Dunigan does it again: senior’s heroics part of big day for North Penn in sweep of District 1-3A team titles

PHILADELPHIA >> Dan Dunigan, a former swimmer at La Salle University, had some advice for his daughter.

“My dad was telling me, ‘you gotta go out and just be ahead. Be body lengths ahead.’ That was the goal,” Caroline Dunigan said. “When I flipped and kicked off the wall, I was like, I’m looking good. And I just hammered it home.”

Despite racing in heat four of seven, with a seed time of 54.06 (the top seed was 51.98), Caroline Dunigan never blinked. As expected, she was out in front all by herself in the fourth heat, then watched as her impressive time of 50.70 stood up as the winner, earning her the gold medal.

Dunigan’s heroics were part of a big day for North Penn, as the Knights swept the District 1-3A team titles in front of a packed house at La Salle University’s Kirk Pool.

Dunigan’s victory gave North Penn a tremendous boost in the first event of Day Two, as they were able to ultimately hold off rival Upper Dublin for the top spot, 299-257.

“That was the goal,” Dunigan said of the 100 free. “I wanted to take it out fast because I was kind of unhappy with my time from (Friday). So I was just telling myself, ‘you got it, go get it.’ So I was happy with that.

“I placed pretty well (on Friday, getting a silver in the 50) but I was a little frustrated with my time. But I still have states so I’m hoping to improve it there.”

Amazingly, Dunigan shaved over three seconds off her seed time in the 100.

“I’ve only swam the 100 free after I’ve swam the 100 fly,” she said. “So I would swim the 100 fly and then two minutes later swim the 100 free. So that’s where my seed time came from.

“However it’s just a seed time. It doesn’t matter. I kind of knew going into it, if I’m gonna win, I gotta go out and just be ahead of everyone.”

A swimmer since age six, Dunigan is looking forward to her final high school meet at Bucknell.

“So excited,” she said of states. “It’s a long time coming.”

And next year, there will be another Dunigan swimming on the college level, as Caroline heads to Ohio University. She got to meet some of her future teammates on Thursday and Friday, as they too were competing at districts.

“It’s in my family’s blood,” she said of the sport.

North Penn closed the meet with a silver medal in the 400 free relay. For the North Penn girls, that is eight district titles in a row, and for the seniors, an enjoyable three straight that they were a part of.

“Three times in a row. It doesn’t happen very often,” Dunigan said with a smile.

Knights make it a sweep >> Powered by Sean Faikish’s second individual gold in as many days along with the first-place 400 free relay, the North Penn boys raced away to their fourth straight team title, outscoring second-place Upper Dublin 312-227.

Faikish went 49.18 in the 100 back and he later teamed up with Luke Schwar, Max Bachman and Nick Clark to win the 400 free relay to cap the meet in stellar fashion.

Standing out >> Runner-up Upper Dublin was led by Matt Jensen, who went 44.39 in the 100 free to earn the gold.

Also taking the top place on the medal stand was Pennridge’s Joseph Hong, who outraced all other competitors in the 100 breast with a time of 56.99.

On top again >> Lower Moreland defended its title in Class 2A, edging runner-up Springfield Montco, 367-355.

Key for the Lions was Alex Yoon’s win in the 100 breaststroke followed by the 400 free relay’s victory in the final event, a team of Ryan Park, Jaden Feldman, Alex Yoon and Noah Ferker going 3:14.40.

Cardinals fly high >> Upper Dublin’s Megan DiMartile set a meet record in the 100 back, touching in 54.03 to replace the previous record of 54.73, set by Christina Leander of West Chester East back in 2012.

Golden girls >> Several locals made it to the top of the medal stand in Class 2A.

Maura Fluehr of Springfield-Montco went 51.47 to win the 100 free and teammate Trinity Schmidt outlasted everybody in the 500 free, going 5:08.28.

Gwynedd Mercy Academy’s 400 free relay team of Brynn Romberger, Nicole Sasso, Aileen Murray and Ella Gross touched in 3:38.10 to cap off the meet with a gold.

