Skip to main content

Chambersburg swimmers place 14th, 15th


LEWISBURG -- Chambersburg had two entries in the PIAA Class AAA Boys Swimming Championships on Thursday and both turned in their best times of the season.

"They both should be very proud of themselves, because I'm proud of them," Trojan coach Chad White said. "They both made it to the finals and lowered their (seeded) place."

Freshmen Avery Barley and Jacob Greenwood both swam in the B finals after producing times in the top 16 in the prelims Thursday morning at Bucknell University.

Greenwood held a No. 29 seed coming in with his time of 4:45.43. But he crushed that time, and broke his own school record, by posting a 4:42.41, which was the 16th-best time of the prelims.

He did even better in the B final, shaving off more than three seconds with his time of 4:39.00, which gave him 14th place. It was also his personal best by over 4 1/2 minutes.

"I was a little surprised," Greenwood said. "I was able to drop some seconds in the prelims, and I was surprised I was able to drop more in the finals. It was a really nice pool to swim in."

In the 100 backstroke, Barley was seeded 16th with a time of 52.25. In the prelims, he hit 52.00 to tie for the 13th-best time. Swimming in the B final, Barley couldn't quite match that morning time. He finished in 52.58 to take 15th place.

The winner of the 100 backstroke was James Wilson of Conestoga Valley (48.09), while Jake Sannem of La Salle College won the 500 in 4:19.64, which set a PIAA record.

White said, "What's most exciting to me is that you don't see that many freshmen qualify for this. The boys were able to get some really good experience this year and that should make them more ready for next year.

"We scored 17 points as a team, which put us in 29th place in the state. That's something we can build on."

Greenwood said, "It was a great experience to be able to go up there as a freshman. I got to see a lot of good races and good swimmers. Next year, I'm going to try to make it in the 200 and 500 (freestyle) and maybe make it into the top eight."