OJR’s Feiser repeats in 50 free on way to 3 medals at District 1 Championships

PHILADELPHIA — For Sam Feiser, it was a day to remember, earning a medaltrifecta for Owen J. Roberts on the first day of the District 1 Swimming Championship at LaSalle University’s Kirk Natatorium Friday.

The reigning 50-yard freestyle District 1-AAA champion of 2013, Feiser ended the day with a gold-medal tie in the 50-yard free with a time of 20.90. He also earned a silver in the 100 butterfly, touching at 50.48, and also anchored Owen J. Roberts’ 200-yard free relay, finishing at 1:26.68 to earn bronze.

“It’s an awesome feeling,’ Feiser said. “At this point, I’m just taking it all in. I have to give credit to my relay teammates, still.’

Earlier in the season, in a PAC-10 match against Upper Perkiomen, Feiser humbly revealed his goal for the 2014 season.

“I hope I can become a district champion again this season,’ he said in early January. “I know it won’t be easy, but I think it’s something that I can do again if I work for it.’

And he did just that.

“I’m just so happy to be here today,’ he said. “My coaches, my teammates, they are the real reason I ever made it this far. They have motivated me all year long.’

Perkiomen Valley earned a bronze medal in the 200-yard medley relay with a group consisting of Bryce Goshardt, Wyatt Amdor, Logan Thorneloe and Kyle Dix, who touched at 1:37.00.

Although they find themselves 16th in the team standings at the end of the opening session, there was a bright spot for Boyertown.

Senior Steve Miller medaled for the Bears with his bronze in the 200-yard freestyle. Miller touched at 1:42.21.

“It was a great swim for me,’ he said. “It’s definitely been a goal of mine all year to make it here, so to earn a medal is really special. It’s really one of the best feelings.’

For Methacton, the Warriors also swam well in the 200-yard medley relay earning fourth place with a finish at 1:37.27. Anchored by Gilbert Price, the heat consisted of Leon Lin, Dustin Jen and Matthew Schulz.

Upper Perkiomen’s Brandon Umstead was golden in the 200 IM to headline the Class AA action from Friday’s opening session.

Pottsgrove’s Morgan Schreiber earned a silver medal in the 200-yard individual medley (2:01.63) while Kevin Basch earned fourth place in the 200-yard free, touching at 1:51.99. The Falcons also finished fifth in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:47.76, which included Michael Prior, Danny Berry, Schreiber and Owen Agnew.

To Schreiber, it was a great individual victory, but also an equally as important team advancement in the 200-yard medley relay.

“I’m so ecstatic about my individual IM,’ he said. “But I’m still more excited for my team. We dropped two seconds on our relaytime, and to me that’s more important than any individual score.’

Still, for Schreiber, a silver medal goes a long way after a long season in the pool.

“I’ve worked really hard all season, so to earn that medal is really special,’ he said. “It goes to show that hard work really does pay off.’

Phoenixville finished fourth in the 200-yard medley relay, carried by Jan Aclan, Josh Ziev, Josh Hayward and Robert Newman, who finished at 1:47.12.

Umstead earned Upper Perkiomen’s lone gold medal, touching at 1:59.58 in the 200-yard individual medley while Ryan Mercando won the bronze in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 58.71.

For Umstead, there was one word to describe his win — amazing.

“Having this medal right now feels amazing,’ he said following the award ceremony. “It feels so good to earn this after a long season. As a team, we knew we needed to give our best shot in all of these races. That’s what I did today.’

The Indians also earned fourth place in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:38.34. The team, consisting of Mitch Cairns, Tyler Reed, Mercando and Umstead, finished in line with their projected seed at fourth.

Anthony Gazzillo, of Pottstown, finished third in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 22.98, just over a second behind the winner.

As the teams approach the second day of the meet, many eyes will be on Feiser and Owen J. Roberts as they look to gain ground in the team standings and Feiser looks to continue his medal haul while anchoring the 400-yard freestyle relay.

“I feel great about tomorrow,’ he said. “I think our team is ready to swim fast.’

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Daniel Boone standout Ryan Owens won the silver medal in the 200-yard freestyle with a personal best 1:41.27 at the District 3-AAA Swimming Championship at Cumberland Valley High School.

“I’m very happy, considering I was untapered and I didn’t shave,’ Owens said. “I just really wanted to make states again. I’m going to go for it all at states.’

And that is why Owens did not taper for the District 3 Championships.

“I am tapering for states,’ he said.

Owens had come into districts the top seed in the 200 free, but was just edged by Josh Clark of Northern High School.

“Not disappointed at all and very thrilled,’ he said. “I just wanted to get top three and the automatic bid to states. That was my goal going into districts, and that’s what I did.’

And Owens did better his seed time of 1:42.67 by quite a bit with a personal best.

He still has the 100 free, where he is also the top seed, on the schedule for Saturday.

“The 100 free is my favorite,’ he said. “The 200 free is my second favorite though.’

He was the area’s overall highest finisher at states last year finishing eighth in the 200 free. He wants to move up several spots on that PIAA podium this time around.

Follow Mercury intern Thomas Nash on Twitter at @Thomas_Nash10.