Medford on January 13, won multiple events in the same pool that will host the district meet on February 9-10. Events winners from PHS included Quin Davis in the 200 freestyle (2:02.18), Laurelin Jansen in the 50 freestyle (20.96), River Delco in the 100 breaststroke (1:12.87) and the boys’ 200 freestyle relay team of Delco, Cody Martin, Makaio Potts and Davis (1:41.03). Davis added a second-place finish in the 100 freestyle (56.35). Other runner-up finishes from Phoenix included Ariah Potts in the 50 freestyle (30.85), Delco in the 100 butterfly (1:04.98), Jansen in the 100 backstroke (1:13.16), Makaio Potts in the 100 backstroke (1:13.64) and Ariah Potts in the 100 breaststroke (1:13.64). North Bend won the combined meet with 1,152 points while PHS was runner-up with 897. The Pirates boys totaled 580 in the boys’ meet and 317 in the girls’ meet, both second to North Bend. The Pirate boys have been selected as the Toyota Team of the Month for December by the OSAA.

One of the fastest growing swimming programs in Oregon flexed its collective muscle on December 8, winning the Junction City Invitational in the process. The Phoenix boys' and girls' teams combined to score an impressive 690 points in the meet at Echo Hollow Pool in Eugene. The PHS won five individual events and two relays on the way to team honors while the girls won an individual event in the first of a two-day agenda which also took them to Newport for an invitational the following day. With one of the state's biggest teams, the Pirate boys amassed 494 points in Eugene, more than twice that of runner-up Junction City. The Pirates won the 200 medley relay (Makaio Potts, River Delco, Quin Davis and Eli Cruise). Four other PHS relay teams also took part in the event, including a second-place finish by Orlando Contreras, Nathan Faulkner, Sean Donohue and Cody Martin. The Pirates finished 1-2 in the 200-yard IM (Delco and Cruise), grabbed 14 of the 15 top spots in the 50 free style (led by Cody Martin in first), finished 2-3 in the 200 freestyle (Davis and Contreras), got a win from Davis in the 500 freestyle, a win from Makaio Potts in the 100 backstroke, a win from Delco on the 100 breaststroke, a 2-3 finish from Cail Decker and Derek Mark in the 100 freestyle and won the 400 freestyle relay (Davis, Cruise, Potts and Delco) to close the meet. Ariah Potts paced the Pirate girls, winning the 50 freestyle and 100 breaststroke in Eugene. A day later, Phoenix got a second-place finish from Davis in the 200 freestyle, second from Delco in the 100 breast and third from Delco in the 50 freestyle to highlight the effort in Newport. The Pirates have been busy practicing at the Daniel Meyer Pool in Ashland over the holiday break. They will return to competitive action on January 5 at North Bend, the same site that will be used for the OSAA District Meet in February.