Swimming: Upper Dublin Girls Win District One Championship, Boys Take Second

At the District One Swimming Championships held at La Salle University this weekend, the Upper Dublin girls’ swim team took home the team championship, while the boys finished a close second in the AAA division. The top four finishers in each event advanced to the PIAA state meet, and additional place winners will qualify “at-large” for the competition, depending on how their times compare to other districts.

The girls’ team finished with a final score of 239 and a healthy margin of victory over second place Downingtown West High School (207). The team kicked things off with a victory in the 200 yard medley relay, where Alex Wheatley, Emeline Leyens, Erin Regan and Lindsey Schmidt finished with a time of 1:47.38, a new district record.

The Cardinals also picked up major points in two other relay events. The 400 yard freestyle relay team of Lindsey Schmidt, Sam Wheatley, Erin Regan and Carolyn Meier placed 2^nd with a time of 3:31.00, while the 200 yard freestyle relay team of Lindsay Schmidt, Emeline Leyens, Ellie Houser and Carolyn Meier took 3^rd with a time of 1:38.30.

On an individual level, the highest finish went to Erin Regan, who placed second in the 100 yard butterfly with a time of 57.33. Regan also took home an 8^th place finish in the 500 yard freestyle with a time of 5:10.01.

A pair of third place finishes went to Lindsey Schmidt, who swam the 50 yard freestyle in 24.38 seconds, and Alex Wheatley, who swam the 100 yard backstroke in a time of 58.88.

Also finishing in the top 16 for the Cardinals were Carolyn Meier, 5^th 100 freestyle in 52.93 and 6^th 200 yard freestyle in 1:54.86; Sam Wheatley, 8^th 200 yard IM in 2:10.47 and 15^th 500 yard freestyle in 5:15.53; Emeline Leyens, 8^th 100 yard breaststroke in 1:07.78; and Emily Houser, 13^th 100 yard backstroke in 1:00.78.

Coach Brian Palme emphasized how proud he was of the girls fulfilling their potential.

“These kids worked all year long for this.  From the first meeting of the season when we told the team how good they looked on paper, through all of the yardage, early mornings, weight room workouts, and kickboxing sessions, up through this week of workouts leading to the meet, we tried to make them believers in what they could do,” Palme said. “These girls stepped up big for each other… I could not be more proud of what we were able to accomplish.”

The boys’ squad fell just short of matching the girls’ success, as their 219 points finished second only to North Penn’s 265.

Like the girls, the boys started things off on the right foot when a team of Bobby Bantley, Cooper Tollen, Zach Brech and Ashton Leyens won the 200 yard medley relay with a time of 1:35.12.

Upper Dublin also took second in the 400 yard freestyle relay, where Zach Brech, Eric Jensen, Bobby Bantley, and Ashton Leyens swam a 3:08.90, and fifth in the 200 yard freestyle relay, where Brian Wall, Eric Jensen, Tom Cane, and Joe Starosta combined for a time of 1:28.21.

On an individual level, the Cardinals were led by senior Ashton Leyens, who took home a pair of third place finishes. Leyens took third in the 200 yard freestyle with a time of 1:41.92, and the same place in the 100 yard freestyle with a time of 46.66.

Other top 16 finishers were Brian Wall, 3^rd 100 yard freestyle in 51.30 and 12^th 100 yard freestyle in 48.11; Bobby Bantley, 6^th 50 yard freestyle in 21.35 and 7^th 100 yard backstroke in 51.74; Cooper Tollen, 6^th 100 yard backstroke in 59.91 and 14^th 200 yard IM in 2:03.88; Zach Brech, 8^th 100 yard butterfly in 52.45 and 16^th 100 yard freestyle in 48.38; Ian Flynn, 11^th 200 yard IM in 2:02.32;  and Eric Jensen, 14^th 200 yard freestyle in 1:45.43 and 15^th 500 yard freestyle in 4:58.24.

Boys' coach Lisa Fantini summed up the day.

"The boys had 17 swimmers & two divers participate while, of these, eight swimmers earned 10 medals for an overall 2nd place finish.  Two team records were broken in the 200 free by Ashton Leyens and the 400 free relay, Zach Brech, Eric Jensen, Bob Bantley, and Ashton Leyens," Fantini said.

"[The coaches] are very proud of their accomplishments and are anxious for States."

The state meet will be held on March 16-19, at Bucknell University in Lewisberg, Pa.

Team standings

BOYS

1. North Penn High School, 265 
2. Upper Dublin High School, 219 
3. West Chester B. Reed Henderson, 186 
4. Avon Grove High School, 151 
5. Central Bucks East High School, 142.5
6. Haverford High School, 140
7. Plymouth Whitemarsh High School, 121 
8. Hatboro-Horsham High School, 112 
9. Souderton Area High School, 88
10. Downingtown West High School, 83

GIRLS

1.  Upper Dublin High School, 239 
2.  Downingtown West High School, 207 
3.  Council Rock North HighSchool, 206
4.  North Penn High School, 202 
5.  West Chester B. Reed Henderson, 133  
6.  Downingtown East High School, 124 
7.  Souderton Area High School, 118.5 
8.  Unionville High School, 117
9.  Haverford High School, 97
10.Bayard Rustin High School, 96

Result information courtesy of Paswimming.com