State College dominates, BEA swimmer makes history on 2nd day of District 6 swimming championships
While State College huddled as a team, celebrating its various gold medals and meet records that were broken during the three-day 2020 District 6 Swimming & Diving Championships on Saturday, it was impossible to miss the dominant group of teammates as they took over Penn State’s McCoy Natatorium.
But it was easy to glance over and miss a swimmer who made history for her school Saturday. Alaina Cane, Bald Eagle Area’s lone representative at districts, became the Eagles’ first-ever District 6 swimming champ and first swimmer to qualify for the PIAA championships.
It was a moment Cane and her mother, who’s also her coach, will never forget.
“I thought that was really cool and I did tear up over it,” Cane said. “(My mom) and I cried over it after I was finished.
“It really does make me feel like I can accomplish way more than I ever thought I could and with a bunch of other championships coming up, not just for high school but for YMCA and stuff, I realize that I can really do a lot more than I realized.”
Cane bested her seed time by three seconds and won the girls 100-yard freestyle by a mere 0.06 seconds, after trailing by half a second at the turn.
This improbable comeback was an emotional moment for her mother, Andrea Cane.
“This is what it’s all about,” Andrea Cane said. “The running around, the financial stuff that goes into it, the stresses and to watch your kid work so hard and see it pay off is certainly one of the more emotional experiences a parent can have at this point.
“It’s paying off. You want to teach your kid to work hard and you want to see it pay off and it did.”
Here’s a more complete look at how each school did in the Class 2A and 3A classifications:
Class 3A Girls (State College)
The State College girls ran away with a 3A team title as State College as a whole won its 37th straight district title.
In the first event of the day, Abbey Whipple won the first gold for State College, in the 100-yard freestyle.
Then, just a few moments later, Colleen Adams, brought home the second gold medal of the day for the State College girls, but she also broke a meet and school record.
“It felt fantastic to have that big of a drop at this meet and to break the school and pool record, which I was trying to break the pool record ever since I was a freshman,” Adams said. “I was dropping around three seconds every year so I was very surprised when I dropped five seconds off of my best time and got the record.
“I knew immediately once I saw the board that I got the record. It was just amazing.”
Adams dropped eight seconds off her seedtime and broke the meet record by seven seconds. State College coach Andrew Morrison said he knew Saturday was going to be a special day for Adams.
“She had great pacing throughout, she had good turns and that was a fun race to watch,” Morrison said. “We knew that going in that the 500 was going to be one to watch going into districts.”
However, this wasn’t the only record the Little Lions girls broke.
Freshman Jade Castro took home the gold in the 100-yard backstroke, also breaking the meet record.
“It just feels great to be here at my age, at this time and know that I have years to come, to improve,” Castro said. “It was just kind of surreal because I am a freshman. I just don’t expect it. I don’t know, I just can’t put it into words. It’s just wow, I did it.”
Whipple, Castro and Adams were also joined by Megan Doucette in the 400-yard freestyle relay, where State College took home another gold medal and meet record.
“I get a lot more hype for the relay because of the team atmosphere,” Castro said. “I love my team. I love my swimmers.
“It is just great to be a part of such a big atmosphere that allows me to swim fast and be motivated.”
Mackenzie Pagett also broke the meet record in the 100 backstroke, winning yet another gold for the Little Lions.
“It was kind of insane. I really didn’t know I broke the record,I knew I was close but I didn’t know I was quite there,” Pagett said. “It was really cool to hear my name come over the loudspeaker and have my parents behind the lane. It was a really cool moment.”
According to Pagett, the reason State College has sustained success is because of the competition on the team.
“I think we all work really, really hard. We know how to center ourselves, put our head down and swim,” Pagett said. “We know what we are doing in December is going to pay off here. So having that mindset, that we work hard, really helps when we come here.
“We have a really good opportunity to do really well, and the energy here helps. So it’s just a lot of fun.”
Class 3A Boys (State College)
On the boys side for State College, it was a quieter day, but the Little Lions still dominated the team competition.
In the second event of the day, Matt Brownstead picked up right where he left off on Friday, breaking another record. This time it was in the 100-yard freestyle, which he won by nearly six seconds.
“Matt is goal oriented and he knows going into meets what he needs to do,” Morrison said. “He knew what he wanted to try to do. He got a great start and is a good kid.
“He continuously gets better and he wants it. The state meet is going to be big.”
Tyler Uhlig took home gold for the Little Lions in the 500-yard freestyle, as Matt’s brother John Brownstead also took home a gold medal, in the 100-yard backstroke.
Foster Heasley won gold in the 100-yard breaststroke, missing the meet record by less than a second.
State College also dominated the 400-yard freestyle relay, winning by four seconds.
Overall, it wasn’t a day full of records for the Little Lions boys, but it was still a dominant performance as State College continues to control the District 6 competition.
“For me last year coming into districts, I knew that there was a standard that they never lost districts and I didn’t want to be that guy to ruin that tradition,” Morrison said. “So we are continuing that tradition.
“They had great times this year and continue to perform above and beyond.”
Class 2A Girls (Bald Eagle Area, Bellefonte, Penns Valley)
The Penns Valley girls entered the day tied for the lead in class 2A and with only a six-person team. It seemed like a potential upset could be brewing in McCoy.
“It’s also been amazing because we are only a six-person team and to be on top, beating all of these other teams that have a lot more kids than us is amazing and we have a good team,” Sophia Gerhart said. “I love the girls on this team and it’s just great.”
At the end of the day, two girls broke meet records for Penns Valley, and the team finished second. The team competition came down to the 400-yard freestyle relay.
Gerhart broke the first record of the day in the 500-yard freestyle, with a time that was 14 seconds better than her seed time.
“During the 500, I don’t know if it’s a good swim or not because by the end, I’m just dead,” Gerhart said. “It’s a hard race and you just have to keep pushing. But it feels really nice when you look at the board and it’s a good time.”
Freshman Delaney Margaret also broke a meet record for Penns Valley in the 100-yard breaststroke, with a mark that was four seconds better than her seed time.
All in all, Penns Valley led the team competition by two points, heading into the final relay.
“I’m very happy with these girls right now,” Penns Valley coach Steve Duck said. “Right now we are in first place by a couple points so it’s going to come down to our 400 relay here at the end.
“We are seeded second. We just need to give it all we can give and hopefully we come out in first place. We are just hoping the girls can perform the best they can.”
Ultimately the relay team finished third and Penns Valley finished second in the team standings behind Somerset.
Bellefonte finished second in the 400-yard freestyle relay and ended up third overall in the team standings.
Class 2A Boys (Bellefonte, Penns Valley, St. Joseph’s)
It was a quiet day for the 2A boys’ teams in Centre County.
Bellefonte’s Harrison Horner won the only gold medal of the day in the 500-yard freestyle, beating his seed time by 25 seconds.
Overall, Bellefonte finished eighth out of 12 schools in the classification. Penns Valley finished in last with 13 points.
This story was originally published February 29, 2020 at 6:13 PM.
