Tired of ads? Subscribers enjoy a distraction-free reading experience.
Click here to subscribe today or Login.

WILKES-BARRE — Adam Mahler’s father had been constantly reminding him that the record was going to be in his name.

It took Mahler two tries, but finally, dad’s sage wisdom proved true. The Holy Redeemer sophomore claimed the district record he had been pining for his whole career.

Mahler finished the first day of the District 2 Class 2A swimming championships Friday with a pair of gold medals. He took first in both the 200 free and 100 fly at the Wyoming Valley Catholic Youth Center.

At the end of the first day, Wyoming Seminary was on top of the boy standings by a mere nine points over an upstart Tunkhannock squad. The Blue Knights trail Dallas in the girls standings by 17 points. Dallas entered with a 51-point lead over the field, thanks to taking four of the five top spots in diving last weekend.

Entering the championships with seed times fractions of a second behind the district record, Mahler came short of his goal in the 200 free. He shaved 17-hundredths of a second to finish in 1:46.82 to get his first gold medal of the day.

“When I touched the wall and look up, all I can think is, I’m really happy I did this and I am glad I did it for my team,” Mahler said. “We’re not the biggest team here. It’s always nice to see when we can put up a win like this.”

By the meet’s end, Mahler outdid himself by coming five-hundredths of a second faster than Crestwood’s Josh Grzech’s district record in the 100 fly. Mahler finished ahead of the pack in 51.68 seconds.

“I was happy because my dad (Eric) has been telling me about this all year, telling me I am going to break it here,” Mahler said. “And I did it, and it made me so happy to finally do that.”

Mahler’s was one of five district records set, three of which came from the Wyoming Valley Conference.

Wyoming Seminary sophomore Marcos Rico made his district championship debut by setting his name into the district record book in the 200 IM. Rico clocked in at 1:55.62 to down Scranton Prep’s Nico Lastauskas’ one-year mark by 64-hundredths of a second. The Spaniard’s 50-yard breaststroke leg was 3.6 seconds faster than any other swimmer.

“I basically just went all out,” Rico said. “When you swim, you don’t really think about the struggle. You just swim as fast you can.”

The Blue Knights’ 200 medley relay of Matt Bean, Rico, Garrett Pall and Stan Zaneski set a new district benchmark with a 1:36.12 finish. Wyoming Seminary beat a 31-year old record, set by Delaware Valley, by nearly a full second.

Wyoming Seminary senior Zaneski completed the rare feat of district championships in both classifications with a first place in the 50 free. Zaneski, who had previously won the sprints at Wyoming Valley West last year, pulled ahead with a solid turn and touched the wall in 21.28 seconds.

“I am pretty much horrified (on the starting block),” Zaneski said. “Because there are so many small things that could go wrong and completely mess it up. With the 50, if you make a single mistake, you’ll see it. Every single second counts.”

On the girls’ side, the Blue Knights received their only gold medal of the afternoon by junior Tara Kupsky. She knocked off 1.48 seconds off her seed time to beat Dallas’ Abby Zolner with a 59.15-second performance. Kupsky earned a second PIAA qualification with a second place in the 200 IM.

Dallas’ Annalise Cheshire came out on top in Friday’s most thrilling race. She squeaked past Holy Redeemer freshman Margaret Walting down the stretch and out-touched her by a mere 24-hundredths of a second. Cheshire registered a 24.23-second finish to reclaim the 50 free title she last won as a freshman.

“It’s obviously a really fast event,” Cheshire said. “She was ahead of me going into the first turn. I saw her hand, and I yelled at myself, ‘You can’t let this happen. You trained all year and as hard as you can. It’s coming down to this, and you can’t let yourself lose.’”

Other automatic PIAA qualifications include Walting (50 free,), Zolner (100 fly) and Holy Redeemer girls’ 200 medley and 400 free relays. Berwick freshman Sydney Lloyd punched a ticket to states with a silver medal in the 200 free by slashing four seconds off her PR.

The Tunkhannock boys’ 200 free relay of Dyllan Henning, Davis Tidball, Mitchell Fowler and Alex Bushre wrapped up the afternoon’s competition with a surprising first-place showing. In a virtual tie at the midway point with Wyoming Seminary, Fowler pulled ahead on the third leg en route to a 1:30.93 finish.

The final day of competition will resume at noon Saturday at the Wyoming Valley CYC.

For other sports stories, click here.

Holy Redeemer’s Adam Mahler finished first in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:46:82.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_PIAA-Dist.-2A-Swim-3.jpg.optimal.jpgHoly Redeemer’s Adam Mahler finished first in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:46:82. Tony Callaio | For Times Leader

Wyoming Seminary’s Matt Bean swims the backstroke of the first leg of the boys 200-yard medley relay. The Blue Knights recorded a new District 2 record of 1:36.12 along with teammates Marcos Rico, Garrett Pall and Stan Zaneski.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_PIAA-Dist.-2A-Swim-1.jpg.optimal.jpgWyoming Seminary’s Matt Bean swims the backstroke of the first leg of the boys 200-yard medley relay. The Blue Knights recorded a new District 2 record of 1:36.12 along with teammates Marcos Rico, Garrett Pall and Stan Zaneski. Tony Callaio | For Times Leader

Ava Baur, of Wyoming Seminary, placed second in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:59:8.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_PIAA-Dist.-2A-Swim-2.jpg.optimal.jpgAva Baur, of Wyoming Seminary, placed second in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:59:8. Tony Callaio | For Times Leader

Wyoming Seminary’s Tara Kupsky took second in the 200 IM with a time of 2:09:37.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_PIAA-Dist.-2A-Swim-4.jpg.optimal.jpgWyoming Seminary’s Tara Kupsky took second in the 200 IM with a time of 2:09:37. Tony Callaio | For Times Leader

Marcos Rico, of Wyoming Seminary, recorded a new District 2 record in the 200 IM at 1:46:02.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_PIAA-Dist.-2A-Swim-6.jpg.optimal.jpgMarcos Rico, of Wyoming Seminary, recorded a new District 2 record in the 200 IM at 1:46:02. Tony Callaio | For Times Leader

Wyoming Seminary’s Marcos Rico propels himself off of the block during at the start of the 200 IM where he swam to a District 2 Class 2A record with a time of 1:55:62 on Friday at the CYC.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_PIAA-Dist.-2A-Swim-5.jpg.optimal.jpgWyoming Seminary’s Marcos Rico propels himself off of the block during at the start of the 200 IM where he swam to a District 2 Class 2A record with a time of 1:55:62 on Friday at the CYC. Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
5 district benchmarks broken in Class 2A action

By Jay Monahan

For Times Leader

Reach Times Leader sports at 570-829-7143 or on Twitter @tlsports.