Conestoga swimmers in fast lane on Day One at District 1 meet

Conestoga High School sparkled on Day One of the PIAA District 1 swimming championships Saturday at the York County YMCA. The Pioneers were in first place at the end of the day in the 3A girls competition; and Conestoga was in second place in the boys’ 3A meet.
Originally, the PIAA District 1 swim championships were to be held Friday and Saturday, but Thursday night’s ice storms in the York area postponed the two-day meet to Saturday and Sunday.
In the girls’ 3A meet, Conestoga held a comfortable lead, with 186 points, well ahead of second-place Hatboro Horsham (138).
“This is beyond expectations,” said Conestoga girls swimming coach Rob Kirkby. “We built off our great Central League meet and had some amazing swims today. We are looking forward to another fast day of swims [Sunday].”
The local teams in the top 20 in the girls 3A competition included West Chester Henderson (fifth place, 85 points), Downingtown East (sixth), Unionville (11th) and West Chester Rustin (15th).
Here is a look at highlights on Day One of the District 1 3A girls swimming championships:
Conestoga finished first in the girls 200 medley relay, with a time of 1:44.59 and a quartet of Keira Haas, Naomi Furman, Delaney Burns and Lily Robinson. In the girls 200 free, Audrey Laganelli was second (1:51.27) and Delaney Burns was fifth. Lily Robinson was third in the girls 50 free; Naomi Furman finished fourth in the girls 200 IM; and Jena Nowoswiat was sixth in the girls 100 fly.
Conestoga divers finished 2-3 in the District 1 diving competition last weekend. The Pioneers’ Avery Hillier placed second with 444.25 points, behind first-place finisher Gabby Filzen of Perkiomen Valley (448.95). Conestoga’s Grace Gallagher was third (438.40).
West Chester Henderson senior Krista Marlin won the girls 200 free with a time of 1:49.17. Katie Simpson was third in the girls 50 free, and Rylee Kelly was eighth in the girls 200 free.
The Warriors finished first in the girls 200 free relay (1:35.34) with a foursome of Katie Simpson, Rylee Kelly, Shannon Gamble and Krista Marlin.
“We are pleased for all of our swimmers today,” said Henderson swim coach Jeff Bott. “They had goals coming into the meet and with great teamwork they performed very well both individually and in the relays. Keeping the same mindset heading into Day 2 [Sunday] is important, and if they all do this, they can perform well again as a team.”
Downingtown East junior Alexa Fulton finished first in the girls 50 free, breaking her own district record with a new mark of 22.65.
“Alexa had a really strong swim from start to finish,” said D-East girls swim coach Sean Wyatt. “Her record is an East record and a girls state record. We are very proud of her season and all the hard work she has put in. She continues to improve each meet.”
Victoria Maki was 11th in the girls 200 free, and the D-East quartet of Alexa Fulton, Cady Kiebort, Finley Mulhern, and Victoria Maki placed sixth in the girls 200 medley relay and ninth in the girls 200 free relay.
“We had a great first day at Districts,” said Wyatt. “Alexa and Victoria will swim in the 100 free [Sunday] to close out our districts weekend and we have high hopes that they will both make it to the podium if they swim their race.”
Unionville sophomore Izzy Iwasyk led the Longhorns, finishing in second place in the girls 50 free with a time of 22.92, which was faster than Alexa Fulton’s district record-setting and first-place time last year of 22.98. Chester County had four of the top five swimmers in the girls 50 free Saturday, with Fulton (first), Iwasyk, Conestoga’s Lily Robinson (third) and West Chester Henderson’s Katie Simpson (fifth). The Longhorn quartet of Izzy Iwasyk, Delaney Harlan, Emily Albans and Lauren Dobie finished eighth in the girls 200 medley relay with a clocking of 1:48.60.
West Chester Rustin junior Flynn Truskett was fifth in the girls 100 fly, and seventh in the girls 200 IM.
Avon Grove freshman Kaitlyn Burk placed 10th in the girls 200 IM and Lily Perrin was 13th and Ava Pfaff 17th in the girls 100 fly. The Red Devils were 17th in the girls 200 medley relay with a quartet of Lily Perrin, Kaitlyn Burk, Ava Pfaff and Sophia Paglia.
