Pennsbury’s Collin Hanlon is headed to Lehigh University swimming

FALLS TOWNSHIP – Pennsbury senior Collin Hanlon had interest in his swimming abilities from five prestigious universities in the Keystone State and another in Connecticut.

While the distance freestyle specialist also looked at Drexel, Bucknell, Pitt, Penn State and UConn, a strong academic program and the familial nature of the men’s swimming program at Lehigh swayed Hanlon in the direction of the Mountain Hawks.

The Falcons’ outstanding swimmer last season with 138 points, Collin made his decision known at an athletic commitment ceremony held recently at Pennsbury’s West Campus.

“I chose Lehigh because I wanted to go to a good engineering school and Lehigh is renowned for their great engineering program,” said Hanlon. “They also have a great swim program.

“What really decided it for me was that when I went there, I really liked the family atmosphere on the team. The college is also a close-knit community and I liked that as well.”

After posting automatic district qualifying times in six events last season, Hanlon captured individual first-place finishes in both the 200 and the 500 free at 2016 Suburban One League (SOL) National Conference Championships.

At the District One-AAA championships, Collin captured a sixth-place medal in the 500 free with a time of 4:38.29, beating his own seed time in the event by more than eight seconds. In the 200, Hanlon finished ninth with a time of 1:43.52.

He is a two-time individual state qualifier in the 200 and 500 free and has been named All-District 1 in both events. He holds the third-fastest time (1:43.44 ) in the 200 free for Pennsbury and the second fastest time in the 500 free at 4:38.29.

Hanlon’s All- SOL National Conference honors include First Team nods in the 200 free, the 500 free, the 200 free relay and the 400 free relay.

Along with classmate Connor Doyle, he is a member of Pennsbury’s 200 medley relay team that holds the school record in that event.

While he also competes for College of New Jersey-based Eastern Express swim club, Hanlon says Falcons head coach Greg Stoloski and his staff helped him prepare to take this next step into the world of NCAA athletics

“There’s no question the program here prepared me for college,” said Hanlon.

“At club, you compete invitational style.

“So getting used to competing in dual meets every couple days, it absolutely preps you for the college atmosphere.”

While Hanlon earned berths in districts and states the last two years in both the 200 and the 500, he did not make it into the medal round in the 2016 PIAA championships. He said that had more to do with his training methods than anything else.

“I chose not to taper for the state meet,” said Collin. “I wanted to rest for districts and set good times and then wait until the end of the year with club swimming to make sure that I did my best there.”

With Hanlon and Doyle  – who recently committed to Virginia Tech  – leading the way, the Pennsbury boys have gone unbeaten in the league the last two seasons.

Doyle didn’t earn any medals in districts or states last year but that was because, at the time of the District 1 meet, he was in Orlando competing in the Arena Pro Swim Series in an effort to qualify for the 2016 Olympic swim trials.

Doyle won’t be away from the Delaware Valley during the upcoming campaign so he expects to concentrate all his energy on medaling in both districts and states.

Hanlon, however, has made the decision not to swim for the Falcons in his final season. Collin said it was not an easy choice to make, adding that he wants to spend more time with his family, focus more on academics and individualized swim training during his senior year in high school.

Contact Steve Sherman at ssherman@21st-Centurymedia.com or @BucksLocalSport on Twitter