By Alex Frazier
District One teams didn’t fare so well at the PIAA State Swimming and Diving Championships this year.
Souderton was the highest placing girls team, finishing sixth, just ahead of Council Rock North, which finished seventh.
“Our goal last week was to be the top team out of District One,” said Souderton coach Todd Bauer. “We were fortunate enough to do that. I was very proud of that accomplishment.”
For the boys, West Chester Henderson finished sixth with Boyertown just behind in seventh. Central Bucks East was the top SOL team in 10th with Upper Dublin next in 13th place.
As Bauer said, “As a whole, District One wasn’t in it. Historically, District One is one of the best in the state. It’s certainly the most competitive as far as the depth. The other schools are certainly narrowing that gap.”
C.B. East coach Ed Walsh said that because of District One’s depth, swimmers have to taper just to get to states and often can’t hold it once they do.
“It’s a difficult district to get out of,” said Walsh. “You have to throw everything out there to get out. We held very well, but there are years we haven’t held well.”
“Every district is a little different as far as what their competition is,” said Upper Dublin coach Lisa Fantini. “It’s not an equal playing field because some districts don’t have to taper.”
However, both Walsh and Fantini were overjoyed by their team’s performance.
“It was totally unexpected,” said Walsh. “We knew we had potential to do well, but you never know how you’re going to do. The boys did very well. We couldn’t have asked for a better meet.”
“We didn’t have as many guys as we did last year,” said Fantini, “but quality was a little better than quantity.”
Souderton’s Ozzie Moyer led the boys with a fourth place finish in diving, racking up 447.10 points.
Moyer, who has been diving since he was six years old, finished seventh a year ago, so he was pleased with his improvement.
“Going into it, top four was my goal,” said Moyer. “I was pretty excited.”
Moyer missed a couple of dives, or he could have placed higher.
“There were a couple of dives I did better in warm-ups than in the meet,” he said. “That always hurts.”
Specifically, he missed his reverse half pike, his back dive and his back and a half.
However, he did make up ground by hitting his first dive, a one and a half pike, his reverse dive straight and his two and a half pike.
Next year Moyer is hoping to challenge North Allegheny junior Connor Caremsky, who has won states for all three years he’s been competing. He beat the second place finisher by 71 points.
“I want to be able to get second next year and hopefully win it by my senior year,” said Moyer, “but anything can happen.”
Diving was District One’s deepest event with three divers placing in the top eight.
Besides Moyer, North Penn’s Frankie Murray came in fifth (442.85) and Council Rock South’s T.J. Schenkel was sixth (433.30).
Three swimmers earned individual medals. Plymouth Whitemarsh’s Alex Chialastri came in sixth in the 200 freestyle (1:41.35).
Riley Weber of Central Bucks East finished fifth in the 100 freestyle (46.17). Only a sophomore, this was his second trip to states.
“He was so excited with how well he swam,” said Walsh.
Upper Dublin’s Dave Derr was eighth in the 100 backstroke (50.92). Derr had been a three-sport athlete until he blew his knee out in football his junior year. He swam that winter and made it to states on a relay and then had surgery in the spring. This year he focused entirely on swimming and he was stronger and healthier.
And he came home with his first two state medals.
“He had an amazing meet,” said Fantini. “It was a great way to go out.”
Two relays also came home with medals. Upper Dublin’s 200 medley relay team of Dave Derr, Alex Stine, Brian Wall and Ashton Leyens touched fifth in 1:34.26.
Central Bucks East’s 200 freestyle relay quartet of Kerry Thompson, Kevin Magee, Mark Dilemmo and Riley Weber finished seventh in 1:26.59.
In Class AA, Springfield finished 10th as team and had two medal-winning relays.
The 200 freestyle relay team of Chris McTear, John Hacking, Ryan McWilliams and Jake Oeschger finished sixth in 1:28.71, and the 400 freestyle relay quartet of John Hacking, Matthias Bell, Jesse Fallon and Jake Oeschger came in eighth with a time of 3:19.33.
The Souderton girls certainly didn’t have a performance like they did last year when they won five of 11 races and set four state records.
”It was hard to follow that up,” said Bauer. “We’re really happy none of our records were broken.”
Though North Penn is Souderton’s single biggest rival, Council Rock North is fast becoming a tough opponent, especially at the district level.
“They’re a growing program, they’re young,” said Bauer. “We’re kind of on the tail end of our glory days, but we’re in the process of building back up. We match up pretty well.”
