Avon Grove girls swim team wins first Ches-Mont National Division title since 2018

With a 97-89 win against West Chester East on Tuesday, the Avon Grove girls swimming and diving team (8-0) clinched its Ches-Mont National Division title since 2018.
The youthful Red Devil squad features 17 versatile performers and only one senior.
Avon Grove head coach Kelly Burk, who is in her 15th year of coaching the Red Devils, said, “It has been huge that the girls all swim for the same club team (Kennett and Jennersville Area YMCA) and I think that has helped them to come together not only as teammates but friends.   They have each other’s back in and out of the pool.”
Avon Grove junior Ava Pfaff, who was a quadruple winner Tuesday (50 free, 100 free, 200 medley relay, 400 free relay) has a sister, Rabea, who was a member of the champion 2018 squad.
“It is truly special to have not only experienced my sister’s three consecutive ChesMont wins (2016, 2017, 2018) but now to have achieved a win myself,” said Pfaff. “I remember being on the pool deck timing during Rabea’s winning years and waiting so impatiently for my turn to assist the team in a huge win like this. I look up to her in so many ways, especially her fierce competitiveness and humbleness. Rabea messaged me after the meet to tell me how proud she was. She is happy that I will not be wearing her hand-me-down Ches-Mont jacket now that I have my own.”
Two other key members of this year’s Avon Grove squad, sophomore Kaitlyn Burk (a quadruple winner Tuesday – 200 IM, 100 fly, 200 medley relay, 400 free relay) and junior Lily Perrin (who won the 100 back Tuesday) also have ties to those champion Red Devil squads. Kaitlyn Burk is the daughter of Kelly Burk, and Perrin’s older brother Liam was a fine swimmer for the Red Devils several years ago.
“Ava, Kaitlyn and Lily used to help time all of our meets while they were in elementary and middle school,” said Kelly Burk.
Kaitlyn Burk said, “It’s almost wild how, growing up, I got to watch my mom coach a four time Ches-Mont winning team and then becoming part of a Ches-Mont winning team myself. It means a lot, knowing how hard this team works on a daily basis and how we were able to fight in some close races just to be able to get a few extra points.”
Pfaff, who does cross-training for triathlons, has been a standout in the freestyle events this winter for the Red Devils.
“Ava, no matter how she is feeling from her cross training, always gives 200 percent,” said Kelly Burk. “She is also a huge cheerleader for the entire team before, during and after her teammates’ races.”
Pfaff said, “I think what sets our team apart from many others is the camaraderie. We are a family. We lift each other if a teammate has a bad race, and cheer when he/she has a good one. The care that each swimmer has for one another is amazing to see.”
Kaitlyn Burk, who was a district and state qualifier last winter, has competed in every event except the 50 and 100 free throughout the season.
“Kaitlyn is our most versatile swimmer,” said Kelly Burk. “Both she and Ava swim with grit even when they are exhausted.”
“I think our team’s strength comes from how close we are to each other,” said Kaitlyn Burk. “Almost all of us swim for the same club team, so we all know each other. Since our team is on the smaller size, we get to know each better which helps with how we’re able to cheer each other on, support each other, etc. So I definitely think that the friendships within the team make it so special.”
Perrin, who was a district qualifier last year, not only won the 100 back Tuesday but was part of the first-place 200 medley relay and 400 free relay teams.
Pfaff, who anchored both relay squads, said, “Our 400 free relay Tuesday was my favorite race to date. Kaitlyn, (freshman) Cailin Maley, Lily and I were a part of that relay, and the meet came down to this very last race. We swam like it was the last race of our careers. Now, we’re ready to compete even harder at the PIAA District I Championships.”
Maley won the 200 free and 500 free Tuesday. Another freshman, Anna Hammerschmidt, was part of the victorious 200 medley relay team and Alena Kurtz won the diving competition (223.95).
Both Pfaff and Kaitlyn Burk mentioned the contributions of junior Adi Matlock.
“I really appreciate the fire that some of our people have during rough meets — Adi will swim her heart out just to beat the person next to her and I really admire that,” said Kaitlyn Burk. “Ava Pfaff, as well, will always fight until the end of her race and do anything she can to win.”
Pfaff said, “Without Adi, we might not have had the chance to accomplish this Ches-Mont title. Every meet, she scored points for our team, allowing our girls to place first and second in many races. Adi fights until the end of each race and has a naturally competitive spirit which is really special.”
Another key factor in the team’s Ches-Mont National Division title was its win against a deep and powerful Downingtown East squad.
“On our way back from our Downingtown East meet, the bus was absolutely alive,” said Kaitlyn Burk. “Everybody was smiling, joking, having fun, all singing terribly. It was a hard meet against an amazing team, so having everybody smiling and happy about their performances really leaves a great memory.”
One bittersweet note on the Red Devils’ Ches-Mont title is that Tuesday’s meet was Avon Grove’s final meet at Lincoln University. In September, Lincoln will be renovating Manuel Rivero Hall and filling in their home pool and the Red Devils will be searching for a new home pool. Avon Grove has swam its home meets at Lincoln snice the 2003-04 season.
“Leaving the Lincoln University pool is bittersweet,” said Pfaff. “Winning our final meet here was amazing to experience and a great way to say goodbye to this pool. I cherish so many memories from that natatorium, whether it was my older sisters competing or me. It will be difficult adjusting to a new normal at a different pool next year, but knowing that our team will come together and strive for more wins next season is exciting.”
Kaitlyn Burk said, “I’ve been able to watch Avon Grove meets at Lincoln since at least 2010, so having the very last meet there ending in a win that won us the Ches-Mont is truly something special. It was an end of an era and having that sort of closure was honestly the best thing that could have happened.
“My favorite memory at Lincoln was when I was timing at a meet when I was younger and the girls team won another Ches-Mont title. The meet was finished and everyone was having a great time, then all of a sudden, Coach Chic (assistant coach Chic McKnelly, who started the Avon Grove swimming and diving program three decades ago) got up on the diving board. Everybody on the pool deck started to cheer. He walked to the edge of the diving board, turned around, and did a backflip. Remembering that now, probably around 5-6 years later, still makes me smile.”