Wilson’s Heckman, Eberly, Muhls’ Gring golden
The Wilson boys swimming team jumped to a commanding lead in search of its seventh consecutive title on the first day of the District 3 Class 3A Swimming Championships Friday at Cumberland Valley.
Led by four first-place performances, the Bulldogs recorded 235 points, and seniors Takoda Heckman and Isaiah Eberly each won an individual gold as well as a relay gold. Gov. Mifflin was in second with 109 points.
Seeking its third straight team championship, Wilson’s girls team was first with 229 points. Hershey was second with 159.
“We’re not here to take part, we’re here to take over,” Heckman said. “That’s what we’ve been doing and we’re going to keep doing that at this meet and at states.”
Earlier in the 3A girls competition, Muhlenberg’s Sydney Gring won gold in the 200 free for the second straight year. The senior won in 1:46.47. Exeter’s Megan Unruh earned silver in 1:50.61.
Also in the 200 free, Gov. Mifflin’s Ellie Friedlander finished fifth in 1:52.88 and Wilson’s Evelyn Quick was eighth in 1:55.18.
In addition to her gold, Gring set a district record for the 50 free by leading off the 200 free relay in 22.88. She topped the previous mark of 22.98 set by Gov. Mifflin’s Emma Steckiel in 2020.
“It’s very relieving,” Gring said. “I’ve just worked so hard for this and after seeing the results I feel great.”
After winning gold last year in 1:47.95, Gring, a University of Pittsburgh commit, said her goal this season had been getting her 200 free time under 1:47.
Accomplishing that was a weight off of her shoulders.
“I’ve been at 1:47 basically since last year and I’ve just been trying to break that,” she said. “I’ve been working on certain things like my underwaters and my stroke count to get under that 1:47 mark.
“Usually I don’t focus on that, but I realized that as you get up into a higher level of swimming, they focus on stroke count. I try to get a lower stroke with it each lap so I’m pulling more water and using less energy.”
Heckman, the defending 200 IM champion, won the event this year in 1:51.70. Three other Berks swimmers earned medals in the IM: Wilson’s Brady Wolf took fifth in 1:56.99 and Thomas Houck was sixth in 1:57.17; Exeter’s William Fanning was eighth in 1:57.51.
Though he was proud to win gold, Heckman was disappointed with his time and hopes to improve at states.
“I feel pretty good,” he said. “I wish I would have been little bit faster but it’s all right. I want to break 1:50.”
Heckman also swam on the 200 medley relay team that finished first for the third straight year. The team of Eberly, Wolf and Josh Woesnner finished in 1:34.22.
Gov. Mifflin’s team of Matthew Drake, Matt Novotny, Colby Orndorf and Owen Ziolkowski came in sixth in 1:37.87, while Exeter’s team of Kaiden Hughes, William Fanning, Evan Carl and Jack Sahaida was seventh in 1:38.15,
The Wilson girls also won the 200 medley relay, as the team of Emma Dougherty, Lexi Stambaugh, Olivia Vecchio and Madalee Roberts finished in 1:45.45.
Gov. Mifflin’s team of Sara DeLorreta, Mackenzie Caron, Nadia Medianick and Hailey Webster finished sixth in 1:50.39.
The Bulldogs narrowly missed another gold, finishing second in the 200 free relay. Wilson’s team of Roberts, Quick, Katelyn Spann and Morgan Valeriano finished in 1:36.37. Hershey won in 1:36.04.
Berks swimmers stacked half the podium for the girls 200 free relay as Exeter’s team of June Grim, Lauren Ramsey, Gabrielle Istenes and Unruh finished third in 1:36.66, and Mifflin’s team of Friedlander, Kaylee Cipolla, Hailey Webster and Medianick finished fifth in 1:39.73.
“I think it’s great,” Gring said on Berks County’s strong performances Friday. “I love competing against them. I think personally Berks County is very strong, and I’m very grateful to be in this league with them.
“I see them throughout the whole season. I know what it’s like and I know what that they put in so seeing them here at this meet and seeing their faces, it’s kind of like a comfort. And I know we’re all in the same boat and so I really like it.”
Eberly won gold in the 100 fly in 50.42. He was joined on the podium by teammate Kai Boyer (eighth in 51.96), and
Muhlenberg’s Alex Kissinger (fifth in 51.40) and RJ Schaffer (seventh in 51.91).
The win for Eberly is his first in an individual event
at districts and the senior exceeded his expectations.
“I wasn’t planning to go full out at this meet,” Eberly said. “I was just planning to try and slot into that state spot so I could put it out there, but I was pretty happy with my time. I could have been a bit faster. I was a bit tired at the end, but I was able to push through and secure the spot, so I’m happy with it.”
Wilson’s final gold came in the 200 free relay as the team of Woessner, Houck, Ian Metzgar and Lechleitner won in 1:26.01.
Following close behind was Gov. Mifflin’s team of Braden Weise, Drake, Novotny and William Troy, who earned silver in 1:26.46 34. Muhlenberg’s team of Brady Robidas, Schaffer, Cameron Burr and Kissinger finished third in 1:27.87.
Dougherty and Roberts brought back more medals back to Wilson in the 50 free. Dougherty finished second in 23.93 while Roberts was third in 24.16. Daniel Boone’s Shailla Mejia came in fourth in 24.24 and Exeter’s June Grim was fifth in 24.41.
In the girls 200 IM, Valeriano finished fifth in 2:07.50 and Stambaugh finished sixth in 2:09.92 to add more vital points for the Bulldogs.
Exeter’s Ramsey won silver in the 100 fly in 57.43. Also in the 100 fly, Vecchio finished fourth in 57.68 and Sydney Strieb was seventh in 58.81 for Wilson. Muhlenberg’s Rachel Hess was eighth in 59.28
Berks packed another podium in the boys 50 free as Muhlenberg’s Robidas earned silver in 20.75, Reading High’s Trey Stricker got fourth in 21.45, Gov. Mifflin’s Weise was sixth in 21.51, and Wilson’s Woessner was seventh in 21.52 and Lechleitner eighth in 21.67.
Winning medals in the boys 200 free were Wilson’s Metzgar, fourth in 1:43.48, and Mifflin’s Troy, who tied for sixth in 1:44.60.