In the two races they competed head to head, the two teams split. Souderton won the 200 freestyle relay. The team of Alyssa Santangelo, Missy Doll, Mariel Kush and Chloe Thomas finished fourth overall in a time of 1:36.73, while Rock North’s quartet of Kate Dillione, Bizzy Millen, Madison Meyer and Maggie Dillione were about a half second behind in 1:37.23.
However, in the 400 free relay, North gained a measure of revenge with Kate Dillione, Bizzy Millen, Maggie Dillione and Madison Meyer touching in fifth place with a time of 3:32.49. Souderton’s Chloe Thomas, Missy Doll, Alyssa Santangelo and Mariel Kush were about two seconds back in eighth place (3:34.23).
“We made out better than we thought we were going to do,” said Doll.
Souderton did have the edge in individual medal winners with Doll taking fourth in the 50 free (23.79) and fifth in the 100 free (51.55). Souderton’s Chloe Thomas finished seventh in the 50 free (23.88), and Mariel Kush was eighth in the 100 butterfly (57.96).
Doll took home four more state medals, increasing her career total to 11, a feat no other recent Souderton swimmer has done.
Ironically, it was Doll’s final swim meet, as she will focus on water polo next year at California State University Northridge.
“I’ve always liked water polo better,” she said. “It’s more action and I’m better at it. I have more fun with it.”
Doll was disappointed with her Wednesday swim in the 50 free.
“I was thinking I was going to go faster,” she said. “It was a bad swim. I was too nervous. It was definitely the first year I thought I could win it.”
Last year she finished sixth.
The second day in the 100 free she felt better.
“It’s always been my best event,” said Doll. “It was my best swim of the meet.”
Council Rock North had a pair of medalists - Bizzy Millen, who finished seventh in the 500 freestyle (5:05.56), and Kate Dillione, who finished fifth in the 100 butterfly. Dillione was not only the top finisher among area girls, her time of 56.48 was a new school record and an automatic NSCA High School All-American time.
“In the end we were glad we beat them,” said Bauer, “because they beat us at districts, but our objective was to finish in the top 10, which we certainly accomplished. We wanted to be the highest scoring team out of District One, which we accomplished; and we wanted to win a race, which we didn’t accomplish.”
Two other local medalists were Pennsbury’s Melanie Busch, who placed second in the 50 freestyle in a time of 57.96, and Pennsbury’s Emily Howard, who came in fourth in diving with 401.50 points.
PIAA Medal Winners – Congratulations to the following swimmers and divers that placed among the top eight in the state at last week’s PIAA Swimming and Diving Championships:
Boys
Diving – Ozzie Moyer (Souderton, fourth, 447.10 points), Frankie Murray (North Penn, fifth, 442.85), T.J. Schenkel (Council Rock South, 433.30)
200 medley relay – Upper Dublin (Dave Derr, Alex Stine, Brian Wall, Ashton Leyens), fifth, 1:34.26
200 freestyle – Alex Chialastri (Plymouth Whitemarsh, sixth, 1:41.35
200 freestyle relay – Central Bucks East (Kerry Thompson, Kevin Magee, Mark Dilemmo, Riley Weber) seventh, 1:26.59
100 freestyle – Riley Weber (Central Bucks East, fifth, 46.17
100 backstroke – Dave Derr (Upper Dublin, eighth, 50.92
Girls
Diving – Emily Howard (Pennsbury, fourth, 401.50)
50 freestyle – Melanie Busch (William Tennent, second, 23.55), Missy Doll (Souderton, fourth, 23.79), Chloe Thomas (Souderton, seventh, 23.88)
100 butterfly – Kate Dillione (Council Rock North, fifth, 56.48), Mariel Kush (Souderton, eighth, 57.96)
200 freestyle relay – Souderton (Alyssa Santangelo, Missy Doll, Mariel Kush, Chloe Thomas) fourth, 1:36.73; Council Rock North (Kate Dillione, Bizzy Millen, Madison Meyer, Maggie Dillione) fifth, 1:37.23
100 freestyle – Missy Doll (Souderton, fifth, 51.55)
500 freestyle – Bizzy Millen (Council Rock North, seventh, 5:05.56)
400 freestyle relay – Council Rock North (Kate Dillione, Bizzy Millen, Maggie Dillione, Madison Meyer) fifth, 3:32.49; Souderton (Chloe Thomas, Missy Doll, Alyssa Santangelo, Mariel Kush) eighth, 3:34.23
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