Pomeroy team targets seventh Cluckey Cup

Pomeroy’s power swim team served notice last week that they are on track to capture their seventh straight Cluckey Cup when the novice swim league caps off its summer season with the big league meet Saturday at Colfax. The Pomeroy crew rolled up a stong win last Thursday in the first of two prep meets before Saturday’s big finale.

Qualifiers from seven novice teams will be in the championship meet which is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. The meet is officially titled the Jerry Cluckey Knights of Columbus Memorial swim meet. The late Mr. Cluckey was active in launching the summer competition which includes boys and girls of all age brackets up to high school seniors.

Members of the Knights of Columbus support the meet by footing the bill for the medals which go to the top finishers.

Thursday and Tuesday swimmers from all teams in the league were booked into two prelim meets at Colfax to give entrants an opportunity to become familiar with the pool lengths and format.

Pomeroy last Thursday rolled up 653 points in its Colfax prelim. Their total more than doubled 305.5 scored by Pullman, number-two finisher in the the Thusday prelim.

Other team scores in the Thursday round were St. John/Endicott/LaCrosse 248.5, and Tekoa/Oakesdale/ Rosalia 132.

Dayton posted the win Tuesday when the other three league teams booked their prelim stop at the Colfax pool. Scores in the Tuesday prelin were Dayton 496, Colfax 401, and Garfield/Palouse 221.

In the Cluckey meet last year, Pomeroy took their sixth straight Cluckey cup with 562 points. The number-two finisher last year was SJE with 294.5 points.

Pomeroy again is headed this year by Coach Shelly Slaybaugh and her veteran assistants, Don Eldred and Don Fairbain.

The Pirate strokers are particularly strong in the senior classes where swim success at Pomeroy has kept older swimmers on the team effort.