Wilson boys win fourth straight District 3 championship

MECHANICSBUG » The gold medals, along with records and a team championship, kept coming for Berks swimmers in the District 3 Class 3A swimming championships Saturday.

Six Berks swimmers won gold and the Wilson boys won the 400 free relay on the way to their fourth straight district title.

Berks girls won four gold medals, bringing their two-day total to eight, including repeat winners Emma Steckiel of Gov. Mifflin, Cameron Gring of Muhlenberg and Shelby Kahn of Wilson. Erin Moyer of Wilson won gold in the 100 breast in her final district swim.

In the boys meet, Daniel Boone’s Chris Guiliano and Gov. Mifflin’s Ben Gerhard won gold and broke Berks and district records in the process.

Wilson finished second in the girls team standings, but suffered a stinging loss when the 400 free relay team was disqualified after finishing second.

Gerhard took down one of the two longest-standing Berks records when he won the 500 free in 4:30.25, besting the 4:30.57 set by current Wilson girls coach Tom Houck in 1994.

Gerhard, who had a goal time of 4:35, didn’t know he had broken the record until he returned to the pool deck.

“I walked over to my team and they said, ‘You got the record,’ ” said Gerhard, who also broke the district record of 4:31.56. “I had no idea. I didn’t know what it was going into the race.”

Swimming next to top-seeded Roanoke Shirk of Muhlenberg, Gerhard went out with him and the two were soon in front of pack. Shirk led early, but Gerhard slowly began gaining and pulled away over the final 100 yards.

“If he wasn’t there, I don’t think I would have gone that time,” said Gerhard.

Shirk won silver in 4:34.12 for his eighth medal in as many district swims, including three golds.

Guiliano broke Berks and district records for the second day in a row, winning the 100 free in 44.83 seconds. That broke the district record of 45.55 and his Berks mark of 45.05.

“It’s great to see where I’m at right now and I’m ready to start coming down in yards for states,” he said. “I feel pretty good.”

Wilson’s boys won 12 medals, concluding with gold by Malachi Eberly, David Meinhold, Gabe Cobaugh and Brody Heckman in the 400 free relay in 3:08.66.

Wilson’s title was its 20th overall, and comes a year after the Bulldogs lost nine strong seniors.

“I was a little worried, but we had the guys up front that we thought we could definitely pull it off,” said Heckman.

Gring wrapped her district career with gold in the 100 back in 54.59. She was a four-time champion in two events, the first Berks swimmer to do that since Wilson’s Kristy Kowal from 1993-96.

In her final swim, she wanted to break 55 seconds, something she hadn’t done at districts.

“I knew this was my last time being here, and it was my last race, and I was like, ‘I got this,’ and I just focused in on myself and seeing how fast I could go” she said. “I didn’t want to go a 55 again. I was like, ‘You can go faster than that.’ ”

Kahn won the 500 free in 5:01.62, earning an automatic bid to the state meet in two events. She also won both distance freestyles for the second year in a row.

“I just tried to attack it and hang on,” said Kahn. “I got my spot in states and that’s what mattered most to me.”

Steckiel won the 100 free in 51.03 in a close race with Muhlenberg’s Sydney Gring (51.20) and Exeter’s Hannah Hurleman (51.46).

“It was great competition,” said Steckiel, who won the 50 free and 100 free three years in a row. “It was pretty close going into the last lap. I saw it and I was like, ‘I’m winning this one.’ ”

Moyer, seeded sixth in the 100 breast, won in 1:04.31, more than two seconds faster than her qualifying time.

She wasn’t as concerned with where she finished as she was her swim.

“During a race, I don’t really think; I just go and do,” said Moyer. “I just think about doing my best and giving it my all and pushing myself.”

Wilson’s 400 free relay team was disqualified for a false start after finishing second. Two judges called the infraction, even though the timing mechanism didn’t show a foul.

“I think it’s a loophole in the rulebook,” said Houck. “Nothing against the officials; they do a great job. We’ll file something with the PIAA. I don’t know if anything will happen. I’m proud of our girls. They did great. Overall it doesn’t change who we are and what we’re doing. We’ll move on from here.”