Wilson won its sixth straight boys District 3 Class 3A swimming title on Saturday at Cumberland Valley with a team total of 341 points. Wilson came into day two leading the competition with 209 points and took home two more golds.
In the girls meet, Wilson repeated as the district champ with 330 points while Berks swimmers took home gold in three events.
The Bulldogs boys capped the meet with a win in the 400 freestyle relay. The relay team of Takoda Heckman, Ian Metzgar, Isaiah Eberly and Chadd Corson finished in 3:07.93.
Also medaling in the event were Gov. Mifflin’s team of Ben Gerhard, Colby Orndorf, Matt Novotny and William Troy, which finished fourth in 3:13.10, as well as Muhlenberg’s team of Brady Robidas, RJ Shaffer, Beau Stricker and Dylan Yellets, which finished fifth in 3:13.68.
Wilson also won gold in the 100 backstroke when Chadd Corson finished first for the second consecutive year with a time of 51.74. Muhlenberg’s RJ Schaffer finished fifth in 53.30.
Corson said he believes he and his teammates will surpass their district times in the upcoming state meet.
“I feel like I could go a lot faster and I’m feeling good about states,” Corson said. “We all did everything we could, you know? Some of us didn’t get the times we wanted here but we’re still looking forward to states.”
Gov. Mifflin finished third in the team standings with 203.50 points, and Ben Gerhard won gold in the 500 freestyle in 4:30.38 for the Mustangs.
“This is a really young team this year,” Gerhard said reflecting on the team’s third-place finish. “So for those young guys to come in here and swim their hearts out, it’s really exciting for the future of Mifflin.”
In addition to Gerhard’s gold, Wilson’s Heckman finished second in 4:33.75 and Ian Metzger finished third in 4:38.15, while Gov. Mifflin’s Colby Orndorf finished fifth in 4:44.43.
Heckman finished the meet with three golds (two from relays and one from his 200 IM victory), as well as the silver in the 500 free.
Gerhard, who has won the 500 free for the past three years, said he believed this victory was his best in the 500.
“It felt a lot better winning this year,” said Gerhard, who won the 200 free Friday. “This is my third year winning and this is my fastest time since so to be here faster than I was last year is really exciting going into states. As a senior coming into this meet and getting two golds, I couldn’t ask for more.”
In the boys’ 100 free, Eberly finished sixth in 47.33. Robidas took seventh in 47.36.
Rounding out the boys’ events, Exeter’s William Fanning won bronze in the 100 breast with a time of 57.39.
In the girls meet, Wilson’s Emma Dougherty took home gold in the 100 breaststroke in 1:03.64. Dougherty, a freshman, was the only freshman to take home a gold medal in an individual event in Class 3A.
“It’s amazing,” Dougherty said “Everyone worked so hard and I feel like we have some really amazing swimmers and some really amazing girls. They have great personalities, great hearts and I think that us being there for each other all the time really gets us through this. I still have many years to go, but I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my team supporting me.”
Dougherty also emphasized the importance of perseverance when it comes to achieving success.
“If I had to say one thing I would just say: Give everything your all,” Dougherty said. “Like at practice when you feel yourself getting tired push through that because that is what will get you to this point. And I’m very thankful for everyone that has been on my journey.”
Next up for Dougherty is the state meet, where she said she may be feeling a little more nervous competing as a freshman.
“I’m a little nervous, I am,” Dougherty said when asked how she was feeling heading into states. “But I feel like if I stay true to myself, and be with God while on this entire journey, I feel like I’ll be able to do it.”
Muhlenberg’s Sydney Gring won gold in 50.23 and four other swimmers medaled from Berks in the event. Exeter’s Hannah Hurleman placed fourth in 52.34, Muhlenberg’s Maren Schermerhorn was fifth in 52.66, Wilson’s Emily Cherrie came in seventh in 52.96 and Wilson’s Ella Kahn finished eighth in 53.00.
“I’m very satisfied with what I did,” Gring said regarding her performance over the weekend. “However, I’m way more excited to see what I can do at states.”
Gring, who won the 100 fly and 200 IM last year, finished with two golds in this year with her win in Friday’s 200 free. She said that she was also very proud of her team’s performance.
“I think we did phenomenal,” Gring said. “We all swam lights out and I think our energies really fed off of each other. I’m just so proud of this team.”
Exeter’s Megan Unruh won gold in 500 freestyle in 4:57.63. Gov. Mifflin’s Ellie Friedlander finished third in 5:04.21 and Wilson’s Kaitlyn Gundersen took home fifth in 5:06.28.
“It feels really good because last year I was second in the 500 free, so I’m really glad to do it now,” Unruh said.
Like Gring, Unruh was very proud of her team.
“They’ve all done amazing and I love them,” Unruh said. “They have worked hard day in and day out at practice and all the hard work pays off. I’m excited to see how they do at states.”
In addition to Unruh’s gold, Exeter took home silver in two other events.
In the 100 backstroke, Exeter’s Lauren Ramsey took second in 56.39. Wilson’s Lexi Stambaugh earned seventh in 59.06 and Morgan Valeriano finished eighth in 59.30.
In the final event of the weekend, Exeter’s 400 free relay team of Hurleman, Ramsey, Gabrielle Istenes and Unruh took second in 3:29.92.
Muhlenberg’s team of Schermerhorn, Kathryn Tanis, Megan Brantley and Gring finished third in 3:30.45; Wilson’s team of Cherrie, Gunderson, Olivia Vecchio and Kahn finished fifth in 3:33.50; and Gov. Mifflin’s team of Friedlander, Abby Steckiel, Kaylee Cipolla and Aubrey Miller finished eighth in 3:39.11
In the team standings, Exeter finished fourth with 186 points, followed by Muhlenberg with 184. Gov. Mifflin finished eighth with 125.
Source: Berkshire mont
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