Cluckey cup meet will wrap swim season

Pomeroy’s swim team will return Saturday to take a shot at a sixth straight win of the Cluckey Cup, the signature trophy of the Jerry Cluckey Memorial swim meet. Last year the water Pirates rolled out 335 points to take the cup back home for the fifth straight year.

Seven swim teams in the county novice league will be back at the Colfax pool for another day-long battle for the trophy in the 47th edition of the big meet. The giant meet could bring in as many as 500 participants, according to Colfax Coach Matt Ross who also serves as league director.

The entry sheets for the county meet limit teams to their three fastest swimmers in each event. That means each of the events could have as many as three heats.

Ross said officials will add a seventh lane for the big meet this year. The depth of the pool was checked and the additional lane can be installed over regulation water depth of four feet.

Another added feature this year will be introduction of the top seven competitors in each event. They will be announced for what should be the fastest heat of each event.

With seven lanes in action, a full card will mean three heats for the 72 events in the meet schedule.

“It’s going to be pretty close, but it’s hard to tell,” Ross noted.

Colfax has booked strong team finishes during the summer campaign, but Pomeroy came into town last week with a horde of swimmers and departed with a win by a 46-point margin.

Also sending teams to the big event will be Dayton, Pullman, Garfield/Palouse, St. John/Endicott/LaCrosse and Tekoa/Oakesdale/ Rosalia.

Strong swimmers on each of those teams can be counted to take their share of the overall points and that will take a slice out of the total for the top contenders.

Pomeroy booked their fifth straight win last year with a 335 total, and Garfield/Palouse nipped Colfax with a 278.5 to placed second.

The meet will again be sponsored by the Colfax Knights of Columbus who will present the trophies and event ribbons.

The meet will again award top swimmer to boys and girls in two age groups. The junior trophies will go to the top points swimmers in the two youngest age brackets who compete in fewer events.

Pomeroy had three of the high point winners last year in Chloe Mayfield, Kacey Halbert and Scott Slaybaugh. Gabe Ross took one of the honors for Colfax and Nicholas McHaffie of Dayton had the other win.

Jackson Ross of Colfax and Ireland Mayfield of Pomeroy, swimmers who have posted strong wins in the 14-under class, are also expected to be top contenders when the meet gets underway Saturday.

The Cluckey Cup is named in honor of the late Jerry Cluckey of Colfax who keyed the organization of the summer swim league.