Upper Perkiomen finds silver lining in loss to Perkiomen Valley
RED HILL >> Their strength hasn’t quite been in their numbers.
Only filling the blocks in three of 12 events during a Pioneer Athletic Conference meet against Perkiomen Valley, the Upper Perkiomen boys swim team knew it was up against a tough task on Tuesday afternoon.
In the end, the Tribe boys fell to PV 88-56, while the girls also lost 88-64.
The Perkiomen Valley boys team swept through the sheet on the afternoon, with Luke Waite, Michael Yannantuono and Jake Gamble all swimming as part of four top times.
Though the outcome didn’t look it, Upper Perkiomen had plenty to cheer about. Posting a 1:04.06 in the 100-yard backstroke, Upper Perkiomen sophomore Dan Miller became the seventh and final member of the team to qualify for the District 1-AA Championships at LaSalle University next month.
“This is the first time in my coaching career where I’ve had 100 percent of the boys team make the district cut time,” said Upper Perkiomen head coach Brien Kalnoski. “In my 19 years of coaching, I’ve never been a part of anything like that. It’s a huge accomplishment, and I’d say it’s a testament to them (the boys) and how hard they’ve worked.”
Boasting a young, small Tribe team, Mitch Cairns is the only member of the boys team with experience of advancing past districts and onto the PIAA Championships.
“It’s a huge accomplishment for all of us,” said Cairns. “All of us have stayed committed and worked extremely hard to get to this point. So to go (to districts) as a team will be unforgettable.”
Meanwhile, the PV boys team put together their third consecutive victory.
“The boys have been on a nice streak, which is great to see,” said Perkiomen Valley head coach Brian Zeigler. “It can be tough to keep dropping time in January, but they brought a lot of positive energy in this meet and it shows.”
Individually, Waite took top honors in the 200 free, finishing up at 1:55.13 and also placed first in the 500 free (5:12.22). Yannatuono took first in the 100 free (52.88) and the 200 individual medley (2:14.90) while Gamble touched first in the 100 fly (59.29) and the 50 free (23.63).
Yannantuono anchored and Waite swam the third leg of the 400 free relay (3:39.83), while Gamble and Waite were also a part of the 200 free relay (1:38.32). Yannatuono and Gamble were also part of the 200 medley relay.
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On the girls side, Perkiomen Valley stayed undefeated in the PAC-10. Although they have yet to add a mark on the losing column in the conference, Zeigler knows the season is far from over.
“There is still a lot left to be done,” he said, “and I know that our girls are still hungry to keep getting better the further we get into the season.”
PV’s Kayla King tied for first with Upper Perk’s Kirsten Siwy with a thrilling finish in the 50 free (26.36), a moment that stunned both when they looked up at the board.
“I definitely didn’t expect that,” said Siwy. “It was good to have her next to me. It kind of helped me to get a good pace and keep swimming hard to the finish.”
“Sometimes there can’t be only one winner,” laughed King. “I knew she was right there with me most of the way, but I really didn’t expect it to be a tie.”
King swam as a part of all three of PV’s top relay finishes along with Kelly Gray and Elizabeth Turner. Elle Thornloe swam the 200 free relay and the 400 free relay while Elizabeth Ansel swam the third leg of the 200 medley relay. The Vikings posted a 1:58.90 in the 200 medley relay, a 1:49.21 in the 200 free relay and closed it out with a 4:01.71 in the 400 free relay.
Individually, Gray took top honors in the 100 free (56.71), Turner placed first in the 100 fly (1:07.57) and Thorneloe topped the 200 IM (2:26.99) and the 500 free (5:42.56).
Siwy took top honors in the 100 breast (1:12.28) while Bailey McCausland touched first in the 200 free (2:08.22). Melissa Kilroy bettered the field by three seconds in her first-place finish in the 100 back (1:08.40).
“The girls have been dropping a lot of time throughout the year,” said Kalnoski. “We had some cut-times and some personal bests today, which was great to see. We’re still not quite where we want to be, but there’s still time to get there.”
NOTES >> Perkiomen Valley went to time-only prior to the girls 100 back.
