SOL Boys/Girls Swimming Notebook (3-8-18)

CR North’s Jacqueline Rounsavill, North Penn’s Sean Faikish & Hatboro-Horsham’s Andy Thomas are featured in this week’s SOL notebook.

By Karen Sangillo

National Conference

Jacqueline Rounsavill, Council Rock North
It finally happened for Jacqueline Rounsavill.
The Council Rock North junior qualified automatically for the PIAA Class 3A championships in the 50-yard as well as two relays; the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays along with teammates Abigail Henderson, Ellie Brandbergh and Julia Goroskko.
She also received an at-large berth in the 100 breaststroke, so she will be competing in four events at Bucknell.
“I’m really, really excited,” she said. “We’ve been working really hard for this. All of our relays have been working super hard. It’s just awesome to have everything come together for all of us.
“States is going to be awesome. We’re so happy to be going and I think we’re all looking forward to that experience.”
She has been swimming four about seven years.
“I just went to the pool and started swimming and kept swimming,” she said. “I always liked the water so that seemed like a natural thing to do.”
She has not chosen a school yet but would like to swim in college and is considering a major in science, particularly marine biology.
“I think that would be really cool,” she said. “Studying a science gives me a lot of choices and I think that’s important.”
In addition to swimming, she is a member of the CR North track and field team, where her main event is the 200 meters.

Continental Conference

Sean Faikish, North Penn
There probably wasn’t much doubt what sport Sean Faikish was going to participate in.
He is the son and nephew of former North Penn swimmers. Uncle Jeff is the head coach and father Brian is an assistant for the Knights.
“My life is swimming,” he said. “I grew up in a swimming family. That’s just the way I am and I love it.
“I’ve been swimming since I was five years old. I swam for North Penn (Aquatics) and my uncle and my dad have been my coaches ever since.
“It’s been great. We have a great relationship. We train together, I see them 24/7. My dad’s a teacher at the high school. We’re a close family. I have three younger brothers and we have a great relationship, too. I like spending time with them.”
He will compete in the PIAA Class 3A championships in the 200 individual medley, 100 breaststroke, 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay.
He won the District One Class 3A title in the 200 IM.
“That gives me great confidence going into states,” he said. “Winning the IM this year after coming so close last year was great.”
He would like to swim in college but has not started the selection process yet.
“I’m going to a big meet in Arizona and there will be a lot of college coaches there so I’m starting the recruiting process after my sophomore year,” he said.
He also plays water polo and baseball for North Penn.  

American Conference

Andy Thomas, Hatboro-Horsham
Andy Thomas is ready for his final PIAA Class 3A competition.
“I’ve been looking forward to states since September,” said Thomas, a senior at Hatboro-Horsham. “Now that it’s getting closer it’s more exciting.”
He has every reason to be excited. Thomas was a four-event winner at the District One meet, taking first in the 200-yard freestyle and 100 breaststroke and winning the 200 and 400 freestyle relays with teammates John Scully, Stuart Sumner and Luke Emig.
The relays both set meet records, with the 200 coming in at 1:23.53 and the 400 at 3:03.13.
The Hatters finished in a tie with Conestoga for third in team scoring with 197 points.
“The relays were very exciting,” he said. “As an individual, I would have liked to perform a little better, but we did what we came here to do.
“We used to be a team who was not very well known, but we’ve put our name out there. People know who we are.”
Thomas swam the district meet a week after losing his father, Richard.
“I used it as motivation,” he said. “I wanted to do what he would want me to do and make him proud so I swam for him.
“I want to keep the legacy of the Thomas’s going. I want us to be known as a family that’s hard working and gets stuff done.”
He has been swimming competitively since the age of six, following in the footsteps of his brother, Michael, a former PIAA champion in the 200 individual medley and 100 backstroke who is now swimming at California.
He will continue his swimming career at Tennessee, where he is considering majoring in engineering.
“I’m thinking about aerospace engineering but once I get to college we’ll see,” he said.