North Penn ready for big things at PIAA Championships
It wasn’t just a season’s worth of hard work but rather a year’s worth.
“These kids dedicate themselves from August all the way to the end of March and then they start back up in April,” North Penn coach Jeff Faikish said after guiding both the boys and girls teams to the District 1-3A title this past weekend at La Salle University. “And then they go through until August. So it’s a year-round program — swimming, water polo, and all of the community activities that these kids do.
“What makes this awesome is that it’s like a family. And to have the ability to celebrate a championship with both teams is fantastic.”
For the North Penn girls, it was their seventh district title in a row. For the boys, three in a row and five out of the past six.
“As kids graduate, the younger ones who have been looking up to those seniors — they wanna fill a role,” Faikish said. “They take on the responsibility of the program, which is awesome.”
Points and high places came from all throughout the lineup. Claudia Thamm had a big Day One, helping the 200 medley relay to a bronze medal, and then winning both the 200 IM and 100 fly.
“Claudia is a special athlete,” Faikish said. “The medley relay was good, and I turned around to her and said ‘our team needs a spark.’ And she went and just rocketed out there, such an awesome 200 IM.
“In the 100 fly, I wasn’t sure how she was gonna do. Her start was great, which is not a strength of hers. And when she got to the third wall, I turned to Selma (Robinson) and said ‘there’s no way she’s losing this.’ I was really proud of her. She’s worked a long time and she’s filled the leadership role this year fantastically.”
The girls head to Bucknell as defending state champs while the boys travel to Lewisburg hungry to win one.
“The boys team is a special group this year,” Faikish said. “They kind of came together early in the season and decided they were gonna do something special. And their performance, this championship here at districts was fantastic. I know a lot of them are looking forward to the next step.”
CARDINAL FLYING HIGH >> The Upper Dublin boys and girls teams rose to the runner-up spot in Class 3A, powered by record-breaking performances.
The girls 200 medley and 400 free relays each set district records.
The medley foursome of Meghan DiMartile, Aly Breslin, Molly Baun and Abbie Amdor raced to a winning time of 1:42.80, and the 400 free team of Molly Braun, Elle Braun, Breslin and Abbie Amdor finished in 3:24.71.
The girls placed second out of the 35 teams in Class 3A, the boys second out of 36.
Over the two-day meet, the Cardinal girls won six of the eleven events, broke one pool record, two district records, and three school records. Matt Jensen’s win in the 100 free helped lead the way for the Upper Dublin boys.
Gold-medal winners for the Cardinal girls included Abbie Amdor, Elle Braun, Meghan DiMartile, Aly Breslin and Molly Braun.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better team — not just swimming wise but teammates, to cheer us on and everything,” said Amdor, chosen as Girls Swimmer of the Meet in 3A after winning the 100 and 200 freestyles and anchoring two winning relays. “Everyone gets into each other’s faces and we feed off each other.”
SOL NATIONAL BATTLE >> The Class 3A 500 free featured a battle between Abington’s Matt Bonnell and Council Rock North’s Dominic Edwards for the top spot.
Bonnell prevailed for the Ghosts, touching in 4 minutes, 32.24 seconds to win the gold. Edwards earned the silver for the Indians, with a time of 4:36.39.
The rivalry will renew again in less than two weeks, at PIAAs.
