PIAA Swimming: Schuylkill swimmers gobble up at-large berths for states
Noah Bevan, Pottsville
All total, Schuylkill League to send 27 swimmers/divers to Bucknell
The Pottsville boys’ 200-yard freestyle relay team left last weekend’s District 11 Swimming Championships at Parkland High School without a medal.
The Crimson Tide quartet of John Mohl, Killian Bressler, Jamison Walsh and Noah Bevan had a great swim, shaving 2.76 seconds off their seed time to finish fifth in 1:31.99.
While that time wasn’t good enough to put Pottsville on the medals stand, it was fast enough for something even bigger.
A trip to the PIAA Swimming Championships.
The Pottsville boys’ 200 freestyle relay members were among several Schuylkill League swimmers to earn at-large berths to the state meet based on time when the PIAA officially unveiled the psych sheets for each event on its website Sunday.
The champions from all 12 PIAA districts in each event automatically qualify for the PIAA Swimming Championships. The PIAA then fills the remaining 20 spots for each 32-swimmer event based on the next fastest times recorded at all the district championships across the state.
District 11 traditionally has a fast meet as far as times go, and the 2026 event was no exception.
In the boys’ 200 freestyle relay, District 11 grabbed five of the 32 spots, with champion Allentown Central Catholic being joined by runner-up Blue Mountain, Saucon Valley, Southern Lehigh and Pottsville.
Blue Mountain’s quartet of Porter Sarnes, Zach Scala, Aidan Varney and Brody Moyer is seeded eighth at 1:29.66, with Pottsville seeded 20th.
Bevan, a senior, earned three at-large berths Sunday, also qualifying in the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle.
Other boys’ at-large qualifiers included North Schuylkill freshman Brendan Fetterolf in both the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle; Schuylkill Haven’s Ethan Miller in the 100 butterfly and 100 breaststroke; Blue Mountain’s Sarnes in the 200 freestyle and Moyer in the 100 backstroke; and the Eagles’ 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle relay teams.
Those at-large berths join the Schuylkill League four gold medalists — Pottsville’s Adam Klinger (diving), Marian’s Michael Strucko (200 freestyle, 100 backstroke), Moyer (100 butterfly) and Sarnes (500 freestyle).
To show how talented District 11 is on the boys’ side, the district qualified at least four swimmers/teams in eight of the 11 swimming events, including five in both the 200 freestyle relay and 100 backstroke and a whopping six in the 100 butterfly.
On the girls’ side, Schuylkill Haven’s Hope Stauffer qualified in two events, earning berths in the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle. Tamaqua’s Shaylee Gormley will also compete in the 50 freestyle, while Mahanoy Area’s Lily Brown earned a spot in the 100 backstroke and Blue Mountain’s Alayna Hensel made it in the 100 breaststroke.
