Mifflin’s Gerhard wins gold in 200 free
Ben Gerhard is making his last season count.
The Gov. Mifflin senior touched the wall in 1:38.88 to capture first place in the Class 3A 200 freestyle on the opening night of competition at the PIAA Swimming and Diving Championships at Bucknell University’s Kinney Natatorium.
“I felt really good,” said Gerhard, who was first after the preliminaries. “My strong prelim swim gave me confidence that I could come back at night and do the same thing.
“This is my first time on the podium. I was in the consolation final my sophomore year and I would have been in the ‘A’ final in the 500 but it got canceled (due to COVID). Last year I was third in the 200 free but there was no award ceremony, so no podium.
“Just to be up there was really exciting and this gives me a lot of confidence for the 500 (which he swims Thursday). Just the way I took my race out and came back in it gives me confidence for that longer race, that I can do it again. I’m really looking forward to it.”
Takoda Heckman of Wilson placed second in the 200 individual medley (1:49.73). Teammate Chad Corson also reached the final of an individual event, earning a sixth-place medal in the 100 butterfly (49.50).
The Bulldogs also earned medals in two relays. Corson, Brady Wolf, Heckman and Josh Woessner finished sixth in the 200 medley relay (1:34.28), and Isaiah Eberly, Luke Kline, Trentin Lechleitner and Woessner were seventh in the 200 free relay (1:25.98).
Muhlenberg’s Brady Robidas won a seventh-place medal in the 50 freestyle (21.01).
Due to timing issues at Bucknell, the results of the girls finals were not available at press time.
Gov. Mifflin freshman Alex Wodehouse left the venue with some hardware, capturing eighth in diving (387.00). Teammate Carter Sweigart just missed the podium, finishing ninth (386.80).
“I’m happy, but my friend (Sweigart) is a senior and I beat him by .20 points so it’s bittersweet,” Wodehouse said. “As a freshman, it’s a good experience for me. I’d say I had a pretty solid meet today.
“I’ll definitely be back next year. This gives me confidence. I’d say my double twister was my best dive, and it was my last dive. I felt like I finished strong.”
In addition in boys, Woessner was 14th in the 50 freestyle (21.61).
Also for the Bulldogs, Isaiah Eberly just missed the consolation final in the 50 freestyle, coming in 17th (21.63). Jackson Williams was 17th in diving (240.65) and Ian Metzgar finished 23rd in the 200 freestyle (1:44.50).
The Mustangs’ 200 freestyle relay of Matthew Drake, Ben Gerhard, Matt Novotny and Colby Orndorf finished 14th (1:27.23).
Also for the Muhls, RJ Schaffer placed 29th in the 100 butterfly (51.35).
In girls competition, Muhlenberg’s Sydney Gring finished second and Exeter’s Megan Unruh third in the girls Class 3A 200 freestyle.
Berks girls won five medals on the first day of competition.
Gring, a junior who was the top seed and had the second-best time following the prelims, finished in 1:47.90. Unruh, a junior, finished in 1:48.81. West Chester Henderson’s Krista Marlin won in 1:46.92.
Berks’ other three medals Wednesday came in relays.
Exeter’s 200 medley relay team of Lauren Ramsey, Unruh, Hannah Hurleman and Gabrielle Istenes finished sixth in 1:45.91.
In the 200 free relay, Muhlenberg’s team of Maren Schermerhorn, Gring, Megan Brattley and Lauren Paules finished fifth in 1:36.52, and Wilson’s team of Emily Cherrie, Emma Dougherty, Morgan Valeriano and Ella Kahn came in seventh in 1:37.37.
In the 200 IM, Ramsey finished 11th in 2:07.57.
In the 50 free, Hurleman was 10th in 23.97, Schermerhorn 12th in 24.11 and Kahn 16th in 24.49.
Also, Wilson’s 200 medley relay team of Valeriano, Leah Eckert, Olivia Vecchio and Dougherty finished tied for 14th in 1:48.90. North Penn finished with the same time.
Day 2
LEWISBURG » Ben Gerhard finished out his high school swimming career with class and style.
The Gov. Mifflin senior was second in the 500-yard freestyle at Thursday’s conclusion of the PIAA Class 3A Swimming and Diving Championships at Bucknell University’s Kinney Natatorium.
Gerhard touched in 4:29.44, behind winner Logan Richards of Owen J. Roberts (4:26.93).
