Liberty High School sophomore, Robert Negron, clinched a fourth place medal in the 50 free at the PIAA State Class AAA Swimming Championships last week at Bucknell University.

“I was really happy because it’s what I practiced for the whole year, and it was my main goal to medal in that,” Negron said.

Negron was seeded fifth and placed fifth in preliminaries with a time of 21.07.

“States definitely got to me when I saw how big everyone was compared to me,” said Negron. “I didn’t swim to my ability [in prelims]. I just swam to get to finals.”

Negron’s final time was 20.94.

“I got the rest and came back and swam,” he said. “Regardless of how I did, I knew I would get a medal. Getting fourth when I was seeded fifth was even better.”

Negron also competed in the 100 free where he placed 14th with a time of 47.05.

“I like the 100 free, but I knew how good everyone was,” said Negron. “I knew I would swim faster in the morning, and I tried to make thefinals. I knew my morning time would be good.”

Alexis Calderon, Nolan Vannata, Reid Rossi, and Negron competed in the 200 medley relay and placed 15th with a time of 1:36.71.

“It was really fun,” Negron said. “Our medley was the best relay we’ve had in awhile. Alexis did really well. Nolan kept us in the game, and Reid kept us in.

“It was tied pretty much the whole way. When I went in, I was seeing all the kids, and it was just a matter of getting to the wall the fastest.”