Miles making mark at Lehigh
Payton Miles has had a standout career with the Lehigh women’s swim team, but according to coach Rob Herb, the best may be yet to come.
Miles, a senior from Limerick and a graduate from The Hill School, captured the 100 freestyle and was a member of the 200 free relay, both capturing the gold at the Patriot League Championships last season. She took the 50 free as a sophomore. And, she holds school record in the 50 free (22.80), the 100 free (50.04) and with the 400 free relay (3:19.78) and the 200 medley relay (1:43.14).
“Payton has been super focused on making this year special,” Herb said. “She dominates the league in the sprints. She’s something special and with a dozen weeks to go, I don’t see her stopping.”
Herb recruited Miles when she was at The Hill School.
“She was a special swimmer, but one of the reasons we recruited her was that she already had great leadership qualities,” the coach said. “She has continued to expand her event list and she continues to understand the importance of leadership and team bonding.”
A bioengineering major, Miles is also doing the job in the classroom.
“Payton is just a gem,” Herb said. “She is one of those studentathletes who come to Lehigh and put their academic hat on while also performing at a high level athletically. She is proof that if you balance yourself correctly, you can achieve a lot.”
The Mountain Hawks were 6-0 in dual meets prior to the semester break. Miles is 4-0 in the 50 free, 3-0 with a second in the 100 free and 3-0 with both the 200 free and 400 medley relay teams.
MADDIE COOKE (PHOENIXVILLE) >> The junior had a standout performance to help the Penn State women’s swim team finish second to Princeton in the six-team Big Al Invitational Dec. 6-8 in Princeton, N.J. Cooke took the 50 freestyle with a time of 22.52, which was a NCAA B-Cut time. And had a career best time of 1:01.02 when she captured the 100 breaststroke. She also swam a leg on the 200 medley relay which finished first in 1:38.96 and the 400 free relay which finished second in 3:18.51.
AARON MORTON (PERKIOMEN VALLEY) >> The junior defensive back/ special team player and the Slippery Rock football team saw their historic season come to an end with a 58-15 loss to No. 4 seed Minnesota State in the NCAA Division II semifinal last Saturday in Slippery Rock. The Rock finished 13-1, the best record in school history. Morton, a transfer from Duquesne, was in his first season with the team. He had nine tackles, an interception, two pass breakups and a blocked kick. He saw action in all 14 games.
JERRY KAPP (BOYERTOWN), JAKE ADAMS (POTTSGROVE) >> Redshirt freshman Kapp had his best game of the season, but it wasn’t enough as the Kutztown football team dropped a 20-17 decision to Notre Dame (OH) in the NCAA Division II second round on Nov. 30 in Kutztown. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound wide receiver caught six passes for 74 yards and put the Golden Bears on the board with a 15-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter. Kapp, who was named co-Freshman of the Year by the Golden Bears, had 32 receptions for 462 yards (14.44 per catch) with five touchdowns.
Adams started on the offensive line for the 11-2 Golden Bears. He was awarded the team’s Jody Cwik Memorial Award, given to player most respected by teammates and for his on and off the field contributions.