“I’m happy with that time,” said Gerhard, who also finished second in the event last year. “It’s one of my best times. It was a little bit slower than my prelim time (4:29.39), but it’s still under 4:30 and that was my goal coming into this meet, so I couldn’t be happier.
“I’m not disappointed with second. The guy ahead of me had a great swim. I had a great year, I left it all in the pool and that’s all I could ask for.
“I like having that kind of competition. All year there was definitely a lot of racing against the clock so to come back to this meet with a huge atmosphere and a lot of competition really gets me pumped up and ready to go.”
Gerhard will be taking a little break, but he’ll be back in the pool soon.
“I’ll still train and then I’m headed to Georgia Tech to swim, and I couldn’t be more excited,” he said.
He plans to major in mechanical engineering.
Gerhard, who won 200 free gold on Wednesday, iced the cake by leading off the 400 freestyle relay for Matthew Drake, Matt Novotny and William Troy. The foursome finished 11th (3:11.53).
Wilson’s boys finished the meet with some appearances on the podium.
Takoda Heckman was fourth in the 500 freestyle (4:30.50), Ian Metzgar was sixth in the 500 freestyle (4:34.72) and Chadd Corson finished eighth in the 100 backstroke (51.73).
Heckman and Corson earned their second individual medals of the meet. Heckman finished second in the IM and Corson sixth in the 100 fly on Wednesday.
The foursome of Heckman, Metzgar, Isaiah Eberly and Corson placed fifth in the 400 freestyle relay (3:07.55).
The Bulldogs finished fourth in the team standings.
William Fanning of Exeter picked up the seventh-place medal in the 100 breaststroke (57.22).
Eberly finished in a tie for 16th place after the preliminaries of the 100 freestyle with Shane Eckler of Ridley (47.10), but lost a swim-off for the final spot in the consolation heat, posting a time of 48.98 to 48.60 by Eckler.
Muhlenberg’s Brady Robidas was 22nd in the 100 freestyle (47.47), and the Muhls 400 freestyle relay reached the consolation heat. Robidas, RJ Schaffer, Beau Stricker and Dylan Yellets finished 13th (3:12.25).
Mifflin’s Colby Orndorf finished 29th in the 500 freestyle (4:49.28).
Wilson had a pair of divers in the girls competition on Thursday. Safaya Elkhyati reached the finals, placing 14th (338.45 points) while Maddie Wilezynski was 20th (217.15).
Emily Cherrie was also 24th in the 100 freestyle (53.46), and Lexi Stambaugh finished 28th in the 100 backstroke (1:00.04).
Muhlenberg’s Sydney Gring finished third in the 100-yard freestyle and Exeter’s Megan Unruh was third in the 500 free Thursday during the final day of the PIAA Swimming and Diving Championships for Class 3A girls at Bucknell University’s Kinney Natatorium.
Gring, a junior, finished in 50.21, which improved on her top-seeded time of 50.23. Downingtown East’s Alexa Fulton won in 49.04.
The individual medal was the second of the meet for Gring, who finished second in the 200 free on Wednesday. Last year, she finished fourth in the 200 IM and second in the 100 fly.
Unruh, a junior, finished in 4:52.06. She came in seeded with a time of 4:57.63. Katya Eruslanova of Haverford won in 4:48.98.
The medal also was Unruh’s second in an individual event. She finished third in the 200 free on Wednesday.
Gring and Unruh also were part of medal-winning relays for the second straight day, giving them each four medals at the meet.
In the 400 free relay, Muhlenberg’s team of Maren Schermerhorn, Gring, Kathryn Tanis and Megan Brattley finished sixth in 3:30.06. Exeter’s team of Unruh, Lauren Ramsey, Gabrielle Istenes and Hannah Hurleman finished seventh in 3:30.18.
Also winning medals Thursday were Wilson’s Emma Dougherty, who finished sixth in the 100 breast in 1:04.56; and Ramsey, who finished seventh in the 100 back in 55.91.
In the 100 free, Hurleman finished 15th in 52.53 and Wilson’s Ella Kahn was 16th in 53.11.
In the 500 free, Gov. Mifflin’s Ellie Friedlander was 14th in 5:06.06.
Wilson’s 400 free relay team of Emily Cherrie, Kaitlyn Gundersen, Olivia Vecchio and Kahn was 12th in 3:32.54.
Exeter finished seventh in the team standings with 109 points. Muhlenberg was ninth with 92 and Wilson 15th with 57. Hatboro-Horsham won with 227 points.