Conestoga leads strong Chester County pack in upcoming District 1 3A girls swim meet

Four Chester County teams finished in the top 10 of the PIAA District 1 3A Girls Swimming Championships last year, and Chesco teams should make their presence felt once again at the District 1 championships, beginning Friday at the York County YMCA.
Conestoga, who finished first at districts last winter, features four High School All-Americans in Lily Robinson (seeded 2nd in 50 freestyle, 3rd in 100 free), Naomi Furman (seeded 1st in 100 breast, 11th in 200 IM), Audrey Laganelli (seeded 2nd in 200 free, 4th in 100 free) and Keira Haas (seeded 6th in 100 back).
“All four of them also are key contributors to all of our relays,” said Conestoga girls coach Rob Kirkby.
The Pioneers are seeded 2nd in both the 200 free relay and 400 free relay, and 4th in the 200 medley relay.
Kirkby said, “We also have a great group of juniors in Mackenzie Nagel (seeded 10th in 500 free, 17th in 200 free), Jena Nowostwiat (seeded 5th in 100 fly, 13th in 200 IM) and Sarah Fox (seeded 7th in 500 free, 19th in 200 IM) that add crucial depth to our district lineup.”
Kirkby also mentioned a trio of freshmen in Maddie Fox (seeded 6th in 100 fly, also 100 back), Olivia Tudge (200 free, 500 free) and Reilly Dolan (seeded 9th in 100 breast) who are poised to contribute as well. The Pioneers already have picked up 36 team points from the District 1 diving competition, where sophomore Avery Hillier finished first and junior Grace Gallagher third.
Here’s a look at how the rest of the Chester County teams look as they head into the district meet:
Avon Grove: The Red Devils, who recently clinched their first Ches-Mont National Division title since 2018, has a flock of solid underclassmen at districts, including junior Lily Perrin (seeded 12th in 100 back, 25th in 100 fly), junior Ava Pfaff (seeded 10th in 100 free, 12th in 50 free), sophomore Kaitlyn Burk (seeded 15th in 200 IM, 30th in 100 fly) and a pair of freshmen in Anna Hammerschmidt (200 IM, 100 breast) and Cailin Maley (200 free, 500 free). Other entries include the 200 medley relay (Perrin, Hammerschmidt, Burk, Pfaff, seeded 14th) and 400 free relay (Burk, Maley, Perrin, Pfaff, seeded 13th). Last weekend, junior Alena Kurtz placed 18th at the District 1 diving championships.
“We are looking to having some nice time drops at Districts this weekend,” said Avon Grove head coach Kelly Burk.
Coatesville: The Red Raiders’ top-seeded swimmer is freshman Sarah McGann, who will be swimming the 100 fly (seeded 12th) and 500 free (seeded 11th). Junior Macey Speakman will be swimming the 100 breaststroke (seeded 15th) and 100 freestyle (seeded 30th).
Downingtown East: The Cougars are led by senior Alexa Fulton, the 2022 Swimmer of the Meet at districts, and went on to earn Girls Swimmer of the Meet at the PIAA championships for the second consecutive year. She won the gold medal at states in both the 50 free and 100 free for the second consecutive year, and will be competing in both events as the top seed this weekend.
A couple of other key performers should be senior Victoria Maki (seeded 16th in 100 back, 18th in 100 free) and senior Cady Kiebort (seeded 31st in 500 free and 100 fly). The Cougars are seeded 11th in the 200 free relay and 13th in the 200 medley relay.
East coach Sean Wyatt said, “Victoria, Alexa and Cady are on our medley relay with junior Finley Mulhern and in the 200 free relay with freshman Ellie Reese, and we will strive to move onto States with these relays for the second year in a row.
“We also have a young 400 free relay of Reese, Hayley Heckler and sophomore Sydney Greene, who are led by junior Reya Petrick. This will be a first time experience for all four swimmers so we are ready to see what they can do.”
Downingtown West: The young Whippets will feature several promising underclassmen at Districts. Freshman Elizabeth McNamara is seeded 15th in the 200 free and 21st in the 500 free. Junior Leah Lacovara is seeded 16th in the 50 free and 19th in the 100 free. Sophomore Cooper Jones is seeded 26th in the 200 IM and 31st in the 100 back. The Whippets are seeded 18th in the 200 free relay and 23rd in the 400 free relay.
Great Valley: Junior Molly Foltz is seeded 28th in the 500 free and 35th in the 200 free. Freshman Grace Curtis is seeded 23rd in the 200 IM and 29th in the 100 breast.
“Molly is a great distance swimmer, Gace demonstrates consistency and flexibility, and I am looking forward to see what they bring to the pool this weekend,” said Great Valley coach Ashlyn Marabella.
Kennett: The Blue Demons have a promising young swimmer in freshman Alex Scime (seeded fifth in 500 free and 25th in 200 free). Julia Banker is seeded 27th in 200 IM.
“Alex’s entry times for Districts is just a scratch on the surface of what this young athlete is capable of doing at Districts,” said Kennett head coach Cindy Millison. “With a good performance this weekend she should be seeded well for States.”
Oxford: The Hornets feature a couple of promising freshmen in Claire Livingston and Grace McDermott. Livingston is seeded 17th in the 100 breast, while McDermott is seeded 34th in the 200 IM and 38th in the 100 free. The Hornets are seeded 28th in the 200 medley relay.
Unionville: Five Longhorns qualified for Districts: Izzy Iwasyk, Lauren Dobie, Amelia Miller, Jillian Murphy and Delaney Harlan. Unionville will be led by Iwasyk, who is seeded 6th in the 50 free and 12th in the 100 free.
“Most of our swimmers will be rested and focused on this meet so we are hopeful to move up in our standings,” said Unionville head coach Mike Mangan. “We have been practicing hard through the other meets and have faced injuries this season. Despite this, we are healing well and hopeful to make States.”
West Chester East: The Vikings’ top seeded swimmer is junior Taiylor Tegler (seeded 7th in 100 breast, 18th in 200 IM). Other top 25 seeds include Samantha Heiland (seeded 17th in 50 free, 18th in 100 back), Grace Herihly (seeded 22nd in 200 IM, 21st in 100 breast), Caelan Ladd (seeded 25th in 200 IM) and Emily Schwarz (21st seed in 200 free. Both the Vikings 200 medley relay and 400 free relay are seeded 19th, while the 200 free relay is seeded 20th.
West Chester Henderson: The Warriors will be led by sophomore Paige Fisher (seeded 8th in the 200 free, 17th in the 500 free), senior Shannon Gamble (seeded 21st in 100 free, 24th in 200 free), junior Natalie Krauss (seeded 20th in 500 free, 35th in 200 IM) and sophomore Meghan Denney (seeded 27th in 500 free, 33rd in 200 free). The Warriors are seeded 14th in the 400 free relay.
Henderson coach Jeff Bott said, “We’re an overall young group going to Districts this season, and we are looking forward to seeing how the team does overall, as many are getting their first experience in this meet.”
West Chester Rustin: Senior Flynn Truskett is seeded 5th in 100 free and 9th in the 100 fly. Lily Turco is seeded 11th in the 100 fly and 18th in the 500 free. The Golden Knights’ 200 medley relay, with Truskett (back), Sloane Reilly (breast), Turco (fly) and Leah Hilt (free) and Michelle An and Lily Greenwood as alternates, is seeded 17th. Rustin’s 400 free relay, with Truskett, Turco, Hilt and An (and Greenwood and Reilly as alternates) is seeded 18th.

