Log In


Reset Password
LEHIGH VALLEY WEATHER

Boys take 10th straight D-11 title

After an undefeated season that led to an Eastern Pennsylvania Conference Championship, the Emmaus boys came into the District 11 Swimming and Diving Championships confident of getting their 10th straight district championship and they didn’t leave disappointed.

The Hornet boys team picked up 401 points, easily outdistancing second-place Parkland, who finished with 308.5 points in the meet. The end result is that Emmaus will have six shots at gold in individual events and three more in relays at the PIAA Championship coming up March 17-18 at Bucknell University.

Connor DeJohn won district gold in the 200 freestyle and Ethan Carr won gold in both the 200 individual medley and 100 backstroke to qualify for states. Andrew Vanim had wrapped up a spot in states with a second-place finish in diving. He also qualified in the 50 freestyle.

In addition to the gold medal winners at districts, swimmers with the top times compared to other districts, also get a spot in states. DeJohn finished third in districts in the 100 freestyle, but with a time good enough to be seeded 16th in the event at states. Senior Jason Yerger will compete against Carr in the 100 backstroke.

“They just took care of their business from top to bottom, from seniors down to some great sophomore and freshmen performances, they did their job,” said Emmaus head coach Tim O’Connor of the boys team.

On the strength of his top performances in the district meet, Carr was awarded the Dennis McGinley Award as the top boys swimmer in districts. Not only did Carr win the 200 IM, but he set a new district record with a time of 1:53.02 in the event, beating the previous mark set by Emmaus’ Carter Paules in 2015.

“Ethan’s been awesome for me for four year,” said O’Connor. “He’s always been a competitor,” said O’Connor, who was impressed with Carr’s performance this season.

“I knew that I had some tough competition going into this race,” said Carr after winning the 100 backstroke. “The McGinley Award is really exciting. I was surprised to hear this after just getting the 100, but it’s really exciting and a great honor.”

In relays, Emmaus boys finished second in the 200 medley relay. The team of Carr and fellow senior Vanim teamed with junior Ricky Thomas and freshman Cooper Kocon to finish with a time of 1:36.35, which was fast enough to qualify Emmaus for states.

The 200 freestyle relay team of DeJohn, Vanim, Nathan Luey and freshman Devin Metzger also finished second, but their time was also good enough to qualify for the state meet. The third foursome to reach states combined Carr, DeJohn, Thomas and Yerger in the 400 freestyle relay, and they again finished second, but with a time good enough to make states.

That final relay lap had Carr going up against last year’s McGinley Award winner, Robert Negron of Liberty. The team from Liberty was able to edge Emmaus by 35 hundredths of a second to take gold.

“What a way to end this meet, with Robert and Ethan going head-to-head in that relay,” said O’Connor. “They’re two of the best and it was exciting to watch them compete. Even though Liberty came out on top in that one, it was a great race.”

Carr is looking ahead to states both for individual and relay events, but is also thankful to have been a part of continuing the 10 year dominance that the Emmaus boys team has in districts.

“It’s really amazing to look back and think about being a part of this program,” said Carr. “When you think about all of the great swimmers here that started this streak, to be a part of the team that has continued it for four more years is unbelievable. Now, it’s up to the younger guys to keep it all going and I think they will.”

PRESS PHOTO BY NANCY SCHOLZEthan Carr earned the Dennis McGinley award while qualifying for the maximum four events at next week's state championships.