PIAA Swimming Notebook: Slow starting point only motivates Radnor’s Cosgrove
LEWISBURG — Rhett Cosgrove didn’t have the District 1 championships he wanted. That price for that, on the first day of the PIAA Class 3A Swimming and Diving Championships at Bucknell University, was a sub-optimal lane in the morning preliminaries.
With nothing to lose, Cosgrove prepared more thoughtfully, then went for it. The Radnor senior went from the 25th seed and the first heat of four in the morning to eighth for finals to a finish of seventh, earning a medal with a time of 1:41.52. That’s a second faster than last year, when he was eighth, and almost three seconds clear of the 12th-place districts downer.
“It only motivates me,” Cosgrove said of being outside the circle-seeded heats. “To be in the first heat, it’s not where I want to be. So I’ve got to show everybody I belong in the top heat.”
Cosgrove suspects he over-tapered for districts, resting too much and losing his form. It’s happened before, so he adjusted for states.
A cerebral swimmer who’s constantly tinkering with his approach, the William & Mary commit added more speed work this season to improve his 200. He was eighth at states in his favored event, the 500 free, in 2021.
He also made the lifestyle change to go vegan, hoping it would help with his recovery.
“I did a lot of research on dieting, and I felt like last year I was having trouble recovering and my muscles would be sore after every practice,” he said. “So I switched to being vegan and l felt a lot better, recovering better. I lost a bit of muscle, but it’s a trade-off.”
Cosgrove is seeded 17th in Thursday’s 500. A strong 200 is usually a good omen for him.
“I feel so much more comfortable whenever I have a good 200 going into the 500,” he said. “If know if my speed is there, it means my aerobic work has been going good, so I’ll be able to put together a good 500.”
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As a freshman, Jake Kennedy went from third at districts to 15th at states, his time in the 50 free nearly a half-second slower. Now the Springfield sophomore has learned to stitch together consecutive strong postseason meets.
Kennedy medaled in the 50 free, going 21.00 in the final for sixth place. It was just .01 slower than districts.
“It just meant a little more to me and I have some more events, I have some more teammates here,” Kennedy said. “So I tried to work a little harder for this.”
Kennedy was energized by a heavy workload. He went out in 22.49 in backstroke on the 200 medley relay to help Springfield to 10th place in 1:35.01. Michael Huegel swam breast, Jacob Johnson butterfly and Luke Kennedy free. That foursome finished 11th in the 200 free relay, Jake Kennedy leading off in 20.93.
Johnson grabbed the third seed in the 100 fly in 49.65. He was 1.7 seconds slower at night to finish eighth, but his morning set him up with a medal. Seeing his teammates turn in solid swims made a difference for Jake Kennedy.
“I think it helped me mentally, to have those people support me and I support them,” he said. “And it’s really fun. … When someone else does better on the team, it makes me want to do better.”
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NOTES >> Haverford’s Kyle Given set a best time of 51.39 in the 100 fly to finish in 19th place, just outside finals. It’s the second-fastest time in program history. … The girls 100 fly involved a Delco youth moment. Both Garnet Valley freshman Zoey Rogers and Radnor rookie Annie Lindgren snuck into the B final, in 15th and 16th, respectively. The had been eighth and ninth at the District 1 championships. … Mary Kubiak of Springfield went from 10th at districts in the 50 free to 12th in prelims.
