Knighty Knight: North Penn says goodbye to SOL Continental season in style

WARRINGTON >> Out of the shadows and into a growing spotlight, several new faces dotted the award stand for North Penn Friday night at the Suburban One League Continental Conference Swim Championships.

Add to that the stellar performances by Sean Faikish and Ryley Fein, and the Knights were an unconquerable force at packed Central Bucks South.

“This is the best team I’ve been a part of in a while,” said Faikish, who won the 200-yard Individual Medley, set a pool record in the 100 back, led off the first-place 200 medley relay and anchored the 400 free relay to another pool record. “I just love every single one of them. They’re all my family and at practice, we’re pushing each other every single day.

“You’re looking next to you and you have someone with you or ahead of you, and it’s just a lot of fun. We all love to compete and we all love winning.”

The Knights piled up 609.5 points, topping the 368.5 by rival Souderton Area, to defend their conference crown.

“This is a time to celebrate the hard work you put in,” coach Jeff Faikish said. “Some of these kids have been training their butts off since August.”

The Knights won nine of the 11 events in the pool, including that record-setting 400 free relay of Fein, Luke Schwar, Nick Clark and Sean Faikish.

“That’s always a fun event,” said Fein, “and to finish with a record, you can’t ask for much more.”

Fein also joined Tyler Hall, Ryan Faikish and Evan Mancini to take home the 200 free relay, and the senior was also the gold medalist in both the 200 and 100 free races.

Both he and Sean Faikish are getting faster by the week.

“They set some goals up for themselves kind of midway through last year,” coach Faikish said. “As a coach, you listen to these people talk and set these insanely lofty goals…”

Several people provided an additional boost for the Knights, including 50 free Champ Luke Schwar and 500 Free Gold Medalist Max Bachman.

Plus, the district roster swelled further for NP.

“It’s awesome to see them maturing and accepting this new set of responsibilities,” coach Faikish said of the rising youngsters.

“Seeing our other teammates, seeing them get the district cuts, that was probably the most fun part of the meet,” Fein said. “Seeing them show what they’ve been working for, it’s great to see.”

Also from the area, T.J. Yaglenski touched first in the 100 fly for Big Red, closing in 52.65 for the title.

Pennridge’s Joseph Hong captured the 100 breast championship, racing to a 58.77 finish.

The SOL Continental Girls Championships are Saturday morning at North Penn, starting at 9.

Suburban One League
Continental Conference Championships
at CB South
Team Standings: 1. North Penn (NP) 609.5; 2. Souderton Area (S) 368.5; 3. Central Bucks East (CBE) 273; 4. Central Bucks South (CBS) 222.5; 5. Central Bucks West (CBW) 220; 6. Pennridge (P) 160.5; 7. Quakertown (Q) 122.
200 medley relay: 1. North Penn (Sean Faikish, Nick Clark, Tyler Hall, Luke Schwar), 1:36.09; 2. Central Bucks East, 1:39.24; 3. Souderton Area, 1:40.16; 4. Central Bucks South, 1:40.39; 5. Pennridge, 1:41.45; 6. Central Bucks West, 1:47.77.
200 free: 1. Ryley Fein (NP) 1:42.70; 2. Max Bachman (NP) 1:45.55; 3. Erik Huuki (CBE) 1:46.64; 4. Jake Kramer (S) 1:46.68; 5. Evan Mancini (NP) 1:47.75; 6. Gabriel Wingert (CBW) 1:49.85.
200 IM: 1. Sean Faikish (NP) 1:53.48; 2. Joseph Hong (P) 1:58.48; 3. Eric Degodny (NP) 2:00.33; 4. Robert Freece (NP) 2:03.03; 5. Tommy Krystkiewicz (CBE) 2:03.55; 6. William Leyland (S) 2:06.29.
50 free: 1. Luke Schwar (NP) 21.98; 2. Tyler Hall (NP) 22.02; 3. Ryan Faikish (NP) 22.58; 4. Ryan Kircher (CBS) 22.64; 5. Michael Scarpitta (CBE) 22.79; 6. Luke Engel (NP) 22.82.
100 fly: 1. T.J. Yaglenski (S) 52.65; 2. Nick Clark (NP) 52.90; 3. Tom Khayt (CBS) 53.56; 4. Evan Mancini (NP) 54.62; 5. Tyler Hall (NP) 55.91; 6. Ethan Lionetti (P) 55.95.
200 free relay: 1. North Penn (Tyler Hall, Ryan Faikish, Evan Mancini, Ryley Fein), 1:26.68; 2. Souderton Area, 1:32.06; 3. CB West, 1:33.65; 4. CB East, 1:34.08; 5. CB South, 1:36.26; 6. Quakertown, 1:37.07.
100 free: 1. Ryley Fein (NP) 46.65; 2. Luke Schwar (NP) 47.77; 3. Jake Kramer (S) 48.01; 4. Ryan Kircher (CBS) 48.92; 5. Reid Sinkinson (S) 49.27; 6. Trevor Mislan (CBE) 49.29.
500 free: 1. Max Bachman (NP) 4:51.93; 2. Eric Degodny (NP) 4:53.45; 3. William Klein (NP) 4:55.02; 4. Sage Trautz (NP) 4:56.95; 5. Luke Cimakasky (CBW) 5:04.73; 6. Connor Lenahan (CBE) 5:06.79.
100 back: 1. Sean Faikish (NP) 50.76 (pool record; previous: 51.71, Connor Doyle, Pennsbury, 2015); 2. Erik Huuki (CBE) 53.01; 3. T.J. Yaglenski (S) 53.79; 4. Matt Harkrader (NP) 55.43; 5. Gabriel Wingert (CBW) 55.67; 6. Tommy Krystkiewicz (CBE) 56.37.
100 breast: 1. Joseph Hong (P) 58.77; 2. Trevor Mislan (CBE) 59.57; 3. Nick Clark (NP) 1:00.08; 4. Tom Khayt (CBS) 1:01.27; 5. Ethan Lionetti (P) 1:01.91; 6. Tyler Einolf (Q) 1:02.46.
400 free relay: 1. North Penn (Ryley Fein, Luke Schwar, Nick Clark, Sean Faikish), 3:09.65 (pool record; previous: 3:12.61, North Penn, 2018); 2. Souderton, 3:16.16; 3. CB South, 3:17.78; 4. CB East, 3:19.09; 5. Pennridge, 3:22.39; 6. CB West, 3:27.77.