Pottsgrove’s Prior 10th in 200 IM at PIAA Class AA Championships

The PIAA Championships got underway on Thursday night with Class AA girls kicking off the action in the afternoon followed by Class AA boys in the evening at Bucknell University’s Kinney Natatorium.

Pottsgrove senior Mikey Prior turned in the Pioneer Athletic Conference’s highest finish on opening day, his 1:57.77 in the 200-yard individual medley good for 10th-place overall. He finished just .20 behind Lower Moreland’s Christopher Kelly.

Although he didn’t medal, Prior has one last shot at earning his first piece of hardware on Friday in the 100 back, where he is seeded No. 7.

Making his first individual trip to states, Falcon teammate Patrick Agnew finished 18th in the 50-yard free with a time of 21.83. The junior was right on the heels of Uniontown’s Jonathan Sharp and Bloomsburg’s Jonah Crawford, who tied for 16th at 21.72. Agnew cut .39 off his qualifying seed time, which earned him a gold medal at last month’s District One Championships.

Agnew will get his second taste of states in the 100 free where he’s seeded No. 30 coming off another golden finish at districts.

Upper Perkiomen’s Kyle Kovalenko will also hit the blocks on day two, seeded at No. 31 in the 100 breast.

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Making her first career appearance at states, Upper Perkiomen’s Noel Fresa surely didn’t disappoint.

The freshman posted a 24.82 in the 50-yard freestyle, good enough for 18th place. She shed .16 off her qualifying time and finished within .12 of Sharon’s Anna Beckert (24.70) and Dover’s Grace Beierschmitt (24.76). Ellwood City’s Taylor Petrak took first in the event with a 22.94.

Fresa will compete in Friday’s 100 back, where she’s seeded at No. 19.