County swimmers win 15 golds, set 2 records during first half of District 6 swimming championships
Another year, another district championship meet, another broken record.
For the fourth straight season, State College’s Matt Brownstead won the District 6 gold and set a meet record in the 50 freestyle. This time, he finished with a season-best of 19.84 seconds, one of the best marks in the nation.
The senior beat out the previous record (20.07), set by him last season. That beat out the record he set the year before (20.48), which beat out the mark he set as a freshman (21.04).
“It’s really awesome getting to improve my time because this is the fastest I’ve ever been at this meet,” said Brownstead, who was ranked last May as the nation’s No. 6 overall swimming recruit.
Brownstead, who’s headed to the University of Virginia, wasn’t alone in his success. Fifteen gold medals were won by Centre County swimmers on Friday during Day 2 of the three-day 2020 District 6 Swimming & Diving Championships at Penn State’s McCoy Natatorium. (Day 1 was diving.) And two records, including Brownstead’s, were set by local swimmers.
The other came from State College’s girls in the first event of the day, the 200 medley relay. The Lady Little Lions’ quartet of Jade Castro, Mackenzie Pagett, Madelyn Koehle and Abbey Whipple won gold in 1:47.35 — beating out the previous district record by less than a half-second.
Here’s a more complete look at how each area school did in the Class 2A and 3A classifications:
Class 3A boys (State College)
Matt Brownstead was State College’s big winner Friday with three gold medals, in the 50 freestyle and two relay races — but he wasn’t the only Little Lion to find the top of the podium. In fact, he wasn’t even the only Brownstead.
His younger brother, John, made sure the Little Lions got started off right. In the second event of the day, the 200 freestyle, the sophomore set a personal record in 1:45.56 and came in first, beating out the runner-up by more than three seconds.
“It just feels great,” John Brownstead said. “I’ve been stressing about this a lot because I usually overthink stuff and, to just come in with a best time, it just feels very rewarding.”
John finished with a pair of gold medals — his other came in the 200 freestyle relay — while teammate Foster Heasley finished with a trio of golds, from the two relay races and the 200 IM.
Heasley’s time of 1:56.65 in the 200 IM proved to be a personal record in an event the Little Lions dominated. State College finished with the top-four performers: Heasley, Garrick Zheng (2:01.12), Zachary Lambert (2:02.03) and Ryan Willis (2:04.94).
“We have a long tradition of winning districts,” Heasley added. “We won like the past 40 years, and it’s just really great to be a part of a team that’s this good in this district.”
State College’s other golds Friday came from its 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay teams. That helped lift the Little Lions to a runaway first in the standings: The Little Lions currently lead Class 3A with 210 points, putting them in position to win their 37th straight district title, while Hollidaysburg is second with 158.
“Everyone’s having a great meet; everyone’s dropping times,” State College coach Andrew Morrison said. “It’s an awesome atmosphere for them to suit up.”
Class 3A girls (State College)
State College’s Colleen Adams even surprised herself Friday.
She smiled as soon as she surfaced after the 200 freestyle, and that grin only widened once she glanced up at the scoreboard. Her time of 1:53.64 was good enough for gold but, more importantly, it was a personal record — by nearly five seconds.
“To have that big of a drop at districts just feels amazing,” she said, moments after three of her teammates embraced her near the pool. “It feels great.”
The Lady Little Lions swept first place in every event Friday. They won both the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays, and then won individual gold in the 200 freestyle (Adams), 200 IM (Jade Castro), 50 freestyle (Abbey Whipple) and 100 butterfly (Mackenzie Pagett).
Pagett’s performance, as a sophomore, was especially noteworthy.
She entered Friday without having won any previous district gold. She left the pool with two hung around her neck, from the 100 butterfly and 200 medley relay. The relay gold came after a record-setting performance; the 100 butterfly gold came after a personal record of 58.97.
“I hope the energy here carries over,” Pagett said, referring to states, “because it’s a great feeling knowing you’re not done. You get to keep going and see how far you make it.”
