Tamaqua swimmers sweep Mahanoy Area

Tamaqua swept a Schuylkill League swim meet with Mahanoy Area on Friday.

The Tamaqua girls had to find a way to upend the Golden Bears in order to stay afloat with league front-runners – Blue Mountain and Pottsville. The Blue Raiders did that as they posted a 95-79 victory.

Tamaqua coach Jen Paisley found a lot of solace in the way her team continues to battle. Although she knows the biggest battles still remain in trying to run down undefeated Blue Mountain and once beaten Pottsville.

“Where not quite there yet, but our kids are getting better and better every time we are in the pool,” Paisley said.

Mahanoy Area came into the meet with a winning record in league action so Paisley knew it wasn’t going to be easy.

“I’m really proud of how the girls’ performed,” she said. “We had that extra push knowing this would be a tough meet.”

The way some of the Raiders performed also enabled them to qualify for the District 11 meet — specifically Brianna Dumond in the 200 IM and Madelyn Jones in the 500 freestyle.

There was also sweep by the Raiders diving competitors Ashley Jones (196.50), Katelyn Rudy (150.75) and Mia Jones (146.40).

“We have five girls that rotate,” Paisley explained about her divers. “Our rotation gives us more and more depth and that’s what we are trying to build as we move forward.”

Depth is also something Tamaqua is counting on among its swimmers.

That showed up against the Bears in the 200 freestyle as Nico Aguero-Ramirez and Logan Hartney finished second and third. It was a similar result in the 50 freestyle with Tamaqua’s Rylee Wenzel and Haile Toth adding points with second and third place finishes.

“I really like the way our depth is starting to build,” Paisley said. “It’s not only about how many firsts you get, but how many second and thirds you get that can add on points.”

The Tamaqua boys stayed hot with a 95-14 rout of the Bears. The Raiders have now won four straight as they improved to 3-3 in league play and 4-5 overall.

“I can’t say enough how our boys are improving,” Paisley said. “We got that big surprise win over North Schuylkill (on Thursday). We’re really getting some solid swims from Zeno Zukovich in the sprint freestyle, Alexander Barron has been trying some new events in the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke, and Nathaniel Kovalchick is really coming on strong this season in the butterfly and distance freestyle.”

COUNTING ‘EM UP… Madelyn Jones had two firsts for Tamaqua, winning the 100 breaststroke and 500 free. She was also part of the winning 400 relay team.

ON THE AGENDA … Tamaqua’s next meet is Tuesday at Pottsville.

GIRLS

Tamaqua 95, Mahanoy Area

200 Medley Relay – 1. Mahanoy Area 2:07.47; 200 Free – 1. Abby Dudash (MA) 2:16.41, 2. Nicole Aguero-Ramirez (T), 3. Logan Hartney (T); 200 IM – 1. Brianna Dumond (T) 2:32.39, 2. Maddison Quick (MA), 3. Maura Walker (T); 50 Free – 1. Oceana O’Boyle (MA) 27.84, 2. Rylee Wenzel (T), 3. Hailey Toth (T); Diving – 1. Ashley Jones (T) 196.30, 2. Mia Jones (T), 3. Katelyn Rudy (T); 100 Fly – 1. Oceana O’Boyle (MA) 1:14.85, 2. Maura Walker (T); 100 Free – 1. Maddison Quick (MA) 1:00.39, 2. Nicole Aguero-Ramirez (T), 3. Izabel Lynn (MA); 500 Free – 1. Madelyn Jones (T) 6:22.26, 2. Caitlin Honus (MA), 3. Logan Hartney (T); 200 Free Relay – 1. Mahanoy Area 1:52.03; 100 Back – 1. Abby Dudash (MA) 1:07.43, 2. Brianna Dumond (T), 3. Alexis Gutekunst (MA); 100 Breast – 1. Madelyn Jones (T) 1:22.83, 2. Caitlin Honus (MA), 3. Tabbatha Ward (MA); 400 Free Relay – 1. Tamaqua (Nicole Aguero-Ramirez, Maura Walker, Madelyn Jones, Brianna Dumond) 4:34.54.

BOYS

Tamaqua 95, Mahanoy Area 14

200 Medley Relay – 1. Tamaqua (Brandon Long, Alexander Barron, Nathaniel Kovalchick, Zeno Zukovich) 2:07.68; 200 Free – 1. Nathaniel Kovalchick (T) 2:31.79, 2. Alexander Nattress (T), 3. Enoch Bolles (T); 200 IM – 1. Alexander Barron (T) 2:37.38; 50 Free – 1. Ethan Amershek (T) 25.77, 2. Zeno Zukovich (T), 3. Kyler Shapansky (MA); 100 Fly – 1. Nathaniel Kovalchick (T) 1:09.60; 100 Free – 1. Brandon Long (T) 1:05.58, 2. Benjamin Hehn (T), 3. Sean Wall (T); 500 Free – 1. Zeno Zukovich (T) 7:00.34; 200 Free Relay – 1. Tamaqua (Sean Wall, Alexander Barron, Nathaniel Kovalchick, Ethan Amershek) 1:50.75; 100 Back – 1. Brandon Long (T) 1:15.14, 2. Enoch Bolles (T); 100 Breast – 1. Kyler Shapansky (MA) 1:14.75, 2. Alexander Barron (T), 3. Jake Hillibush (MA); 400 Free Relay – 1. Tamaqua (Enoch Bolles, Alexander Nattress, Brandon Long, Ethan Amershek) 4:50.83.