Fresh off a dominant showing at the District 11 Championships, Schuylkill County’s top swimmers are eyeing the record books as they await official word on their PIAA State Championship bids.
While several local athletes secured automatic spots with gold-medal finishes, the full field for the March 11–14 meet at Bucknell University won’t be finalized until the PIAA releases its state-wide seedings on Sunday.
“Unfortunately we won’t know who will officially make the state meet until Sunday when the PIAA releases that list,” Pottsville coach Ned Hampford said. “I’m very proud of our performances at the district meet. We had 25 lifetime performances in the 28 events that we participated in.”
The Blue Mountain girls won their eighth straight District 11 Class 2A championship behind two gold-medal wins. Hailey Scheuer claimed gold in diving, while the Eagles’ 200 medley relay team of Anna Kaplafka, Alayna Hensel, Lola Machamer and Isabella Lafko also climbed the top of the podium.
“At this time, we are waiting to see if any of our athletes will make it into the state meet,” North Schuylkill coach Marcie Ackell said. “Our mentality is simple: stay hungry and stay focused. We’re proud of what we accomplished at districts, but we’re not satisfied. The goal now is to fine-tune the details, race fearless and represent our program with pride.”
Tamaqua also captured a pair of gold medals. Savannah Wilson secured her third consecutive gold in the 100 breaststroke and anchored the Blue Raiders’ 400 freestyle relay team — including Shaylee Gormley, Janna Brown and Kate Behun — to a winning time of 3:48.65. Wilson closed the meet with additional medals in the 200 medley relay (gold) and the 100 butterfly (silver), while Behun added a second medal in the 200 medley relay.
“Savannah and Shaylee both had standout performances individually, which was to be expected,” Tamaqua coach Jennifer Paisley said. “Kate Behun really had an outstanding meet. She bettered her seed placement in both her individual events and medaled, so she was really key in the team scoring.”
Marian Catholic’s Lydia Strucko won gold in the 100 backstroke (55.68) and was named the District 11 female Outstanding Swimmer.
On the boys’ side, Blue Mountain’s Porter Sarnes claimed gold in the 500 freestyle (4:46.27) and silver in the 200 freestyle (1:46.76), while Brody Moyer won gold in the 100 butterfly (52.88). The duo also teamed up with Zach Scala and Aidan Varney to take second in the 200 freestyle relay (1:29.96).
Marian’s Michael Strucko mirrored his sister’s success, sweeping the 100 backstroke (49.64) and the 200 freestyle (1:43.28) to earn the District 11 male Outstanding Swimmer title.
Pottsville’s Noah Bevan continued his postseason run with a second-place finish in the 50 freestyle (21.80).
“Our seniors led the way,” Hampford said, noting that Adam Klinger won the diving title while Bevan, Killian Bressler, Logan Strauss and Pete Scharadin all turned in career-best performances. “This season has been very rewarding for me personally as we won 12 dual meets, swam and dove very well at the league meet and were terrific at districts.”
In total, the Schuylkill League brought home 11 gold medals, just one shy of last year’s total.
Local swimmers expected to return to the PIAA State Championships include Marian Catholic’s Lydia and Michael Strucko, Schuylkill Haven’s Hope Stauffer and Ethan Miller, Tamaqua’s Savannah Wilson, and Blue Mountain’s Sage Kaplafka, Brody Moyer and Porter Sarnes.