Rustin sophomore Ellie Smith finished 16th at the District 1 3A Girls Diving Championships last weekend.

Golden Knight head coach Kiera Shanahan said, “Elliott making the second round was huge, and we are so proud of her accomplishments this season.”
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Villa Maria Academy and Bishop Shanahan will compete in the District 1 2A championships in York.
The Eagles will feature senior Kerry Stewart (seeded 1st in 100 back, 10th in 200 IM), Sylvia Lynch (seeded 8th in 100 fly, 13th in 200 IM), Julia Taylor (seeded 3rd in 100 back, 12th in 50 free), Julia Roselli (seeded 14th in 100 fly, 16th in 100 free), Isabelle Sawicki (seeded 10th in 100 free, 16th in 50 free), Lauren Ruggeri (seeded 13th in 100 fly, second alternate 50 free) and Katherine Kolimago (seeded 15th in 100 free). The Eagles are seeded 2nd in the 400 free relay and 5th in the 200 free relay.
The Hurricanes had a good start to this year’s districts when three of their divers finished in the top 11 at District 1 diving last weekend, picking up more than two dozen points.
“We are pleased to have qualified all three relays for Districts, and sophomore Keriann Collison is our best hope for individual honors at Districts in the 100 fly (seeded 3rd) and 100 free (seeded 5th),” said Villa Maria coach Fritz Schumann. “Our team seemed to come together and strengthen a bit over the last month, which is very encouraging going forward to Districts and even building toward next season.”
The Hurricanes are seeded 6th in all three relays — 200 medley relay, 200 free relay and 400 free relay. Other seeds include sophomore Ainsley Ingram (seeded 9th in the 200 free, 10th in 100 back), freshman Natalie Ade (seeded 12th in 200 IM, 15th in 100 fly), senior Graciella Schofield (seeded 13th in 50 free) and junior Brinley Beck (seeded 12th in 100 free and 15th in 50 free).