Downingtown West sophomore Leah Lacovara finished 14th in the girls 50 free, with a Y national cut time of 24.56. The Whippets’ girls 200 free relay team of Alicia Littler, Cooper Jones, Caroline Cusack and Leah Lacovara dropped almost a full second off their seed time.
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After Day One Saturday in the PIAA District 1 3A boys’ competition, Conestoga was in second place with 167.5 points, behind North Penn (196). Local teams in the top 20 included West Chester Henderson (11th), Kennett (13th), Oxford (16th) and West Chester Rustin (19th).
“We knew coming in to the meet it was going to be a fast meet,” said Conestoga boys swim coach Mark Tirone. “The boys really had a good first session today starting off with a record setting swim in the opening relay. Overall as a team, we swam well, but need to come back [Sunday] with the same energy. We have potential to have a very strong second day.”
Here’s a look at the highlights of the local teams in the District 1 3A boys competition:
Conestoga finished first in the boys 200 medley relay, with a district record time of 1:32.73 posted by Gary Wang, Jake Wang, Ryan McDonough and Brock Whitaker. Jake Wang placed first in the boys 200 IM (1:50.31). Raymond Welgosh was third in the boys 200 free. James Manion was fifth in the boys 200 IM. In the boys 100 fly, John Yeniay was fourth and Gary Wang placed sixth. The Pioneers placed second in the boys 200 free relay with a quartet of Gary Wang, John Yeniay, Raymond Welgosh and Stephen Graver.
West Chester Henderson senior Dylan Smolders placed fourth in the boys 200 IM. Edward Stoltz tied for 10th in the boys 50 free.
Oxford junior Alex Karahalis finished first in the boys 100 fly with a time of 49.32 (his seed time was 51.45). The Hornets placed 12th in the 200 medley relay (1:39.08) with a quartet of Noah Topmiller (back, 26.16), Ryan Topmiller (breast, 28.00), Alex Karahalis (fly, 22.16) and Andrew Hinkley (free, 22.80). Ryan Topmiller placed 24th in the boys 50 free.
West Chester Rustin senior Adam Khatib was seventh in the boys 100 fly and placed ninth in the boys 200 free.
Avon Grove freshman Nate Kidder placed 10th in the boys 200 IM, and the Red Devil boys 200 free relay quartet of Nate Kidder, Jason Reuter, Jacob Texter and Alex Whitton placed 17th.
Kennett, which was in 13th place at the end of the day Saturday, had a seventh-place finish in the boys 200 medley relay, with a clocking of 1:38.05. Liam Simmons led off with a PR in the 50 back (22.83) and Erik Floren Smith swam 21.57 on the final leg. In the boys 200 free relay, the Blue Demons broke the school record with a clocking of 1:28.73 for 11th place – Liam Simmons led off with a 21.25 (new Kennett record for 50 free), followed by Charlie Lesher (22.09), Alex Fialkowski (23.31) and Erik Floren Smith (22.08).
Downingtown East boys’ swim coach Gigi Graesser noted that the Cougars’ 200 medley relay of Jack Thompson, Matt DiAddezio, George Liu and Gabe Carroll improved their seed time and placement.
“I’m proud of our team’s performances,” said Graesser. “This is a group of young guys who all swam the first time at Districts. They are all coming back next year.”
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Villa Maria Academy was in second place after the first day of the PIAA District 1 2A swimming championships, with 155 points, just three points behind first-place Springfield (158).
The Hurricanes’ Hannah King placed second in the girls 50 free with a season-best 24.75, with sophomore Brinley Beck 9th and junior Riley Mulhern 10th. Villa Maria freshman Keriann Collison placed third in the girls 100 fly with a season-best 1:04.25. The Hurricanes placed fourth in the girls 200 free relay with a season-best 1:44.25 and was third in the girls 200 medley relay. In diving last weekend, Villa Maria senior captains Peyton Kintzley and Morgan Kelly, along with junior Mary Cate Doughty, placed 3rd, 4th,and 6th.
“We swam very well today,” said Villa Maria swim coach Fritz Schumann. “We’re well-positioned and will need strong swims on Day Two to maintain our great showing thus far.”
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Bishop Shanahan was in sixth place after the first day of the PIAA District 1 2A swimming championships, with 96 points, behind leader Upper Moreland (211.5 points). For the Eagles, Brady Hendrickson was fourth in the boys 200 IM; and Patrick Taylor was fifth in the boys 50 free.