PIAA Swimming, Day 2: Schuylkill League caps banner weekend with 5 more medals
Marian's Lydia Strucko (Photo by Leroy Boyer).
Strucko siblings, Sarnes, Wilson, Blue Mountain relay earn hardware
LEWISBURG — Saturday’s Day 2 of the PIAA Swimming and Diving Championships had a little bit of everything when it came to the Schuylkill League’s contingent.
Schuylkill League swimmers captured five more medals, upping their total to 11 over the two-day competition. It marked the first time since 2007 the league garnered double-digit medals at a state meet.
There were surprises, like Blue Mountain’s Porter Sarnes in the 500-yard freestyle and Schuylkill Haven’s Hope Stauffer in the 100 freestyle.
There were things that went according to plan, like Marian siblings Michael and Lydia Strucko and Tamaqua’s Savannah Wilson capturing medals for the second straight year.
There were great efforts from the league’s future stars, like Mahanoy Area’s Lily Brown, Blue Mountain’s Brody Moyer, Sarnes and Stauffer.
Then there were career-ending efforts of seniors Michael Strucko, Wilson and Blue Mountain’s Gabe Kamarousky, whose final high school races resulted in a state medal.
Let’s break down the Schuylkill League’s performances in Saturday night’s finals.
For a look at how the league’s swimmers fared in the morning preliminaries, check out those stories here:
BOYS: https://www.t102sportsnow.com/2026/03/14/piaa-boys-swimming-prelims-day-2-sarnes-strucko-eagles-relay-secure-medals/
GIRLS: https://www.t102sportsnow.com/2026/03/14/piaa-girls-swimming-prelims-day-2-wilson-to-cap-career-with-2nd-state-medal/
For a breakdown of Blue Mountain’s Hailey Scheuer’s ninth-place finish in the PIAA Girls’ Class AA Diving Championships, visit https://www.t102sportsnow.com/2026/03/14/piaa-girls-diving-eagles-scheuer-places-9th-just-misses-medal/
Outside Smoke
Sarnes entered Saturday’s 500 freestyle with medal aspirations as he was seeded ninth. That came on the heels of a 10th-place finish at states last year.
Those aspirations turned into reality when he broke the school record and placed eighth in the morning preliminaries in 4:45.15.
That performance clinched the Blue Mountain sophomore’s first-ever individual state medal. What came after that was unreal.
Seeded eighth in the 500 freestyle championship finals, Sarnes was a man on a mission in the outside Lane 8. With his Blue Mountain teammates, coaches and newly-made friends from Tunkhannock right on top of him loudly cheering him on, Sarnes stayed with the leaders throughout.
Not only did he break his own school record, he placed fourth in 4:41.08, setting off a wild celebration.
“It is honestly such a crazy experience,” Sarnes said. “I never would have imagined … I can’t put it into words. It’s such an awesome experience.”
Strucko’s strong finish
Sometimes in sports, the other team is just better than you. In swimming, sometimes there’s just another swimmer that’s better than you.
That ended up being the case for Michael Strucko, who took home bronze in the 100 backstroke in 49.83.
The Marian senior was second in the morning prelims in 50.03. Erie Cathedral Prep’s Jack Raimy posted the top prelim time at 49.90.
In the finals, Strucko and Raimy battled neck and neck for the first 25 yards before Schuylkill Valley’s Owen Eisenhofer emerged from a long underwater in the lead and didn’t let anyone catch him.
Eisenhofer, who was named the Class AA Boys’ Swimmer of the Meet, captured gold in 48.67. Raimy was second in 49.55.
“This is life. It’s a learning experience,” Strucko said. “It’s not a loss for me. I still have four years of swimming left and I’m going to have more moments like this.
“I learned a lot. I know what I have to work on to get better for the future. I had a lot of fun at this meet. I had a great high school career and I’m happy about that.
“Sometimes it just doesn’t go your way.”
Silver lining
Michael Strucko’s younger sister Lydia captured a pair of silver medals over the weekend, placing second in both the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke.
Lydia Strucko lost both races to the same swimmer, Hampton senior Lainey Sheets, who was selected as the PIAA Class AA Girls’ Swimmer of the Meet.
Friday, Sheets won the 100 fly in 54.00, with Lydia Strucko second in 56.01.
Saturday, Sheets took first in the 100 backstroke in 54.72, with Strucko right behind at 55.26. The two were also 1-2 in the morning prelims at 55.17 and 55.89, respectively.
“I’m really happy with my time,” Lydia Strucko said. “I went in with confidence, I was ready to go and I’m really happy with the drop.
“Lainey is a phenomenal swimmer and I think part of the reason why I was able to drop time was because I was against her. I’m honestly so thankful I had her as competition because I truly feel that just gave me that extra umph toward the end. I’m happy for both of us.”
A junior, Lydia Strucko showed marked improvement in the 100 backstroke this season, placing sixth in the event last year as a sophomore in 56.83.
The Schuylkill League’s best chance at a state gold medal next year, she said the work starts now towards that goal.
“Swimming is a year-round sport. I’m just going to continue to train hard,” Lydia Strucko said. “It starts now in order to prepare for next year. I’m just going to keep working hard and toning on all the little details. Hopefully next year we could see first place.”
Senior Moment
As the 100 breaststroke final concluded, Wilson climbed out of the pool, her Tamaqua blue nail polish gleaming in the bright lights of Kinney Natatorium.
She had a wide smile on her face as she looked up into the crowd in the balcony, one of those smiles that just oozed with satisfaction.
Wilson capped her stellar Tamaqua career with her best breaststroke race ever, placing fourth in 1:04.73.
Seeded third after winning her third straight District 11 title in the event in 1:04.96, she went faster in both of her races Saturday, breaking her own school record both times. Wilson placed fourth in the morning prelims in 1:04.85, then went .12 seconds faster in the championship finals.
Wilson took home a seventh-place medal last year. This year, she was fourth.
“I’m very happy,” Wilson said. “It’s an amazing thing just to be able to do this sport.
“I’m really glad I ended my season with my fastest time ever. I dropped time in prelims, I dropped time in finals. This is my second state medal … and I went up three places from last year. That’s pretty good if you ask me.”
Wilson started out a little slow over the first 25 yards but then picked it up through the middle portion of her race.
Schuylkill Valley’s Mabel Walborn took first in 1:03.10, followed by Maddie Lanzel of St. Mary’s (1:03.74) and Allison Stinnett of Southmoreland (1:03.99).
“Normally my first 25 is slower than the rest because I find my tempo after like the first 25,” Wilson said. “It’s just kind of the way I start my race. It works.”
Let’s Go Gabe!
The Blue Mountain boys’ 400 freestyle relay placed seventh in 3:17.13. The quartet of Sarnes, Aidan Varney, Kamarousky and Moyer went 3:17.52 in the prelims to take eighth and punch their ticket to the championship finals.
After the prelims, each of the relay members talked about how important it was to get a state medal for Kamarousky, one of only two seniors on the Eagles’ boys’ team this season (Liam Magdeburg is the other) and a key leader in Blue Mountain’s run to another Schuylkill League dual-meet title.
Kamarousky, who wore a hilarious hat all weekend that read, “I pee in pools,” was ecstatic that his final high school race was in a championship final at states.
“It’s a really great feeling (to win a state medal),” Kamarousky said. “It’s kind of upsetting that (my career is) over but ending it on a high note with a state medal is a great feeling. I didn’t swim my best, but my teammates picked me up.”
