Haverford’s Hart adds silver to state medal collection
LEWISBURG >> The first word that sprung to Haverford coach Matt Stewart’s mind upon the completion of Maddie Hart’s high school career was easy.
“Magnificent,” Stewart offered.
That bout of free association is the easy summary. The detailed one — 8-for-8 on individual state medals plus three relays; two golds, three silvers, and a District One Most Outstanding Swimmer cup — illustrated the layers within Stewart’s assessment.
“She came as advertised, the perfect combination of the hardest worker on the team, and the performance has matched the effort,” Stewart added.
So it was Thursday as Hart closed out her career with another in a long line of time drops, taking silver in the 100 backstroke in 54.65 seconds on the second day of the PIAA Class AAA Championships at Bucknell University.
Hart came in slower than her prelims seed, a rarity in her illustrious career, but rectified that with a drop of three-tenths off her districts time in finals.
“I was extremely happy with it,” Hart said. “I was happy to go anything 54. To be able to make that margin, I was just happy to swim it and then happy with my last individual race and have a time drop like that. And to be the runner-up on the podium, let alone to Brittany, I’m so happy.”
Maddie Hart (lane 3) comes second to Pennridge’s Brittany Weiss in the 100 back. Time of 54.65 https://t.co/qf8cbsUeSv
— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) March 18, 2016
The champion, Pennridge’s Brittany Weiss, has become a constant and friendly rival for Hart. She had won the 100 butterfly Wednesday by .09 seconds, an impossibly perfect finish snatching away a victory that seemed destined for the Liberty University-bound Weiss.
The top seed in the 100 back, Weiss avenged that earlier loss, distancing the field on the power of her superlative underwaters, clocking in at 53.27 to scare the state record.
On the medal stand, the perfunctory handshake wouldn’t do, Hart singling out Weiss for a hug before she ascended the top step.
“Brittany and I have gotten really close over the last two years, and it’s just fun racing her and knowing that she’s next to me and I have her to race off of,” Hart said. “It’s always fun racing her, and I was just happy I was able to.”
That’s Hart in a nutshell, cleaving through a pressure-packed environment that reduces many of her peers to tears with an ease mirrored only by her effortless style in the water. Whether it’s chatting with officials about their grandchildren before a race or rooting on competitors, Hart’s demeanor is immune to the usual states stressors. She also led off with a leg of 52.10 seconds as Haverford took 16th in the 400 free relay.
“I’ve had so much fun,” Hart said. “We were in a meeting with Matt, and I was choked up a little bit. Having my team here and having them to hug me after my swims, it’s just amazing. It’s so great.”
The Penn State commit’s trophy case argues that, too.
“I basically told her before the meet, ‘you’ve basically got to do two things: Bring your effort and your heart. If you do those two things, you’re going to have great swims,’ and she had lifetime best in all three races,” Stewart said. “When kids do something like that, as a coach, to see someone that talented who’s so humble about everything, great sportsmanship and everything, you can’t teach that with kids.
“To have someone like that for four years, we’re going to really miss it. But really proud of everything she’s given to the team, and it’s been an amazing run.”
