Interboro’s Arnott repeats; Sun Valley’s Damico earns medal

Eleven minutes is all that Kara Damico had Friday morning between prelims swims.

In between the fourth and final heat of the girls 50 freestyle and the third heat of the 100 butterfly, the Sun Valley swimmer didn’t have time for much. There was an exultant hug with coach Angela Shicatano, a 50yard warmdown that offered her muscles little relief and a quick dash to the staging area for the next swim.

Damico got from the gauntlet what she wanted, making her way into the A final in her first event at the PIAA Class 2A Championships.

“I knew I was only going to have like 10 minutes,” Damico said. “I thought I was going to be able to warm down more, but I didn’t have as much time as I thought I would.”

It’s a scheduling quirk that Damico’s two events are back-toback in the high school program. At the District 1 Championships, she got about 20 minutes to recharge, the Class 3A 50 free proceeding spaced in between.

At states, though, the events cannonballed one after another, such that a brief delay to reset the video board at Bucknell University’s Kinney Natatorium offered Damico a nontrivial breather.

The first swim went about as well as could be expected, Damico posting a high-schoolbest time of 24.06 seconds to finish fourth. It seals a spot in the A final and a medal.

“I had a pretty much perfect turn and start, better than I have all season,” Damico said. “I told myself going up there that I would do good and I would be able to get through it how I want to and it would work out for. And it did, so I’m happy for it.”

At night, Damico was slightly slower in 24.22 but ended up with fifth place.

Her morning swim came at a price. She had little left in the tank for the 100 fly and took it easy to make sure she could get to the wall. Her time of 1:01.94 was nearly two seconds slower than at districts to land 23rd.

Damico, though, said she had no expectations for the second swim. Her full focus was on the 50, which she nailed. For the Kutztown signee, it fulfills the goal she set at states last year, her first Bucknell trip in which she finished 14th in the 50.

An A final was the bold-faced goal, and she left the pool Friday morning having accomplished that.

“This is my second states,” she said. “And considering last year’s times and how much I’ve improved since then, I just can’t believe I made top eight.”

•••

For the second straight year, Kylie Arnot is a PIAA Class 2A diving champion.

Arnot won the boys competition Friday at Bucknell with a score of 509.10. In the results under the name Caleb, she was 45 points clear of runner-up Landyn Snook of Bishop Shanahan. The freshman Snook was one of only two divers within 100 points Arnott, who is a two-time champ as just a sophomore.

Only one 3A diver, Isaiah Clerkley of Seneca Valley, topped 500 points in Wednesday’s 3A boys competition.

Arnot scored 423.60 points at districts this year and 414.75 in 2022, both gold-winning tallies. Her score over six dives last year was 254.30, the PIAA reverting to a full 11-dive program this season.

It’s the fourth straight year a Delco diver has won gold at states, with Marple Newtown’s Alexandra Pastris capturing 2A girls titles for Marple Newtown in 2021 and 2022.