The Federal Way Eagles boys swim team started off the season with all the right strokes, beating Auburn in a dual meet in South Puget Sound League North opening swimming action at the Federal Way Community Center Thursday.

“We are going to do well,” said Carla Boone, Eagles coach, whose team is now 1-0. “We are going to hold our own.”

Holding their own best in this dual was, individually, Jason Wert, who is a senior and a captain on the team. He won his two races, the 100 butterfly and the 50 free, in times of 1:06.51 and 25.47, respectively.

“I’m hoping to go to state in a personal event,” said Wert, who qualified to districts last year personally. He also made it to state in a relay.

“I’ve been working hard this summer, working out on my own, lifting weights and stuff,” said Wert. “And I swam in a summer swim league and then joined VAST for club swimming after that.”

Boone’s first name thought of for best chance to get to state was...

“Jason Wert,” she said. “Jason deserves it. Jason worked hard in the off season.”

And the other captain is Kevin Singh, who also has a good state shot.

Wert, for one, is ready to make getting to state a reachable goal.

“Yeah, I think so,” said Wert. “I am determined enough to make it.”

Who else will get to state? Maybe a relay, but individually Boone said that was all she could say of the returners. Their are a lot of new swimmers that she said she was unsure of and would not prognosticate.

“I’m not making any predictions,” she said.

Reid Collins, Brian Nguyen and Nathan Jowette were all mentioned as district quality by Boone. Those three are young on the team, too. Jowette and Nguyen are sophomores and Collins is a freshman.

A lot are young actually on the Eagles’ swim team according to Boone. And she likes how they have started out.

“We have eight brand new swimmers that are beginning swimmers and they did real well today.”

So picking state guys at this point is hard to do. For one thing, it is early in the season, this win over Auburn was Federal Way’s first dual of the season in the SPSL North. More to come from this young team now and in the future .

Against Auburn, the winners of the meet were Wert as well as junior Chase McLaughlin, in the 100 free in 56.81. Also Federal Way won the 200 free relay in 1:49.50 with Wert, McLaughlin, Jowette and Collins. And they won the 200 medley as well with Nguyen, Collins, McLaughlin and Wert going a 1:55.51. District qualifying in that particular relay race is 1:56.17 so, with this being the first meet of the season, they will get that one to districts no problem. And, the 200 medley should go, too. District qualifying on it is 1:44.73 so they are less than five seconds off that one and Boone says that time will be chopped down one way or another.

“You have to play around with the people,” said Boone. “No doubt in my mind. We will have it.”

Last year the Eagles went to state in the 200 medley and Wert swam the backstroke leg of the race. But only Wert remains of that team so that’s going to be tough to overcome.

“We lost a lot of seniors, but we gained a lot of underclassmen with potential,” said Wert. “We got some new guys with definitely serious potential for years to come.”

So it’s going to be a good season with good swims and good coaching from Boone and co-coach Tammy Taylor for the Eagles.

“Our coaches are writing solid workouts, making us push ourselves, so it’s great,” said Wert.