Next up is the PIAA Championships at Bucknell University: Class 3A will be held Wednesday and Thursday, March 11 and 12, and Class 2A will take place on Friday and Saturday, March 13 and 14.

District One Championships
at La Salle University
Boys
Class 2A
Team scores
1. Lower Moreland, 367 points; 2. Springfield (M), 355; 3. Bishop Shanahan, 283; 4. Upper Moreland, 262; 5. Holy Ghost Prep, 224; 6. Pope John Paul II, 60; 7. Pottsgrove, 20.
Event results
100-yard freestyle: 1. John Devaney, New Hope-Solebury, 48.02; 2. Bennett Grothusen, Springfield (M), 48.45; 3. Jude Blumhardt, Lower Moreland, 49.34; 4. Jaden Feldman, Lower Moreland, 49.36; 5. Michael Hood, Springfield (M), 49.39; 6. Patrick Lichtner, Holy Ghost Prep, 49.44; 7. Fred Li, Holy Ghost Prep, 49.71; 8. Matt Wojcik, Upper Moreland, 49.88;
500 freestyle: 1. Henry Phillips, Pope John Paul II, 4:54.17; 2. Ryan Park, Lower Moreland, 5:00.11; 3. Tommy McLaughlin, Springfield (M), 5:06.11; 4. David Imredy, Springfield (M), 5:15.00; 5. Liam Cannon, Springfield (M), 5:17.54; 6. James Samuel, Holy Ghost Prep, 5:19.68; 7. Michael Goldenberg, Lower Moreland, 5:30.31; 8. Zander Butterworth, Upper Moreland, 5:36.89;
100 backstroke: 1. Jack Fidanza, Bishop Shanahan, 53.88; 2. Nicholas Scott, Bishop Shanahan, 54.18; 3. Bennett Grothusen, Springfield (M), 54.30; 4. Noah Ferker, Lower Moreland, 54.6; 5. Ian Pervall, Upper Moreland, 55.44; 6. Ashton Feldman, Lower Moreland, 1:00.77; 7. Sam Shtrambrand, Lower Moreland, 1:00.89; 8. Liam Farrell, Holy Ghost Prep, 1:03.40;
100 breaststroke: 1. Alex Yoon, Lower Moreland, 1:01.18; 2. Brent Hennegan, Springfield (M), 1:01.19; 3. Andrew Knaupp, MaST, 1:01,49; 4. Philip Lee, Holy Ghost Prep, 1:04.65; 5. Brady Hendrickson, Bishop Shanahan, 1:05.35; 6. Tommy McLaughlin, Springfield (M), 1:07.74; 7. Jush Murtaugh, Pope John Paul II, 1:07.75; 8. Eddie Roussel, Upper Moreland, 1:12,66;
400 freestyle relay: 1. Lower Moreland (Ryan Park, Jaden Feldman, Alex Yoon, Noah Ferker), 3:14.40; 2. Springfield (M), 3:14.89; 3. Bishop Shanahan, 3:19.87; 4. Holy Ghost Prep, 3:42.65; 5. Upper Moreland, 4:02.29.
Class 3A
Team scores
1. North Penn, 312 points 2. Upper Dublin, 227; 3. Conestoga, 152; 4. Council Rock North, 149; 5. Downingtown East, 144; 6. Souderton, 125; 7. Boyertown, 110; 8. Owen J. Roberts, 97; 9. Plymouth Whitemarsh, 89; 10. Spring-Ford, 81.
Event results
100-yard freestyle: 1. Matthew Jensen, Upper Dublin, 44.39; 2. Caleb Kelly, Plymouth Whitemarsh, 45.61; 3. Kyle Pro, Upper Dublin, 45.94; 4. Nolan Benner, Boyertown, 46.02; 5. Evan Mancini, North Penn, 46.55; 6. Luke Schwar, North Penn, 46.63; 7. Ryan Faikish, North Penn, 46.90; 8. Brendan Baganski, Spring-Ford, 47.25;
