The Parkland High School boys swim team ended rival Emmaus' District 11 Class 3A team's incredible 16-game winning streak on Saturday afternoon in front of a sold-out crowd at Parkland's Natorium.
And the Trojans, in true team fashion, went from 482 points to the Green Hornets' 470.
They won no individual championships and did not win any of the three relay races.
Additionally, the future looks very promising for the Parkland men's team as only one senior (top four) won a medal during the two-day competition. That was Danik Kais, who placed second in the 100 backstroke and third in the 100 freestyle during Saturday's second day session.
Second-year coach Allison McPeek admitted she expected this to happen before she took over as head coach.
“Oh yeah, I had the pleasure of coaching a lot of them (in club swimming) when they were young,” McPeek said. “We're really blessed to have such a large group of underclassmen, but the biggest thing is that everyone gave it their all. Words can't express that.”
It was no surprise that the Trojans ended Emmaus' winning streak. The Eastern Pennsylvania Conference champions set the tone heading into district with a 97-89 win in two games against the Green Hornets on Dec. 21.
“Our coaches have been phenomenal and very motivating,” said Kais, one of three seniors on the boys roster. “They lit a fire under us.”
Parkland's depth was once again too difficult for Emmaus to overcome, as the top 16 winners earned points in each event. Hornets coach Mike O'Connor said the district's point differential is about the same as in the dual meet, but there are a few hundred more points at stake.
“They had a big group scoring points. Our group was just smaller,” O'Connor said. “Our kids responded well. The last time they beat us, they weren't even born yet. Our kids swam well. They helped the (team) score. I never saw anything like that.”
On Saturday, Emmaus won two of the four individual events, Logan Schreiber in the 500-meter freestyle and Griffin Messenlehner in the 100-meter backstroke, and closed out the show with a five-second victory over Parkland in the 400-meter relay. Ta.
“They beat us in the conference tournament, but I know everyone gave their best in this tournament,” said Messenlehner, who successfully defended his 100 back title.
The Parkland girls defeated Emmaus 431-406 to win their fifth straight district championship. The Trojans have won every district team gold medal since 2004, except for 2019, when the Hornets won.
Parkland won all three relays over two days and added two individual wins from its own youth movement on Saturday. Sophomore Kelsey McPeek, the coach's daughter, won her second 100-meter breaststroke gold medal in 1:03.72.
Freshman Sydney Labeau won Saturday's opening event in 52.10 seconds, laying the foundation for a four-time win in the 100 free. After two meets, Labou placed second (57.57 points) in the 100 backstroke behind East Stroudsburg South's record-breaker Ksenia Runiushina (54.52 points).
She believed that Parkland's competitive environment was a factor in her success.
“I’m really happy to win as a freshman,” LaBou said. “Team practice is tough, but it's very helpful during games.”
Lovebaugh said she has been swimming since she was born and attended the district meet as a spectator. She was unprepared for the stark difference between being high above her bleachers and below pool level with her deafening noise pouring down.
“I’ve never experienced anything like this before,” she said. “There's not much cheering at the club (Meets). This one was really crazy with all the yelling. It's a lot different here.”
Whitehall senior Ian Thomas received many of these accolades. He easily defeated Andersen Borst of Emmaus in the 100 free, 46.03 to 47.29. On Friday, Thomas won the 50 free.
What is the reason for Thomas' success? Let's call it reverse seniority.
“Physically, I’m pretty much the same as last year,” Thomas said of his junior season, when he placed third in both the 50 free and 100 breaststroke. “Mentally, I'm taking it more seriously. For the first three years, I don't want to say it, I was joking, but then I realized that this is my last year and I'm thinking about myself and the other seniors. We knew it was going to be a special season for us.”
Thomas made the decision to scrap his 100 free chest plate after his time in the 100 free fell short of his favorites Carter Mui (Pocono Mountain West) and Malcolm Collins (Liberty). I put it down.
“I would have been the No. 3 seed, but we didn't come close to them,” Thomas said.
This decision not only resulted in a second gold medal, but it also allowed Thomas to earn enough points to win the McGinley Award as the outstanding male swimmer of the Class 3A meet. Luniushina became the female McGinley Award winner.
For the second year in a row, Mui used a strong final lap to defeat Collins in a very close contest, 56.37 to 56.78. Maru's winning percentage against Collins last year was 1/10th of a second.
In Friday's final event, Easton's Ethan Lapham, Jacob Brunetti, Marco Niosi and Cooper Lamas surprised the field by winning the 200-meter free relay. Although the quartet did not have another shot at gold in the 400-meter free relay, they shaved nearly 10 seconds off their seeded time, finishing in third place with a time of 3 minutes, 17.95 seconds.
All district champions qualified for the PIAA Championships to be held March 13-14 at Bucknell. The remaining fields for each event will be filled out based on times submitted by each district and are expected to be determined by Sunday.
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Corky Break can be reached at: sports@lehighvalleylive.com.
