Four area swimmers will compete at Bucknell

All of the training and competing that goes with the high school swimming season culminates this weekend at Bucknell University in Lewisburg with the PIAA Swimming and Diving Championships.

Four Times News area swimmers qualified for the Class 2A championships.

Marian’s Maddie Dando received a guaranteed spot based on her gold medal in the 100-yard backstroke at the District 11 meet in late February. Panther Valley’s Emily Newton and Erika Zimmerman, and Palmerton’s Carson Allen had to wait a few days to find out if their times were good enough to qualify, which they were.

Dando, a junior, is returning for her third trip to states, and is looking to move up from her 20th-place finish last season. As a freshman, she finished 25th.

This time around, Dando comes in seeded 13th in the 100 backstroke with a time of :59.06 — and wants an even higher finish than that.

“I’m more confident this time around, and I trust myself,” said Dando. “It gets easier each time you go to a meet like this.”

After her performance at districts, Dando was excited because she not only qualified for states, but also reached her goal of qualifying for nationals. On Tuesday, she received news that the nationals had been cancelled because of the coronavirus scare.

Instead of being upset, Dando has rechanneled her energy and enthusiasm.

“I was upset for a while, but I just decided I still have states to focus on,” said Dando. “I said that ‘now it’s go big or go home’ for competing at states.”

For the Panthers’ Newton, there were a few jitters waiting to find out if she would qualify for the 100-yard breaststroke with her time of 1:08.42 after her silver medal performance at districts. Newton’s time earned her the 28th seed in the field of 32.

Like Dando, Newton has ventured to Bucknell before, and is looking forward to the opportunity to swim for a state medal.

“My nerves are a lot better this time around, and I know a little more about what to expect and how things work,” said Newton. “I’m just going there hoping to put up a good time, and not get too worked up about it. There are a lot of good swimmers that I’ll be competing against.”

Panther Valley’s Zimmerman was the only area swimmer to qualify in two events, placing second in the 200-yard freestyle with a time 1:59.06 at districts, and grabbing a fourth-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:20.20. Those earned her a 22nd and a 24th seed respectively.

This will be Zimmerman’s second trip to states as well.

“I was pretty happy with how I swam [at districts],” said Zimmerman after her performance in the 200-yard freestyle. “Getting to go to states last year was great. I think this time around my nerves won’t be quite as bad, and I can just enjoy it all a little more.”

Zimmerman finished 20th in the 500 free last year at states, and is looking to move up with a better time this season. Zimmerman has reached states in her first two seasons, and has a chance to be one of the rare swimmers who get the chance to swim at Bucknell in all four years of high school.

The Bombers’ Allen is the only area boy to qualify for the state championships. Allen finished third in the 100 breaststroke at the District 11 meet with a time of 1:02.64. That earned him a 28th seed in the event.

The 2A sessions begin Friday morning and continue through Saturday night.

Swimmers compete in preliminary heats in the morning, with the top eight advancing to the finals and those ninth through 16th going into the consolation rounds.

For those unable to travel to Bucknell University, the event is carried on the Pennsylvania Cable Network (PCN) and will also be streamed on pcntv.com.