Basch, Glinecke close out careers with silver medals
LEWISBURG >> They both stepped up on the blocks, took a breath and gave an eerily familiar look out over the water prior to their respective events.
Their demeanor said it all.
It wasn’t nerves. It wasn’t anxiety. It wasn’t sadness. And it certainly wasn’t fear.
It was pure and simple – confidence.
Pottsgrove seniors Kevin Basch and Emily Glinecke both ended their high school swimming careers with a medal on Saturday evening to close out the final day of the PIAA-AA Championships at Bucknell University’s Kinney Natatorium.
Basch captured the silver in the 500-yard freestyle while Glinecke ended it with a silver medal in the 100 breaststroke.
“When I was up there (on the blocks), I kept thinking ‘This is it,’” said Basch. “My last high school race. I knew I had to make it special.”
He did just that.
Basch posted a personal-best 4:34.79, good for more than six seconds off his preliminary time and nearly half a second off his district qualifier. Manheim Central’s Matthew Daniel held it close with Basch for the majority of the way and used a late push to pull away to take the gold with a 4:32.57.
Glinecke posted a 1:02.55, good enough for .79 off her morning preliminary time.
“We were really close down the stretch,” said Basch of his heat with Daniel. “Matt had enough left at the end to duke it out. Coming in, I knew he’d put up a really good time, that’s given.”
Basch will ride home with his silver medal dangling alongside his sixth-place medal earned the day before in the 200 free.
“I can’t imagine a better way to end my high school career,” he said, clutching his silver medal. “It’s been a long four years, but it’s all been worth it.”
“I left everything I had in the pool,” Glinecke said afterward. “It’s bittersweet looking back on it all.
Battling back and forth with Fairview’s Abby German for most of the way, the junior was able to edge Glinecke with a 1:02.48.
The silver marks Glinecke’s fourth medal of her two-year career with Pottsgrove after transferring from The Hill School for her junior season.
In his first year at the helm, Pottsgrove head coach Alex Diehl admits that both seniors have helped play a crucial role in the development of both themselves and their Falcon teammates.
“Things are going to be a lot different without them here next year, that’s for sure,” he said. “They’ve meant the world to this program, but I’m confident they’ll both continue to be successful.”
Glinecke will quite literally ride-off into the sunset next season, as she’ll continue her swimming career with Division I Arizona State in the fall. Basch will continue his swimming career at the University of Delaware.
Both can admit, this meet has played a huge role not just with their athletic development, but also the notion of being mentally tough.
“This is a lot like a college meet, definitely,” said Basch. “Between the times people post and the atmosphere with the crowd, it can be really overwhelming. That took a few times to get used to.”
“This is a really intense meet,” said Glinecke. “You’ve got to bring everything you’ve got and leave it all behind.”
Pottsgrove junior Mike Prior finished ninth overall in the 100 back after capturing first place in the B-final with a time of 53.33.
He had finished 14th in the 200 individual medley on Friday, touching the wall at 2:01.18. He was also part of Pottsgrove’s 15th-place 200 free relay, which included Patrick Agnew, Jacob Harvey and Sean Orrison.
Upper Perkiomen’s Kirsten Siwy’s career also came to an end on Saturday as she just missed the cut for the 100 free B-final. The senior posted a 54.14, as Richland’s Harmony Eckroth finished 16th with a 54.06.
Entering the event as the No. 29 seed, Siwy dropped 10 spots with her time and also cut .24 off her seed time.
Grove City captured the boys AA championships, scoring 212 points at the end of the two-day meet. Pottsgrove finished 16th with 46 points.
NOTES >> Despite his cool, calm and collected appearance on the blocks, the moments leading up to his heat were far from it. Paused by several technical difficulties, Basch’s heat was stalled nearly 40 minutes. “I tried to stay off my feet and stay in the zone,” he said. “It wasn’t like I was the only one who had to wait, so I just stayed patient.”
