Lansdale Catholic boys, Upper Moreland girls prevail in the pool
UPPER MORELAND >> Three hundredths of a second.
That’s how close Lansdale Catholic’s Kevin Gianoni came last season to notching a qualifying time in the 100-yard backstroke.
“I’ve been waiting since last year,” the junior said.
The wait came to an end on Wednesday, as Gianoni got his time and the Crusaders got the victory, an 87-81 non-league win over Upper Moreland.
“I’m trying to break the school record,” Gianoni said of the 100 back, in which he cranked out a time of 1 minute, 2.30 seconds to place second. “That’s a six-second drop so I got a lot more to go.”
Gianoni is on his way, and so are the LC boys, who added three more district cuts on Wednesday.
“We’re trying to win it again,” said Gianoni, who helped the Crusaders claim the District 12-2A crown a season ago.
The Upper Moreland girls swam and dove to victory, prevailing 90-72 over the Crusaders.
It was a busy afternoon for Gianoni, who led off the 200 medley relay (joining Ryan O’Rourke, Leo Solomon and Ryan Flanegan for second), placed second in the 100 free, got second in the 100 back, and he finished things off by teaming up with Bryce U’Selis, Cody Kulick and John Lee for a victory in the 400 free relay.
John Murphy qualified for districts in the 200 free for the Crusaders and Emily McGovern battled to her personal best in the 500 free. Bryce U’Selis (200 free/500 free/400 free relay) and John Lee (200 IM/100 free/400 free relay) were multiple winners for LC.
“They’re doing well. They’re right on target,” said Crusaders coach Bob Birnbrauer. “For it being after the holidays, it’s a pretty good place to be. They swam well. There’s been a lot of sickness this year, something a lot of other teams have faced. So we’re really just getting out of it now.
“They’re coming around with some of their best times. Most of them had their personal bests today.”
Powered by Olivia Pervall (200 IM/500 free) and Emily Sanceciz (100 fly/100 back), the Bears turned it on when they needed it most.
“It was exciting, nail-biting,” coach Jess Healy said. “I couldn’t stand up because I was so nervous.”
The Bears also touched first in both the 200 medley and 200 free relays to gain the edge.
“They’re swimming through really tough practices right now,” Healy said. “January is a really intense month. And they’re swimming through really sore muscles and all that good stuff and they’re swimming through it with a really positive attitude.
“They are working very hard in the pool.”
