Top 10 Stories: No. 2 – Blue Mountain’s Noah Powers caps record-breaking career with another PIAA swim gold
Blue Mountain's Noah Powers is crowned state champion after winning the boys' 50-yard freestyle Wednesday at the PIAA Swimming Championships at Bucknell University (Photo by Leroy Boyer).
Noah Powers’ senior swim season began at a table in the hallway of Blue Mountain High School, signing an NCAA Division I letter of intent to attend the University of Virginia.
It ended in a place all too familiar to the lanky superstar … atop the podium at the PIAA Swimming and Diving Championships.
In between, Powers broke records nearly every time he hit the water, adding another layer to an already Mount Rushmore-type career that put him among the Schuylkill League’s all-time greats.
To quickly summarize Powers’ season:
** Powers won four gold medals at the Schuylkill League Swimming Championships, breaking the meet record in the 50-yard freestyle.
** He captured three gold medals and a silver at the District 11 Swimming Championships, breaking the district records in the 50 freestyle (20.34) and 100 freestyle (45.09). He was named the Dennis A. McGinley Award winner as the most outstanding swimmer for the third straight year, the only Schuylkill League boys’ swimmer to accomplish that feat.
DISTRICT 11 DAY 1 STORY: www.t102sportsnow.com/2025/02/28/d-11-boys-swimming-powers-breaks-50-free-mark-blazes-eagles-to-relay-gold/
DISTRICT 11 DAY 2 STORY: www.t102sportsnow.com/2025/03/01/d-11-boys-swimming-eagles-powers-breaks-100-free-mark-earns-3rd-straight-mvp-honor/
** At the PIAA Swimming and Diving Championships at Bucknell University’s Kinney Natatorium, he earned his third career state gold medal by winning the 50 freestyle in 19.83 seconds, the first-ever Class AA swimmer to record a time under 20 seconds in that event. He was second in the 100 freestyle in 43.36 seconds, was fourth in the 200 freestyle relay and ninth in the 200 medley relay.
Powers won the 50 freestyle as a freshman and was first in the 100 freestyle as a junior.
STORY: POWERS WINS STATE GOLD IN 50 FREESTYLE (LINK)
STORY: POWERS CAPS CAREER WITH SILVER IN 100 FREE (LINK)
For his career, Powers garnered 12 top-eight state medals. He secured gold, silver, silver and gold medals in the 50 freestyle; earned fourth, fourth, gold and silver medals in the 100 freestyle; and won silver, eighth, silver and fourth-place medals in the 200 freestyle relay. In addition to his two District 11 records, Powers owns the state record in the 50 freestyle (19.82), set as the lead-off swimmer in the 200 freestyle relay, and owns or swam a leg on 10 area, Schuylkill League or Schuylkill League Championships records.
On the record board at Blue Mountain’s Glen Belmont Natatorium, Powers’ name appears 17 times — nine team and eight pool records.
Wow.
Powers wasn’t the only Schuylkill League swimmer or diver to have a monster 2024-25 campaign.
Pottsville’s Adam Klinger became the first-ever Schuylkill League diver to finish in the top three at states, capping a nearly unbeaten junior campaign with a bronze medal. Fellow Schuylkill League champion Hailey Scheuer was 11th in the girls’ competition at states.
STORY: KLINGER CAPTURES AA BRONZE MEDAL (LINK)
