Thorneloe siblings power Perkiomen Valley to victory
NEW LONDON — Perkiomen Valley’s Thorneloe siblings — Logan and Elle — came a long way to get to where they were Friday afternoon.The Thorneloes, who have lived in a number if U.S. cities before ending up at Perkiomen Valley, actually got their start in western Canada. Both were born in Alberta and 2,350 miles from Calgary to Graterford is a long way.On Friday afternoon, the siblings were in New London to compete for Perk Valley’s swim team in a co-ed Ches-Mont League National Division meet at Lincoln University’s natatorium. The distance between Perk Valley’s parking lot and Lincoln’s Manuel Rivera Hall is 102 miles round trip — and that’s a long way to go for a regular-season dual meet.With the Thorneloes acting as major point scorers in both meets, the Vikings were able to post a 110-74 win in the boys’ meet and a 101-85 win in the girls’ meet. Ironically, they both touched first in the meet’s longest distance event.Logan Thorneloe did his part by taking first place in both the 200-yard freestyle at 1:54.61 and the 500 freestyle at 4:59.93. He also teamed with Wyatt Amdor, Anthony Crane and Kyle Dix on the Vikings’ winning 200 freestyle relay and with Logan Newman, Bryce Groshardt and Michael Yannantuono on the runner-up 400 free relay.Elle Thorneloe was a key scorer for her team with a victory in the 500 freestyle (5:41.43) and a runner-up finish in the 200 free (2:08.25).
The powerful freshman also joined with Samantha Schroeder, Allie Bonsall and Megan Gray on the winning 200 free relay.”The 500 free felt really good,’ said Elle Thorneloe. “I wanted to stay consistent the whole way so my splits were probably pretty even. The last 50 was good. I felt strong the whole race. In the 200 free, I just took it like a sprint.’Logan Thorneloe, a senior, said, “The 500 free was my better race today. This pool is a little warm. I felt like I was swimming well but I was getting tired by the final laps. I had consistent splits through the first 400. In the 200 free, I felt fast. I took it out hard to make sure I had the lead.’Other individual winners for the Perk Valley boys were Alex Jones (first, diving, 182.60), Dix (first, 200 IM, 2:00.80; first 100 butterfly, 53.72), Amdor (first, 50 free, 22.94; first, 100 breaststroke, 59.20) and Groshardt (first, 100 backstroke, 59.20; second, 100 free, 51.97).”My 100 free was a lot better today,’ said Groshardt, a junior. “I was racing against my friend Anthony Crane. He really pushed me a lot harder and that made me get a better time.’With the win, Perkiomen Valley’s boys’ team improved to 10-0. The Viking girls are now 7-3 after Friday’s win.In addition to Thorneloe, the Vikes’ individual winners were Mariana Bernall (first, 100 breaststroke, 1:12.76; second, 200 IM, 2:25.25), Schroeder (first, 200 free, 2:07.23; second, 100 back, 1:05.89) and Bonsall (first, 100 butterfly, 1:04.77; third, 200 IM, 2:27.71).”My 200 free felt pretty good,’ said Schroeder, who is headed to the University of South Carolina in the fall. “I was tired because we had a meet last night against Phoenixville but I was able to pull out a win. I started out strong and then just tried to keep it together.’
