PIAA Swimming: Marple’s Pastris reps Delco with rare diving medal
LEWISBURG — When diving wrapped up at the PIAA Class 3A championships Friday afternoon, Alexandra Pastris decided to get the news, beauty pageant style.
With coach Kayla Murray, the Marple Newtown freshman huddled at the far end of Kinney Natatorium, tentatively keeping an ear out as the finish order was read. When the announcer got to ninth place, and Pastris’ name still hadn’t been called, she knew a medal was hers.
Pastris finished eighth with a score of 407.95, seven points clear of the ninth-place finisher to secure a states medal, which required a hasty dash from the genuinely shocked Pastris to the medals podium.
“I was running down the deck and everything,” she said. “Everyone was really excited.”
Pastris is the first Delaware County girls diver to medal in 3A states since Haverford’s Alli Butera in 2013. She was eighth entering the final round; just making the final 16 to get all 11 dives met her hopes for the trip to Bucknell.
But she solidified her grasp on a medal with a stellar ninth dive, an inward double tuck that scored 46.20 and briefly nudged her within three of the sixth- and seventh-place divers. She scored at least 34 points in the last two rounds to earn eighth.
Pastris a huge score of 46.20 on her ninth dive. 2.8 degree of difficulty. Wont move up a place yet but closes gap on 6 and 7. pic.twitter.com/OPivrQ4y2Y
— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) March 15, 2019
“My goal was just to make it to all the rounds. I didn’t know I was going to get this,” Pastris said, holding up her medal. “I’m very happy.”
Pastris wasn’t alone on deck, with a handful of club teammates competing. As at the District 1 meet, she was the top finisher from the district not on North Penn, which monopolized the top four spots, led by champ Paige Burrell.
“I was very nervous, but I think it’s an honor competing against everyone because they’re all so good,” Pastris said. “… I just listen to music and stay in my zone. Anything with a happy beat to it.”
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Alex Boeckx knew he had a time drop in him Friday. Despite carrying the 27th seed in the 200 individual medley, the Ridley junior thought a finals swim was, if improbable on paper, possible for him.
Getting into the A final even exceeded his expectations.
Boeckx blistered the opening unseeded prelims heat of the 200 IM in 1:51.50, a personal-best that marks his first time under 1:54. With a huge cushion on the rest of his heat, he waited for times to shake out in the final three heats, and landed fifth for the evening prelims, squarely in the A final.
“Coming in, I knew that a lot of people shaved and tapered for districts, but I didn’t,” he said. “So I knew that was kind of their times and I didn’t have to worry about anybody dropping. So I came here ready to give it my all, shaved, tapered, knew what I had to do to get back to finals, and I got the job done.”
In the final, Boeckx was a tad slower, but still took home a medal for seventh in 1:51.76.
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Sydney Bergstrom’s first trip to states didn’t just include a finals swim. It featured a heat win.
The Strath Haven freshman was 14th in the prelims of the 200 free in 1:53.96, then won the B final in 1:51.54, quick enough to secure ninth and even beat one swimmer from the A final.
“It’s really exciting,” she said. “I really wanted to win that heat, especially because there were so many upperclassmen and I was the youngest person.”
Bergstrom, who swims for Suburban Swim Club, is used to trials-and-finals meets. She said after prelims that she’s usually better in the evening session, and she proved it by turning in the personal best by nearly a second.
Bergstrom took the race out fast and was first at the halfway point, then held off all challengers.
“I wanted to go out more aggressively than I did this morning so I could go lower,” she said. “And that was a great time.”
Again, @GVAthletics‘ Noelle DiClemente (lane 2 bottom) and @penncrestad‘s Claire Walsh (7, top in purple) are 5th and 6th. Again they’re separated by .01. Bizarre.
Times of 23.73 and 23.74. pic.twitter.com/sx1iWSMi2w— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) March 15, 2019
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NOTES >> Delco girls finished in consecutive places in two straight events. In the 50 free, Noelle DiClemente of Garnet Valley took fifth in 23.73 seconds. One place and one-hundredth of a second back was Penncrest’s Claire Walsh. The duo was fifth and sixth in prelims, respectively, and also separated by .01. GV’s Catherine Weaverling was fourth in the 100 fly, a spot behind Radnor’s Casey Cullen in 56.08. … Bergstrom’s teammate Mia Yancey finished 27th in the 200 free. Sun Valley’s Keeley Durkin was 21st. … Haverford’s boys medley relay started the morning with a bang, going six-tenths quicker than at districts to clock in at 1:34.28 and book an A final spot, the foursome of Zach Given, David Abrahams, Jackson Graham and Jon Meyer in eighth. They defended that placement in a slightly slower 1:34.50. Abrahams bumped up from 25th to 19th in the IM in 1:55.12, and Graham went from 28th to 19th in the 100 fly in 51.50, but neither made finals.
