Mercury All-Area: Phoenixville’s Kenzie Padilla keeps racking up achievements with two more PIAA medals

Kenzie Padilla’s athletic accomplishments during her first three years of high school would fill at least several pages of a Sports Almanac. In swimming alone, she has won numerous medals, including five in state competition.

This year, the Phoenixville junior finished third in the 100-yard butterfly and sixth in the 500-yard freestyle at the PIAA Class 3A championships at Bucknell University, her most impressive state meet to date and the best of any Pioneer Athletic Conference swimmer this season. She also helped the younger members of the state-qualifying 200-yard freestyle relay team cope with the hectic atmosphere while preparing for their event.

The year-round athlete, who excels in cross country and track in addition to swimming, also broke a long list of pool and team records during the Pioneer Athletic Conference regular season. And all of those accomplishments add up to her being selected as The Mercury’s All-Area Girls Swimmer of the Year.

“I was really happy with my season,” said Padilla. “A lot of my times at state meets and other meets improved a lot. I broke nine pool records and three team records. Two of the records were at Ursinus College, which is really exciting.”

“Kenzie is extremely deserving of the All-Area Swimmer of the Year distinction,” said Phoenixville head coach Dan Weinstein. “This year was one of the most dominant performances, male or female, that I have ever seen in the PAC. Kenzie set nine pool records in just four away meets this year, and continued her terrific season all the way to the state championship where she medaled in both of her individual events.”

Padilla won the 100 fly and 200 free races at the PAC championships this season and helped the 200 medley relay and 200 free relay teams to second-place finishes. At the District 1-3A meet, she placed second in the 100 fly with a personal best time of 54.61 and fourth in the 500 free.

At states, her bronze medal performance in the 100 fly was one step higher on the podium than her fourth-place finishes during her freshman and sophomore years and her sixth-place performance in the 500 free equaled last season’s, along with swimming a personal best 4:56.77 in the prelims.

And she was thrilled to be a part of a team at the state competition this year.

“The first time in seven years Phoenixville has had a relay at states – the 200 free,” she said.”We were really excited about that. It was really fun to have a team with me. It was so great. I do know a lot of swimmers in the state because of club swimming, but it was great to have a team this year.”

And that was a chance to help out her teammates, who were probably a bit nervous due to the crowds and the noise and the overall wild atmosphere at Bucknell’s Kinney Natatorium.

“I was helping them with warm-ups because it’s crazy at states with all the people in the pool,” she said. “Helping them have fun and not put too much pressure on themselves. I definitely like to help them out since I do have all these years of swimming at big YMCA events. I really like the Bucknell pool, it has a special energy. It’s a lot of fun.”

“Her positive energy is contagious, and her leadership is steady at championship meets where less experienced girls might be a little nervous,” added Weinstein.

In the fall in cross country, Padilla placed fourth in the PAC championships and 10th in District 1 and helped the Phoenixville team finish third in the state championship meet. Last spring in track, she was 12th in the district in the 800 and 1,600-meter runs.

Rather than being a possible distraction and hindrance to her swimming, her running activities help her to become even better in the pool.

“I ran cross country and track, which helped me improve this year,” she said. “My coaches are really supportive. I really like that they have been really helpful with mixing my sports. This year, some of my different strokes have gotten better. My IM (individual medley) helped that and my speed workouts and my cross country helped my 500. A 500 race feels a lot shorter after running 5,000 meters in cross country.”

Last year, Padilla gained All-American status in the 100 fly. This year, her times have earned her not only All-American consideration in that event, but also in the 200 free and 500 free.

In addition to her time at Phoenixville, she swims year-round for the Upper Main Line YMCA team. She has qualified for the U.S. Open in the 100 fly and was in the finals at the Winter Junior National Championships East in that event, placing 20th. She has also tried pentathlons, competing in the 2022 National Championships and qualifying for the USA World Junior Team.

“Kenzie obviously trains incredibly hard, but she also is a student of the sport, focusing on nutrition and sleep and the intangibles that go into being maximally prepared to compete at your best,” said Weinstein. “She’s also a terrific teammate, designing social media pages to celebrate our team achievements and helping to make our senior night a success. Kenzie is always polite, level headed, and focused, which makes her a pleasure to coach.”

And she tries to take her own advice about handling pressure.

“I try not to put too much pressure on myself,” she said. “I always want to keep improving. I swim my best when I’m having fun and not worrying about the outcome.”

Padilla is also the founder and president of the University Scholar Feminist Club. Among its projects, the club raised over $400 through a bake sale with the proceeds being donated to the Home of the Sparrow, a local women’s shelter in Chester County.

She also recently announced her verbal commitment to continue her studies and swimming as a member of the Class of 2028 at Harvard University.

Before she heads there, she’ll be competing with Phoenixville during her senior season.

“I definitely want to make states again,” she said. “I also want to help my relay to states again, just keep improving and having fun. I always like being in the water and swimming with my friends.”