Unsurprisingly, State College leads the six-team district race with 224 points, with DuBois in second with 118 points. The Lady Little Lions could also qualify several more for states, as the top-22 times from around the state — outside of the first-place winners — will also advance.
Those will not be determined until noon Sunday, however.
Class 2A girls (Bald Eagle Area, Bellefonte, Penns Valley)
Penns Valley’s Anna Butler told herself ahead of Friday’s meet that she just wanted to place somewhere in the top three in the 50 freestyle. And, with the fifth-best seed time, that was a tall task.
But the underdog Lady Ram took down those expectations in a big way — by swimming away with the gold.
Her time of 25.17 seconds edged out Somerset’s Carly Richard (25.40) and Bald Eagle Area’s Alaina Cane (25.72). It was a personal best and more than a second better than her season best.
“It’s relieving because I was really stressed,” she said. “But, coming out of the pool, it was just like something was lifted off my shoulders because I knew I could achieve that. It felt so great to do it.”
This will be Butler’s’ third straight trip to states, but she won’t be going alone. Earlier in Friday’s session, she teamed up with Margaret Delaney, Sophia Gerhart and Audrey Duck for another gold in the 200 medley relay — thanks to a season-best time of 1:52.00, just 0.61 seconds from the district record.
Gerhart also had a unique day for the Lady Rams in what was one of Friday’s hardest-fought races. She finished with a personal-best time of 56.70 seconds in the 100 butterfly, which broke the meet record first set in 2017. There was just one small problem — Juniata’s Sydney Houtz also broke the record Friday, in 56.14 seconds.
So, despite beating out the district record Friday, Gerhart earned silver. Still, she was a gracious runner-up and someone who could still earn a spot at states through an at-large berth.
“I’ve been racing Sydney since freshman year in the same event, and there’s no better person to lose to,” said Gerhart, a senior. “She’s an amazing person and amazing friend. She pushes me; I push her. She’s just great.”
Bellefonte also experienced some success from its younger swimmers Friday, with a runner-up finish from from freshman Kate Rarrick in the 200 freestyle (1:56.66) and a first-place finish from freshman Finley Musser in the 200 IM (2:18.93).
Musser pulled ahead for good during the third leg of the individual medley, in the breaststroke. “I feel accomplished,” she said with a smile. “My goal by the end of the season was a 2:13, but I still have states now.”
In the team race, Penns Valley is tied for first with Somerset with 96 points. Bellefonte is fourth with 76.
“I’m really happy with the way things have gone,” Penns Valley coach Steve Duck said. “The girls have been working pretty hard, and their hard work is showing today.”
Class 2A boys (Bellefonte, Penns Valley, St. Joseph’s)
Reece Bloom, a junior, isn’t just a crucial member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy’s swimming team. He is the swimming team.
But, thanks to the lone member of the Wolfpack, SJCA is still bringing home some gold.
Bloom finished first in the 200 IM with a time of 2:01.74, nearly eight seconds better than his season best, to earn the gold and to advance to states.
“My real expectation was to go sub-2 (minute),” Bloom said. “I didn’t get that, but the other big thing was just to have fun because, as a freshman and sophomore, I actually had guys on the team and I had fun. So my expectation was still to have fun.”
And after that kind of performance? “I’m having great fun now,” he said with a laugh.
Because SJCA doesn’t exactly have a team, Bloom often practices with Bellefonte and Penns Valley swimmers at the State College YMCA. They congratulated and hugged him after his race, where he needed a moment to catch his breath.
Bloom was the only Class 2A boys’ swimmer in the county to finish with gold, but he might not be the only heading to states. Bellefonte’s Harrison Horner finished second in the 100 butterfly with a season-best time of 53.58, behind Conemaugh Township’s Herman Zilch (52.05).
Horner finished second last year to Zilch at districts and still advanced. His time this season was one second better than 2019.
“We got to clean up some things here or there, but that should be fast enough to move to states,” said Bellefonte coach Matthew Horner, Harrison’s older brother. “It should be fast enough.”
First-place finishers automatically advance to states, while the other top-22 times around the state also advance. Those at-large berths are decided by noon Sunday.
This story was originally published February 28, 2020 at 6:45 PM.
