Amdor, Schreiber win gold
PHILADELPHIA — Coming into the second day of the District 1 Swimming Championship trailing leader North Penn by more than 100 points, it looked as though the AAA district title was out of reach.
Someone forgot to tell sophomore Wyatt Amdor and his Perkiomen Valley teammates as they competed at LaSalle University’s Kirk Natatorium Saturday.
Amdor placed first in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 57.03, earning his first career gold medal.
Pottsgrove senior Morgan Schreiber also earned his first career gold, winning the 100 backstroke with a time of 55.20 in Class AA.
“More than anything, I’ve always wanted to be a district champion,’ said Amdor following his gold medal victory. “After a long season and a lot of hard work, this feels so amazing.’
As a sophomore, Amdor knows there are still plenty of things he’ll need to work on throughout his time with the Vikings.
“There are some parts of my game that need improvement,’ he said. “Hopefully with more experience I can come back even stronger and faster than this year.’
Amdor was also a part of the Vikings 400 free relay which placed fourth. The relay group, composed of Kyle Dix, Amdor, Anthony Crane and Logan Thorneloe, finished at 3:10.14.
“The most important thing for us four was to have fun and win as a team,’ he said. “After I won the gold, my teammates gathered around me and we were pumped. We said ‘ Let’s go do this, let’s make states.”
And the Vikings did just that while also cutting nearly six seconds off of their qualifying seed time.
“I never thought I’d make it here in my four years of high school swimming,’ said Schreiber who also earned a silver medal on Friday. “I swam my best time yesterday in the 200 IM, and swam my best time today in the 100 back. This has been such a great finish for my high school district career.’
The PAC-10 played a major role in the AA 100 backstroke capturing four of the top five places. Pottsgrove freshman Michael Prior took the bronze in the 100 back with a 58.88.
Schreiber anchored the Falcons’ 400 free relay which was also composed of Michael Prior, Matthew Bush and Kevin Basch and placed fifth with an overall time of 3:30.70.
Upper Perkiomen junior Brandon Umstead took the AA silver in the 100 back with a 53.87.
“This felt so good,’ said Umstead of his silver medal. “I know there are a few things to work on before states, but I feel pretty confident at this point.’
Umstead also earned a gold medal in the 200 IM and fourth-place in the 200 free relay on Friday afternoon.
The Indians’ Ryan Mercando placed sixth in the AA 500 free with a time of 5:35.27, while his freshman teammate. Brennan Coleman, placed seventh, touching at 5:36.21.
Anthony Gazzillo was the lone swimmer for Pottstown, winning the silver in the 100 free with a time of 50.06 to go along with his bronze medal in the 50 free on Friday.
Owen J. Roberts’ 400 free relay earned a silver medal with an overall time of 3:09.74 to close out the boys competition. The team, consisting of seniors Sam Feiser, Bail Mokhallalati, Alex McCullough and Colin Bauer, lost by a quarter-of-a-second to Upper Dublin.
“Wearing this silver medal feels so awesome,’ McCullough said following the meet. “We’ve been swimming together as a group since we were 10 years old. This win was a great way for us to come together.’
Winning his third medal of the championships, McCullough added a silver to go along with his bronze medal in the 200 free relay and eighth place in the 200 free.
Phoenixville’s Josh Ziev grabbed third place in the 100 breast with a finishing time of 1:05.52.
“I’m a person that just never wants to lose. I’ve always been that way.’ he said following the awards ceremony. “I knew I could have success coming in with that mentality.’
With the bronze now added to his collection, Ziev totaled four medals by the end of districts. Along with fourth in the boys 400 free relay on Saturday, he also earned fourth in the 200 medley relay and fifth in the 200 free on Friday.
Phoenixville’s Jan Aclan placed fifth in the 100 back with a 59.91.
Steve Miller of Boyertown placed sixth in the 500 yard free touching at 4:41.17. Nick Savino, a Boyertown senior, finished eighth in the 100 breast, touching the wall at 1:00.20.
Although he did not completely accomplish his season-long goal, Savino is still proud of his performance.
“I feel pretty good about how I swam today,’ said Savino. “All season long, my goal was to get below a minute, but I’m still happy with my time. To finish my senior year with a medal is definitely a great feeling.’
Methacton placed ninth in the 400 free relay posting a time of 3:12.90. Anchored by Gilbert Price, the Warrior relay consisted of Leon Lin, Colin Mansfield and Matthew Schulz. Methacton senior Dustin Jen placed seventh in the 100 breast finishing at 59.66.
For Jen, cutting over two seconds off of his seeding time was something he’d aimed for all season.
“This was the first time my tapering has actually worked for me,’ he said. “All three years, I’ve either gained time or stayed right at the same time. So today was a huge accomplishment for me.’
NOTES
Owen J. Roberts sophomore Andrew Kull and junior Weston Lickfield placed 10th and 16th in the 100 breast with times of 1:00.25 and 1:02.66, respectively. Methacton sophomore Gilbert Price placed 14th in the 100 free with a time of 48.21. Boyertown freshman Patrick Lance earned 16th place in the 500 free with an overall time of 4:48.30, cutting over 14 seconds off his seeding time.
* * * Owens wins gold: Daniel Boone junior Ryan Owens captured the gold in the 100-yard freestyle with a personal best 45.74, to add to his silver in the 200 free the previous day at the District 3-AAA Championships at Cumberland Valley High School.
Owens had come in the top seed in the 100 free, but lowered his seed time and previous best of 46.78 considerably.
But, saving his tapering for states next week, he wasn’t sure if that top seed would pan out here.
“Going into it, I knew there was a bunch of good swimmers, so I’m just very happy that I was fortunate enough to come out with a win,’ he said.
Last year Owens’s main events were the 200 and 500 free. But he replaced the 500 with the 100 free as his other top event this season.
“I was like 6-foot, 139 pounds last year and I grew and put on some pounds, to 6-2 and 157 pounds so I started concentrating more on the sprint, ” he said. “It was a combination of growing, it’s my favorite event, and I also trained for it more than I did the 500.’
But Owens’ main goals are focused on states, and have been all along.
“I want to drop both my times (in the 200 and 100 free), that’s my goal,’ he said.
And move up higher in both than that eight place PIAA finish in the 200 last year.
