From March 13-14, the State High Swim Team participated in the PIAA Swimming and Diving Championships at Bucknell University. Both the girls and boys teams were coming off a dominant season, with the girls going undefeated and both teams winning the District VI Meet on Feb. 22-23. The team looked to extend these successes with more wins and best times at the State Meet.
Starting the meet off strong, the girls 200 yard medley relay team, comprised of Molly Workman, Madison Watschke, Alayna Ohlson, and Kelly Brownstead placed 5th with a 1:44.83.
Following this, sophomore Molly Workman placed first in the 50 yard freestyle event in a time of 22:67, while fellow sophomore Grace Carrington placed seventh in 23:80.
“It [winning the 50 free] was really exciting and I was 1/100th off the meet record,” Workman said. “I was just awestruck. I mean, it’s always fun winning, especially at the state level.”
On the boys side, junior Sam Huggins placed second in the 200 yard freestyle with a time of 1:38.05.
Other swims of the day include 14th for senior Ditta Kowalik in the 200 yard freestyle, 14th for Watschke in the 200 yard IM, and 10th for the girls’ 200 yard freestyle relay team.
On day two, Workman got her second victory of the meet with the 100 yard freestyle win in 49.31. Carrington placed 10th in the event.
“I was really hoping to win. I was seeded first, so I just had really good competition and they pushed me,” Workman said.
Huggins swam to another 2nd place finish, swimming 4:23.95 in the 500 yard freestyle.
“I think they [my events] went pretty well overall, and I’m very happy with how the results turned out,” Huggins said. “I just wanted to go like a best time in both events, and I did it in the 500, so I’m happy with that.”
To end the meet, the girls 400 yard freestyle team placed third in 3:27.18. The team was comprised of Kowalik, Carrington, Brownstead, and Workman. Similarly, the boys 400 yard freestyle team placed 8th in 3:12.14. The team was comprised of senior Todd Siekman, sophomore Leo Garlicki, senior Trevor Martin, and Huggins.
Huggins and Workman both described the lively meet environment that contributed to their eventful swims. “The meet was very energetic and like, exciting. I thought it was a very fun meet,” Huggins said.
“The meet environment was really good. It was very loud and very hype,” Workman said. “Then the last day was even more fun because the boys got to come to finals with us, and it’s so fun having the whole team there.”
With Workman being only a sophomore, Huggins a junior, and many young swimmers on the team, there is much to hope for and look forward to for the next season.
For Workman, building upon her previous successes and continuing to work hard is a goal for next season.
“I would like to have a state title every year. Last year was the medley relay. Next year I hope to improve in all my events still. There’s still work I can do and I can’t wait to see what happens,” Workman said.
Huggins echoed Workman’s sentiment about continuing to improve for next season. “My goal for next season is to win both events [200 free and 500 free] and also continue to drop time.”
This meet was the finale to the State High Swim Team’s successful season with participating swimmers feeling proud of their accomplishments and looking forward to next year.
