Surprise state berths nice bonus for Penncrest pair

MIDDLETOWN >> Mike Paul left La Salle University’s Kirk Natatorium 11 days ago satisfied with what he supposed would be the culmination of his high school swimming career.

The Penncrest senior set best times in the 200 and 500 freestyle at the District One Championships, placing in the top 12 in both events. After striving just to make districts his first two seasons, scoring points for his team in both events was a significant leap forward.

After consulting the results and drawing upon his team’s past experience with securing at-large bids to the PIAA Championships, he thought nothing of hurrying awake the next morning to await the state’s release of time qualifiers.

Then a text from teammate Daniel Rosenberger changed that.

“I was just watching TV, and Dan texted me and I’m thinking, maybe I’m like a first alternate or something,” Paul said last week. “When I saw that I got the 13th at-large and Dan was 14th, I was excited that I made it but I was also excited that we both get to swim because we both have been swimming with each other for so long, and it finally was all coming together, finally making states.

“It’s just a surreal moment that we actually get to swim there.”

Both Lions will swim in the prelims of the 200 free Wednesday morning at Bucknell University in the first of two days of the Class AAA meet, the convergence of long-time teammates on parallel tracks to the zenith of high school swimming.

Though they swam the same event at districts in virtually the same time — Paul was 11th at districts in 1:44.72, Rosenberger 12th at 1:44.79 — similarities in their training are few and far between.

Both swimmers do most of their in-season training with club teams, Paul at Suburban Swim Club and Rosenberger with Ridley Rays. Rosenberger has been a fixture at the District One Championships for Penncrest since he was a freshman, always hovering around the fringes of the scoring places and states qualification. Paul missed districts as a freshman and sophomore before making a huge leap in the last two seasons.

Even their taper plans — Paul went for a longer two-week rest, while Rosenberger eschewed that for a compact, three-day easing while keeping the yardage relatively high — differed greatly.

While they don’t fit the archetype of distance teammates slogging away side-by-side, lap after lap, until their strokes fall into unison, the ties between them date back to elementary school, when both swam for Chichester Aqua Eagles for four years from second to fifth grades. Then, Rosenberger specialized more heavily in freestyle, while Paul gravitated toward butterfly and backstroke, roles that have since reversed. While Paul stuck to freestyle for his championship program, Rosenberger’s primary event is the 100 fly, in which he finished 12th at districts. The 200 free was a late choice as Rosenberger’s second swim instead of the 100 back, giving him two individual swims on the first day of the meet.

For both, the states chase has featured obstacles to clear. Paul, who’s been at Suburban since middle school, redoubled his commitment after his sophomore season, realizing that his talent wasn’t enough to get by.
Rosenberger, meanwhile, took the gradual approach in his postseasons, frustrating though it was at times.

“I’ve never really been the swimmer to have massive time drops,” he said. “Every year, it’s just been a little chip away at the block, and it’s nice this year to be able to see how much that does add up. It’s a little annoying at times to see I’ve only dropped three-tenths this year, I’ve only dropped half a second this year, but it’s nice to see how much that really adds up from freshman year.”

All of those positives would’ve held had the state dice not rolled in the Penncrest duo’s favor. But getting the extra chance to swim at states is just an added bonus.

“I knew it was going to be around 1:44.7 from last year to make it to states,” Rosenberger said. “And I didn’t honestly think that mine was going to make it. I thought we were going to be close, but I didn’t think we’d get it and I was surprised.”