500 freestyle: 1. Dom Edwards, Council Rock North, 4:36.25; 2. Jacob Replogle, Perkiomen Valley, 4:36.84; 3. Max Bachman, North Penn, 4:39.63; 4. Luke McKenna, Spring-Ford, 4;40.90; 5. Rhett Cosgrove, Radnor, 4:41.07; 6. Sean Lyman, Upper Perkiomen, 4:41.79; 7. Matthew Hurford, Garnet Valley, 4:42.41; 8. Raymond Welgosh, Conestoga, 4:42.60;
100 backstroke: 1. Sean Faikish, North Penn, 49.18; 2. Jake DiMartile, Upper Dublin, 49.78; 3. DJ Fechtman, Downingtown East, 50.66; 4. Dalton Fink, Owen J. Roberts, 51.09; 5. Michael Lemishko, Upper Merion, 51.85; 6. Steven Woolery, Penncrest, 51.25; 7. Liam Simmons, Kennett, 52.38; 8. Zach Given, Haverford, 52.44;
100 breaststroke: 1. Joseph Hong, Pennridge, 56.99; 2. Williams Thomas, Marple Newtown, 57.61; 3. Aiden Zipf, Garnet Valley, 57.61; 4. Ben Doyle, Downingtown East, 57.73; 5. A.J. McClurkin, Neshaminy, 57.78; 6. Alex Boeckx, Ridley, 57.91; 7. Nick Clark, North Penn, 58.02; 8. Gary Wang, Conestoga, 58.27;
400 freestyle relay: 1. North Penn (Luke Schwar, Max Bachman, Nick Clark, Sean Faikish), 3:05.27; 2. Upper Dublin, 3:06.75; 3. Council Rock North, 3:10.81; 4. Owen J. Roberts, 3:11.95; 5. Boyertown, 3:13.01; 6. Conestoga, 3:13.34; 7. Souderton, 3:13.56; 8. Garnet Valley, 3:14.09.
Girls
Class 2A
Team scores
1, Villa Maria, 371 points; 2. Nazareth Academy, 327; 3. Springfield (M), 300; 4. Gwynedd Mercy, 258; 5. Upper Perkiomen, 186; 6. Villa Joseph Marie, 169’ 7. Lower Moreland, 164; 8. Merion Mercy, 121; 9. Pottsgrove, 75; 10. Upper Moreland, 63.
Event results
100-yard freestyle: 1. Maura Fluehr, Springfield (M), 51.47; 2. Noel Fresca, Upper Perkiomen, 51.69; 3. Kayla Lichtner, Nazareth Academy, 51.88; 4. AnnaScott McKearney, Delaware County Christian, 53.31; 5. Hannah King, Villa Maria, 53.61; 6. Violet Lorei, Merion Mercy, 55.38; 7. Paris Thompson, Springfield (M), 56.06; 8. Callie Walker, Nazareth Academy, 56.38;
500 freestyle: 1. Trinity Schmidt, Springfield (M), 5:08.28; 2. Sam Becker, Lower Moreland, 5:19.63; 3. Quincey Kilbride, Nazareth Academy, 5:20.47; 4. Caitlin Hamill, Villa Maria, 5:21.73; 5. Megan Smith, Nazareth Academy, 5:22.77; 6. Caitlyn Szumski, Nazareth Academy, 5:23.14; 7. Arianna Petrovia, Nazareth Academy, 5:27.96; 8. Megan Iannacone, Villa Joseph Marie, 5:29.48;
100 backstroke: 1. Madeline Ladd, Villa Maria, 1:00.17; 2. Megan Cassidy, Villa Maria, 1:01.23; 3. Darragh Martin, Upper Perkiomen, 1:01.83; 4. Nicole Sasso, Gwynedd Mercy, 1:02.40; 5. Callie Walker, Nazareth Academy, 1:02.85; 6. Elizabeth Unger, Nazareth Academy, 1:04.15; 7. Rebecca Levy, Springfield (M), 1:04.17; 8. Grace Dudek, Lower Moreland, 1:05.00;
