D-11 Boys’ Swimming: Powers breaks 50 free mark, blazes Eagles to relay gold
Blue Mountain's Noah Powers poses with the District 11 Class AA championship placard after winning the boys' 50 freestyle in a District 11 record 20.34 seconds Friday at Parkland High School (Photo by Leroy Boyer).
ALLENTOWN — The day didn’t start as expected for Blue Mountain star Noah Powers.
The ending was much, much better.
Powers overcame a setback in the first race of the afternoon, the 200-yard medley relay, to capture his fourth straight gold medal in both the 50 freestyle and 200 freestyle relay during Friday’s opening day of the District 11 Swimming Championshps at Parkland High School.
Powers broke his own District 11 record in the 50 free by grabbing gold in 20.34 seconds. He then swam an anchor leg of 19.56 seconds to help the Eagles win the 200 freestyle relay.
“It definitely wasn’t our expectation this morning,” Powers said of the 200 medley relay. “I had a bad split. I knew it was my fault in the end. But that definitely gave our team the motivation to keep going.”
Blue Mountain, looking to win a seventh straight District 11 boys’ team title, got off to an unexpected rocky start when the Eagles were passed by Southern Lehigh in the final 25 yards of the 200 medley relay and finished second.
The Eagles’ quartet of Brody Moyer, Powers, Porter Sarnes and Aidan Varney had a slim lead heading into the freestyle portion of the race, but Southern Lehigh’s Aaron Lyon passed Varney to win the race in 1:40.48.
Blue Mountain was second in 1:40.77, while the Pottsville relay of Noah Bevan, Marty Davis, John Mohl and Killian Bressler was third in 1:46.57.
It was the first District 11 race in which Powers did not finish first in his career, ending a streak of 12 straight.
“These kids are Triple-A, so it’s definitely a lot different than against a different team,” Powers said, noting Southern Lehigh’s drop from Class 3A to AA this season. “It just helped a lot of us build excitement to keep swimming.”
The University of Virginia commit made up for it in the 50 freestyle.
The lanky senior looked smooth in the water, easily beating second-place Nick Janis of Allentown Central Catholic (21.99) and just missing the Parkland pool record of 20.32.
Powers isn’t tapered and he didn’t wear a tech suit for the 50 freestyle.
“I feel really good for being untapered,” Powers said. “I’m definitely tired, definitely sore, especially right now after the races. I think it’s a good time for right now where I’m at. I’m excited to keep going.”
A few minutes later, Powers donned a tech suit and went even faster. The Eagles’ relay of Moyer, Gabe Kamarousky, Varney and Powers trailed ACC — who was later disqualified — when Powers got up on the block. His blazing split of 19.56 allowed him to blow past Janis and finish in 1:28.83.
Pottsville’s quartet of Jamison Walsh, Caden Wright, Bressler and Bevan were elevated to silver because of the DQ, finishing in 1:34.95.
The split time doesn’t qualify for an area record since it wasn’t the opening leg of the race, but it’s way faster than the 19.82 Powers swam to lead off the 200 freestyle relay last year at the PIAA Swimming Championships at Bucknell.
“I didn’t know (ACC) were DQ’d,” Powers said. “That’s definitely a good time for me. I was really happy with that time. We knew it was going to be a tight race, so I put a tech suit on for that one.
“I was really happy with that time. It’s a good point to be at right now with my training. I’m excited.”
Powers wasn’t the only Schuylkill League boys’ swimmer to garner gold Friday.
Marian’s Michael Strucko repeated as champion in the 200 freestyle, outlasting Northwestern Lehigh’s Hunter Slaski to win in 1:45.29. Slaski was second in 1:46.84.
“I was excited about it,” Strucko said of his race. “The nerves earlier in the day were there, but as I got closer to the race they went away. I like this stage, it’s a lot of fun … super loud.
“I got in the water, took it out and trusted my training on the way back. It paid off. It was fun. I was happy that I got to come out on top.”
Other medalists Friday included Schuylkill Haven’s Ethan Miller, who took second in the 200 IM; Blue Mountain’s Moyer, who was second in the 100 butterfly; and Blue Mountain’s Sarnes and Liam Magdeburg, who were third and fourth in the 200 freestyle.
It was the first District 11 medal for Miller, a freshman, who sliced nearly four seconds off his seed time to finish in 2:02.32. Southern Lehigh’s Alex Zabinski won the race in 2:00.32.
“I think it was a pretty good swim,” Miller said. “I dropped four seconds, pretty solid job. I think I did well.
“I think I did really well in my breaststroke today. I was feeling it. I thought my fly was good too. I just felt in my strokes all-around.”
Action continues Saturday at 10 a.m., with competition in the 100 freestyle, 500 freestyle, 100 backstroke, 100 breaststroke and 400 freestyle relay.
Southern Lehigh leads Blue Mountain by 31 points (215-184) in the team standings, with Pottsville sitting in third at 158.
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