D-11 Boys’ Swimming: Eagles’ Powers breaks 100 free mark, earns 3rd straight MVP honor
Blue Mountain's Liam Magdeburg, left, and Porter Sarnes, right, pose after Sarnes was first and Magdeburg second in the boys' 500 freestyle at Saturday's District 11 Class AA Swimming Championships at Parkland High School (Photo by Leroy Boyer).
ALLENTOWN — Blue Mountain gave its best shot.
In the end, Southern Lehigh’s numbers were too great to overcome.
The Eagles saw their six-year reign as District 11 Class AA boys’ swimming team champions end Saturday at Parkland High School … but not without a fight.
Senior standout Noah Powers and freshman Porter Sarnes each won gold medals but the Eagles came up 34 points short to Southern Lehigh 390-356 in their quest to win a seventh-straight team title.
“We came here with 10 boys total, we have 12 boys on our team, and we only went down by 34 points,” Blue Mountain coach Pete Sarnes said. “They were remarkable this weekend. I couldn’t be more proud of this team. We had time drops all over the place.”
Powers cemented his legacy as one of the top male swimmers in District 11 history Saturday by shattering the District 11 record in the 100-yard freestyle and winning his third straight Dennis A. McGinley Award as the meet’s outstanding boys’ swimmer.
Powers won his fourth straight 100 free in 45.09 seconds, easily breaking the previous mark of 45.87 set by Salisbury’s Jon Anderson in 2014.
“I just wanted to beat my time from last year,” said Powers, who won the event in 45.92 in 2024. “Like last year, no tech suit, no taper. I was really happy with the time.
“I felt good throughout the race and I didn’t die at the end. That was my main goal, to see how I felt at the end and to see how my training is going. Training is good, seems like it’s working. I’m excited.”
Powers becomes the only Schuylkill League male swimmer to win the McGinley Award three times. Blue Mountain’s Hannah Magdeburg won three straight girls’ honors from 2021-23 and Kristen Shickora won two at Marian (2007-08) and one at Parkland (2005).
Blue Mountain’s Lindsay Guers (2003-04), Panther Valley’s Allysa Vavra (2005-06) and Marian’s Danny Berlitz (2018-19) each won the award twice.
“It’s definitely a great honor,” Powers said. “I’m very honored to have an amazing coaching staff, amazing school, amazing teammates to help me get through this and help me win these awards.”
Porter Sarnes followed with an equally dominating performance in the 500 freestyle, finishing in 4:52.41, 16 seconds ahead of teammate Liam Magdeburg, who was second in 5:08.57.
It was the first individual district gold for Sarnes, whose older sisters Katherine and Mollie also garnered District 11 gold during their careers.
“It’s a hard race. It hurts sometimes, but it’s pretty good,” Porter Sarnes said. “I was trying to get a best time. I was going to try and go out fast and see if everyone could stick, then go from there.”
Blue Mountain trailed Southern Lehigh by 31 points in the team chase entering Saturday.
The victories by Powers and Sarnes, coupled with strong swims by Aidan Varney (6th), Gabe Kamarousky (9th) and Zach Scala (10th) in the 100 freestyle and Liam Magdeburg, Jonathan Hart (6th) and Derek March (7th) in the 500 free vaulted the Eagles into first place at that point, 295-286.
“I knew I wasn’t going to get first … Porter is a really good swimmer,” Liam Magdeburg said of his 500 free swim. “Seeing that Southern Lehigh was seeded third and fourth, it was really important to hold my place.”
That lead was short-lived, however, as Southern Lehigh used its depth in the 100 backstroke and 100 breaststroke to pull back in front. The Eagles’ Brody Moyer took third in the 100 backstroke and Scala was sixth, but Blue Mountain didn’t have a swimmer in the 100 breaststroke.
In the event’s final race, the 400 freestyle relay, Southern Lehigh took second in 3:21.47 while the Eagles’ quartet of Magdeburg, Scala, Sarnes and Kamarousky was third in 3:26.27.
The Blue Mountain girls were able to win a seventh straight title, beating Saucon Valley. See related story: https://www.t102sportsnow.com/2025/03/01/d-11-girls-swimming-eagles-win-7th-straight-team-title-strucko-wilson-garner-gold/
“We couldn’t beat the numbers,” Pete Sarnes said. “When you bring 16 kids against 10, it’s a hard fight. And to only lose by 34 is incredible.”
Powers and Porter Sarnes weren’t the only Schuylkill League swimmers to grab gold Saturday, as Marian’s Michael Strucko won his second event of the weekend by placing first in the 100 backstroke in 51.89.
“I’m happy with how it went,” Strucko said. “I’m happy with the results and I think it’s going to set me up good for states. I’m excited.
“I felt good. I didn’t taper or anything, so I still have that to do at states.”
Other medalists Saturday included Schuylkill Haven’s Ethan Miller, second in the 100 breaststroke (1:03.21), North Schuylkill’s Gavin Mentzer, fourth in the 100 freestyle (49.87), and Pottsville’s 400 freestyle relay team of Noah Bevan, Jamison Walsh, Caden Wright and Killian Bressler, which was fourth in 3:30.88.
“I felt really good during that race,” Miller said. “I was excited going in because I was (seeded) pretty high and I really wanted some competition. It felt really good racing against everybody today.”
The District 11 champions automatically qualify for the PIAA Class AA Swimming Championships, set for March 12-13 at Bucknell University’s Kinney Natatorium. Several other Schuylkill League swimmers will earn at-large bids to states based on time. Those spots will officially be announced Sunday.
