Walsh’s early start no problem in easing into PIAA finals
LEWISBURG >> Claire Walsh didn’t get the start she wanted to the PIAA Championships Wednesday morning.
The finish to prelims, though, was perfect.
The Penncrest freshman is the third seed in Wednesday night’s 50 freestyle final at Bucknell University after clocking in at 23.39 seconds, besting her Delaware County record. Her heat didn’t start out so swimmingly, though.
Walsh went into the water along with another racer after the refs had called the swimmers to take their marks, then stand back up. No one was disqualified since the water entry occurred after the ref’s call, but the experience can be rattling, especially in an event like the 50 where an extra few hundredths on the start are magnified.
“I was definitely really, really intense on the block and I was ready to go,” Walsh said. “So I just was not prepared for that, and I should’ve been, but I wasn’t. My body just flinched, and I dove in.”
Walsh shook it off quickly, hopping back out of the water and onto the blocks. She controlled the second heat of four, easily winning by three tenths of a second.
Walsh credits turning what could’ve been a disruptive negative into a positive.
“In my head, if anything, it made me more determined,” she said. “I was thinking, I’m not going to let this affect my race. I’m not going to let anyone or anything change the way I’m going to swim today, and I’m going to do as good as I can despite what just happened.”
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Walsh was one of a precious few Delco swimmers to progress drama-free from prelims. She’s also one of two to book an A final swim. The other should come as no surprise: Haverford’s Maddie Hart.
Hart sizzled through her heat of the 100 butterfly, coasting home in 53.81 seconds. That bested her county record and positions her as the final’s top seed by more than a second. The second morning finisher was Pennridge’s Brittany Weiss at 55.02. They’re the only two under 55.5 and among only four to undercut the 56-second mark.
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The Delco contingent seemed to gravitate toward the cut lines for finals Wednesday. Seven entrants earned B final berths for the evening, but those placements were rarely comfortable.
Twice a Delco swimmer landed in the dreaded ninth spot, the top seed in the B final that brings no chance of advancement in the evening. Strath Haven’s Frances Resweber found herself there in the 200 free with her time of 1:52.72, barely edging teammate Summer Martin (1:52.88) in 11th. Cardinal O’Hara’s Hanna Blewett garnered ninth in the 50 free with a time of 23.82, while Julia Cullen was 10th in the 100 fly in 56.62.
At a meet where increases in time are inevitable in the face of a double-dip taper, the placement owes more to simply getting a hand on the wall before a rival in a neighboring lane. Just .14 seconds separated Resweber from second in her heat; instead, her fourth-place result translated to a missed A final. Blewett’s path to the championships final was denied by Maddie Cooke of Phoenixville, who nipped her by .02 seconds in the same heat. And a surge of just .17 could’ve turned fourth in Cullen’s heat to second, elevating her to the A final.
Two Delco relays were doled a harsher fate. Strath Haven’s 200 free slipped to the first alternate in 17th, while Haverford’s medley relay was 18th.
It’s not all doom and gloom, though. Radnor’s medley relay earned the 16th and last finals spot in 1:49.27. Springfield’s Georgia Apostolu also yielded an evening swim in the 200 IM, her time of 2:08.24 earning 16th. Ridley’s Gab Rudy was 13th in 2:07.29.
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The Class AAA boys meet got off to a slow start, with only one Delco entrant advancing to finals. That arrived in the final event, with Radnor’s 200 free relay delivering a quick time of 1:26.87 for fourth in the first heat of three and 12th overall, earning a place in the B final Wednesday night.
The team of Steve Giannella, Patrick Cullen, Clayton Bowes and Greg Giannella shaved four tenths of a second off their time from the District One meet, led by Cullen’s split of 21.37 on the second leg. Radnor has room to move in the final, with the two teams in front of them – Upper St. Clair and Hatboro-Horsham – ahead by .01 and .02, respectively.
Greg Giannella, who split 21.40 on the anchor leg, finished 25th in the 50 free with a time of 22.07. Teammate James El-Deiry took 30th in the 200 individual medley in 2:00.55, and the Radnor medley relay of Steve Giannella, Steve Chen, Ethan Cai and Cullen finished 22nd in 1:39.40, bumping up two places.
Penncrest’s 200 free duo of Mike Paul (25th in 1:45.30) and Daniel Rosenberger (30th in 1:46.60) also finished shy of finals.
