Swimming: Daugherty, Lyle Lead the Way for the Phantoms

NORRISTOWN- Phoenixville followed its big win over Upper Perk with a sweep of Norristown on Friday with the boys claiming a 100-69 and the girls winning 106-73 as both Phantoms squads entered the last race in exhibition status.

“It was great to have back-to-back wins against schools our size,” said Phantoms coach Ty Baily. “These are the teams we will face in districts and it’s important for us to get our confidence going. I’ve always been on the fence about the whole exhibition thing, but it’s what everybody seems to do then they are up.”

The exhibition status made the match appear closer than it was as the Phantoms grabbed the momentum early in the Medley Relays and 200-meter freestyle and never were in jeopardy of losing the lead.

In the 500-meter freestyle event, Rachel Lyle finished a lap and a half ahead of the nearest swimmer, teammate Amanda Sierzega, posting a time of 5:12.03. Lyle looked comfortable swimming essentially by herself, without anyone pushing her, which is unusual for a distance swimmer.

“I just focus on my race, “ said Lyle. “I really don’t mind swimming by myself. I keep going through my stroke in my mind and work on getting the best possible time. I just do my own thing when I’m in the water.”

The Phantoms used the opportunity at Norristown High School’s pool to qualify for districts in the 400-meter freestyle with a time of 4:11.85. Phoenixville had previously qualified for the event, but due to one teammate moving out the school district before the championship meet, needed to qualify with the swimmer that will line up for them at districts.

“That was big for us,” added Baily. “Now we are in no matter what because we have five guys that have qualified together so we can start the second group. Brett Sommerville did a great job jumping in there and swam a great leg.”

Jake Luzins had a break out race in the 200-meter freestyle when, never having swam the event before, he posted a time of 2:28.53, raising the eyebrows of more than a few people, including the coaching staff.

That brings us to the effort put forth by Phantoms junior Sean Daugherty.

On the surface Daugherty seems like any other high school kid trying to make his way through a day with an acceptable amount of drama, keeping up his academic standing and maybe spending some time on Facebook, Twitter or some other social outlet for a teen.

Daugherty is much more than your average high school junior. Much like a duck swimming on a pond, on the surface everything looks calm, but below those feet are paddling like crazy. Daugherty keeps busy with a plethora of activities.

Against the Eagles, he blistered the field in the 100-meter butterfly winning by more than six seconds, then posted a time of 1:17.30 in winning the 100-meter backstroke as well.

“The butterfly is my best stroke,” said Daugherty. “I love the fluidity of the stroke, unlike backstroke or breaststroke I can really get momentum going and I love the feeling as I actually leave the water.” 

Daugherty also swam in the individual medley and all of the boys' relays. How does someone train for all of those events? Clearly he must have a pool or have swimming as his only extracurricular activity, right?

In fact Daugherty gets to practice about an hour a day, as most Phantoms' swimmers do, since Phoenixville Area High School does not have a pool on campus. He relies on the bus that transports him there provided by the school and credits his mom and dad for making sure he always has a way home.

“I am lucky," said Daugherty. “The bus brings us here and my mom and dad have always been very supportive of my swimming. It is tough at times though. I would love to be able to spend more time swimming.”

It’s hard to walk through Phoenixville Area High School without seeing an organization that would not know Daugherty’s name. He is involved with Key Club, many aspects of the music department including chorus and not surprisingly, he's a member of the National Honor Society.

“It gets hectic sometimes, for sure,” said Daugherty. “But I love being involved with people and have been my whole life so it feels normal. Some days there is not a lot of free time, but I wouldn't change anything about it.“