Dist. 3 swimming: Trojans earn 3 top-10 seeds
Twelve area swimmers will pack their suits for the District 3 Swimming Championships this weekend at Cumberland Valley, with a few vying for a state-qualifying finish.
Jacob Greenwood and Avery Barley of Chambersburg earned top-10 seeds in the Class AAA district meet.
Greenwood earned the top district ranking of the area with a No. 5 seed in the 200 freestyle for his best finish of 1:45.50, and is ranked seventh in the district in the 500 freestyle, qualifying with a time of 4:51.37. Barley took the same place in the 100 backstroke, qualifying with a time of 53.83.
Barley is also seeded at 21st in the 50 freestyle, with a 22.65 qualifying time.
Greenwood has received the highest district seeding for a Chambersburg freshman since current coach Chad White qualified as a ninth grader for the Trojans in 1999.
"I think (Greenwood and Barley) have a very good chance at making states," White said. "I think they will drop time and should make states. And for (Greenwood) to do that as a freshman is very exciting and rare.
"I knew both would be seeded well. Avery (Barley) swam very well in the 100 back at Mid Penns and met his goal for the year - now he's just raising the bar."
The Chambersburg girls team has one representative at districts, Ashlyn Ellis, who qualified in the 200 free with a top swim of 2:03.96. She is ranked 29th.
"This is Ashlyn's first individual district appearance," White said. "She's been here before with relays, but she had to drop a lot of time off her 200 freestyle to make it to districts. And she's only a junior, so she has time to drop even more."
Sam Nonemaker from Shippensburg qualified 14th in the 200 IM and is seeded 15th in the 500 freestyle. While it would be unlikely that Nonemaker will receive a berth in the state meet based on his times and the deep competition in Class AAA, Shippensburg coach Jeff Kaminski expects Nonemaker to continue to make strides on the district stage.
"He's just not quite there yet (to qualify for states) in terms of his development," Kaminski said. "But he certainly has the athletic capabilities to surprise us all.
"We want him to continue to drop time and see him move up in the seeding to the final, even if its only a couple of spots. He holds the school record in the 500 free, and we'd like to see him lower that time. He's about 1.5 seconds off the school's 200 IM record, too."
Nonemaker is the only Greyhound in the district event.
James Buchanan's Nick Garbinski claimed the 17th seed in the 50 free, and the 16th in the 100 free in the District 3 Class AA meet.
Rachel Kimmel from James Buchanan had the area girls' only top-10 selection, ranking eighth in the 100 breaststroke (1:13.58). Kimmel is also seeded No. 11 in the 100 butterfly, qualifying in 1:05.14.
The Lady Rockets' 400 freestyle relay qualified No. 10 in Class AA at 4:02.31.
District 3 Swimming Championships
CLASS AAA BOYS
200 freestyle — 5.Jacob Greenwood (Chbg) 1:45.50. 200 IM — 14.Sam Nonemaker (Ship) 2:04.09, 30.Derek Benchoff (Way) 2:07.45. 50 freestyle — 21.Avery Barley (Chbg) 22.65. 100 fly — 31.Benchoff (Way) 56.92. 500 free — 7.Greenwood (Chbg) 4:51.37, 15.Nonemaker (Ship) 4:56.28. 100 back — 7.Barley (Chbg) 53.83.
CLASS AAA GIRLS
200 free — 29.Ashlynn Ellis (Chbg) 2:03.96.
CLASS AA BOYS
200 IM — 23.Noah Shank (JB) 2L18.50. 50 free — 17.Nick Garbinski (JB) 23.56. 100 free — 16.Garbinski (JB) 51.10. 500 free — 21.Austin Sheppard (JB) 5:37.59. 100 back — 24.Shank (JB) 1:09.35.
CLASS AA GIRLS
200 free — 20.Annaleisse Hissong (JB) 2:11.25. 100 butterfly — 11.Rachel Kimmel (JB) 1:05.14, 21.Kayla Snider (JB) 1:09.69, 23.Gretta Kriner (JB) 1:10.65. 500 free — 18.Hissong (JB) 5:51.67. 100 breaststroke — 8.Kimmel (JB) 1:13.58.