HS Swimming: Blue Mountain girls down Tamaqua to earn 12th straight league crown
Swimmers from Tamaqua and Blue Mountain get ready to start the 200 medley relay during Thursday's Schuylkill League dual meet at the Glen Belmont Natatorium (Photo by Leroy Boyer).
ORWIGSBURG — Anna Kaplafka grew up watching older sister Sage help the Blue Mountain girls’ swim team win four straight Schuylkill League championships during her high school career.
Thursday, the younger Kaplafka put her own stamp on the Eagles’ league championship and dual-meet win streaks.
A freshman, Anna Kaplafka teamed with Lola Machamer to place 1-2 in the 50-yard freestyle as Blue Mountain downed Tamaqua 111-71 in a Schuylkill League girls’ swimming first-place showdown at the Glen Belmont Natatorium.
The victory gave the Eagles their 12th straight Schuylkill League girls’ championship and extended their league dual-meet win streak to 124. The last time the Blue Mountain girls lost a Schuylkill League dual meet was Dec. 11, 2013.
The Blue Mountain boys completed the sweep with a 135.5-22.5 victory as junior Brody Moyer scored his 1,000th career point.
Both Blue Mountain squads finish the season 14-1 overall, 12-0 in league play.
“I’ve seen how hard the girls of the past years have worked to keep the streak alive,” Kaplafka said. “That’s enough motivation all in itself. To see my sister thrive through the sport really gave me a look into what this sport is and how competitive it can get.
“To keep the streak alive is a really big deal. I’m really proud of all the girls for the effort they put in this season.”
In their first meeting Dec. 18 in Tamaqua, the Eagles won only one of the 12 events — diving — but used their depth to squeak out a 93-90 victory.
The Blue Raiders (11-3-1, 9-2 SL) started strong in the rematch, winning the first three events. The quartet of Kate Behun, Savannah Wilson, Audrey Nattress and Ava Jones won the 200 medley relay in a season best 2:01.52, Shaylee Gormley touched first in the 200 freestyle and Wilson captured the 200 IM.
After three events, Tamaqua led 24-22.
The 50 freestyle followed. In the first meeting, Tamaqua’s Janna Brown won in 27.35, followed by Kaplafka and Machamer. That helped the Blue Raiders take a 32-30 lead into diving.
Thursday, Kaplafka grabbed the early lead and never relinquished it, swimming a personal-best 26.82. Machamer used a late charge to grab second in 27.34, with Brown third in 27.53.
The 1-2 finish set off a wild celebration on the Blue Mountain side of the deck, with several teammates rushing to hug Kaplafka and Machamer behind the diving boards. It also helped Blue Mountain outscore Tamaqua 11-5 in the event and take a 33-29 lead. After the Eagles swept diving, they were up 46-29.
“It was definitely a really cool experience to move up in such a ranking,” Kaplafka said. “I know how hard and dedicated our team is to our practices and to what we’re doing.
“I think me and Lola and the rest of our team came into this meet knowing what had to get done and that we had something to prove today. Everyone came out and proved that today.”
Added Machamer: “Our team works very, very hard. It was really important to win that race and pull through. The last meet was very close, so winning an event against Tamaqua was very important.”
The win in the 50 freestyle provided the spark and momentum needed to carry Blue Mountain through the rest of the meet.
Alayna Hensel followed by winning the 100 fly in 1:05.85, with teammates Caitlyn Seidel and Grace Zulli taking third and fourth.
After Gormley won the 100 freestyle, Isabella Lafko and Ella Crossen went 1-2 in the 500 freestyle. When the quartet of Kaplafka, Hensel, Machamer and Lafko followed by winning the 200 freestyle relay, the Eagles were up 86-50 and had all but clinched the title.
Behun (100 back) and Wilson (100 breaststroke) notched victories for Tamaqua, but it wasn’t enough.
“That meet was pretty early in the season and we had a ton of kids sick,” Blue Mountain coach Pete Sarnes said, referencing the first meeting. “They were all pretty healthy for this meet and they wanted it. They didn’t like getting it that close the first time, so they worked really hard for this meet.”
Whether or not Blue Mountain could extend the two streaks was a major question mark entering the 2025-26 campaign as the Eagles’ 17-member squad had just two seniors — diver Shyanna White and newcomer Martine Bellan-Huchery.
Kaplafka is one of five freshmen who stepped in and became immediate contributors, while a group of eight sophomores made major strides in their second year in the program.
The result was another Schuylkill League championship.
“That’s definitely a motivation … it’s hard to do that year after year,” Sarnes said. “For how many great swimmers have been here, this team was incredibly young. It’s mostly ninth and 10th-graders.
“They felt that pressure and that’s what they reacted to today. They wanted to keep that streak alive.”
On the boys’ side, Moyer became the third Blue Mountain boys’ swimmer to reach the 1,000-point milestone by winning the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke and swimming on two winning relays.
Seth Nester (200 IM, 500 free) and Aidan Varney (50 free, 100 free) also won twice as the Eagles captured all 12 events.