100 breaststroke: 1. Sabina Hartman, Villa Joseph Marie, 1:04.80; 2. Katie Regan, Villa Maria, 1:08.42; 3. Aileen Murray, Gwynedd Mercy, 1:09.62; 4. Molly Krock, Pottsgrove, 1:10.14; 5. Avery McKeaney, Delarware County Christian, 1:12.73; 6. Samantha Landis, Nazareth Academy, 1:12.96; 7. Alexis Collision, Villa Maria, 1:14.39; 8. Amy Pischke, Springfield (M), 1:14.52;
400 freestyle relay: 1. Gwynedd Mercy (Brynn Romberger, Nicole Sasso, Aileen Murray, Ella Gross), 3:38.10; 2. Nazareth Academy, 3:40.45; 3. Springfield (M), 3:41.38; 4. Upper Perkiomen, 3:43.21; 5. Villa Joseph Marie, 3:44.64; 6. Villa Maria, 3:44.75; 7. Lower Moreland, 3:49.11; 8. Merion Mercy, 3:57.33.
Class 3A
Team scores
1. North Penn, 299 points; 2. Upper Dublin, 257; 3. West Chester Henderson, 156; 4. Conestoga, 138; 5. Owen J. Roberts, 126; 6. Downingtown East, 117; 7. Hatboro-Horsham, 98; 8. Mount St. Joseph, 91; 9. Radnor, 87.5; 10. Council Rock North, 86.5.
Event results
100-yard freestyle: 1. Caroline Dunigan, North Penn, 50.70; 2. Meghan DiMartile, Upper Dublin, 51.43; 3. Alexa Fulton, Downingtown East, 51.53; 4. Mikayla Niness, Owen J. Roberts, 51.62; 5. Lily Robinson, Conestoga, 51.98; 6. Vivi Vergara, Hatboro-Horsham, 52.04; 7. Nicole Chiappa, North Penn, 52.21; 8. Molly Braun, Upper Dublin, 52.39;
500 freestyle: 1. Izzy Paoletti, Avon Grove, 4:53.42; 2. Sydney Bergstrom, Strath Haven, 4:55,31; 3. Elle Braun, Upper Dublin, 4:55.99; 4. MaryKate Leonard, Mount St. Joseph, 4:57.58; 5. Gabrielle McKee, Boyertown, 4:57.60; 6. Katya Eruslanova, Haverford, 5:02.79; 7. Maggie Mikalic, Mount St. Joseph, 5:03.86; 8. Keeley Durkin, Sun Valley, 5:04.25;
100 backstroke: 1. Megan DiMartile, Upper Dublin, 54.03 (meet record, previous record 54.73 by Christina Leander, West Chester East, March 2, 2012); 2. Caroline Famous, Conestoga, 55.33; 3. Catherine Weaverling, Garnet Valley, 56.12; 4. Krista Marlin, West Chester Henderson, 56.26; 5. Abby Henderson, Council Rock North, 56.41; 6. Kaley Scholer, Central Bucks South, 56.47; 7. Erini Pappas, Phoenixville, 56.66; 8. Tori Howard, Downingtown West, 56.84;
100 breaststroke: 1. Sydney McCracken, Kennett, 1:03.32; 2. Aly Breslin, Upper Dublin, 1:03.40; 3. Lindsay Yuen, Upper Merion, 1:05.26; 4. (tie) Lina Hofmann, Central Bucks West, and Allison Stewart, Lower Merion, 1:05.33; 6. Maddie Fritz, North Penn, 1:05.42; 7. Eva Welsh, North Penn, 1:05.46; 8. Katherina Jia, Hatboro-Horsham, 1:05.52;
400 freestyle relay: 1. Upper Dublin (Molly Braun, Elle Braun, Korinna Pesti, Aly Breslin), 3:26.69; 2. North Penn, 3:29.94; 3. West Chester Henderson, 3:29.97; 4. Owen J. Roberts, 3:30.92; 5. Downintown East, 3:31.08; 6. Hatboro-Horsham, 3:32.77; 7. Mount St. Joseph, 3:32.90; 8. Radnor, 3:33.51.