PAC swimmers cherish District 1 meet amid ‘crazy year’
It may have not been the event of seasons past, but Friday and Saturday’s District 1 Swimming Championships had a special feel for those who had the chance to compete.
For many who entered the pool this weekend, it was potentially their last and only time this season competing in a large meet against the region’s best.
It was clear that concept was not lost on the swimmers — particularly those wrapping up their high school careers.
“It was special to be able to have just one last meet with me and all my friends, especially the other senior boys,” said Spring-Ford’s Brendan Baganski said. “It was a crazy year, so it was really nice to have one last big meet with everybody.”
The area’s high school swim season was different from the start this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A statewide shutdown forced teams out of the pool for a three-week stretch from mid-December to early January. Pioneer Athletic Conference teams did not begin meets until the second or third week of January.
Swimmers went into the 2020-21 season unsure whether there would be a postseason as the status of Pennsylvania’s swimming championships remained unclear until Feb. 1 when the PIAA confirmed it would host a state championship meet.
District 1 was the first to host its championships with the Girls 2A and 3A swimmers competing on Friday and the Boys Class 2A and 3A swimmers competing on Saturday at Graham Aquatic Center in York.
“You look around and some states didn’t even have a swim season,” Upper Perkiomen senior Sean Lyman said. “To just have a swim season at all, and then to have my teammate (Kai Hang) there with me at districts and have a championship meet … it just meant a lot.”
District 1’s swimmers usually travel to La Salle University every season for the district championship meet with as many as 42 individuals and 30 relays teams in each event at the Class 3A championships.
Worries of occupancy limits and COVID-19 restricts moved this year’s meet out of the region to York and forced District 1 to cut the field of competitors in each event by more than half.
In the Class 3A field, there were only 16 individuals and 12 relay teams in events. The Class 2A field included eight individuals and six relays per event.
“Just to make it was an honor in itself and to perform well was just awesome,” said Lyman, who finished fourth in the Class 3A 500-meter freestyle and seventh in the 200 individual medley.
Sill in a ‘best of the best’ field, a competitive spirit was not lacking as soon as the race started.
“Everybody’s still putting up good times,” said Owen J. Roberts senior Dalton Fink, who earned his first gold in the 100 butterfly. “It’s not like you can go there untapered, unshaved and try to get there. You’ve gotta bring your ‘A’ game every single time.”
COVID-19 precautions kept spectators from attending Saturday’s meet, which was another one of the major changes from seasons past.
Without a crowd and some different perspective given the circumstances of the season, Baganski said the atmosphere felt different – in a positive way.
“It was much more relaxed than previous years,” said Baganski, who finished second in the Class 3A 50 free and sixth in the 100 free. “Everyone was just kind of having fun and enjoying the fact that we were having a championship meet. I think in the end that made people swim faster.”
Even with some of the hoopla missing, those at this weekend’s District 1 meet tried their best to replicate a championship-level atmosphere.
Phoenixville senior Erini Pappas said her coaches held up cutouts of her and her teammates’ parents faces during the race. Lyman mentioned the music blasting on the pool deck throughout the day’s events upped the intensity.
“I think PIAA and District 1 did a really good job creating the same environment as districts that they could have with COVID,” said Pope John Paul II sophomore Henry Phillips, who won the Class 2A 500 free. “It wasn’t really a concern, but something to keep in my mind was that it wasn’t going to be as electric as La Salle with no spectators. But I think think they did a great job with the music, with the trivia questions. It was awesome and you still felt the energy which was a really key component.”
“I had all the guys cheering me on, my coach,” Fink said. “It was different, but it was still a lot of fun and it was a great atmosphere to be in despite the changes.”
Along with the actual racing, swimmers appreciated some of the other opportunities a District 1 championship presents, like the gathering of top swimmers who don’t usually have the opportunity to face off in the regular season.
“Seeing everybody there it’s a really fun experience,” Pappas said. “I don’t get to swim against them usually and districts is the only time I get to see those people.”
This season that also meant some familiar faces as PAC schools only swam a handful of meets against each other and did not compete at a league championship meet.
“It was nice to see (OJR’s) Dalton Fink and Jonah Kasznay and actually race Jonah Kasznay in the 200 IM,” Lyman said. “That was really nice to see and just see all the PAC coaches come together. After the 500 free, I think almost every single PAC coach came up to congratulate me. We’re a really tight-knit family in that way.”
The PIAA championships will take place March 19 and 20 at Cumberland Valley High School.
As many as the top 13 competitors from District 1 put up times that qualified them for the PIAA championships in recent years. Only district champions automatically qualified for states on Saturday. In Class 3A, eight district champions and the next eight fastest times around the state will be selected into the PIAA field for each event.
Fink, Phillips and Perkiomen Valley junior Jacob Replogle, who won the Cass 3A 500 free, punched their tickets with district gold.
The rest of the area’s swimmers will have to see if the District 1 championships will mark the end of their high school seasons or careers. The PIAA’s other districts have to conclude their championships by March 7.
“I’ll be anxious to see the results, but at the end of the day if I don’t make it, I’m just really happy to have had a season in the first place,” Lyman said. “And I’m really happy in my swims (Saturday) so I’ll take it.”
His outlook was certainly shared by many others.
“Whether I get in or not, I’m just happy I had a chance to go out and compete,” Baganski said.
