On the Monday following the District 11 Diving Championships, Emmaus swimming head coach Tim O’Connor had to deliver bad news to his girls swimming team. Rival Parkland had swept the top four spots in diving, leaving Emmaus 68 points behind heading into the swimming events at last weekend’s District 11 Championships. Instead of despair, his girls responded with “so there’s a chance.”

“I had to point out that 68 points behind is not good, but they just kept focused on having a chance to catch them and that’s what they set out to do,” said O’Connor.

Emmaus wasn’t able to catch Parkland, which captured its ninth straight girls team championship at districts. Watching Emmaus try was a thing of beauty as the Hornets slowly closed the gap.

After Chelsea Gravereaux and Abby Heilenman took first and second, respectively, in the 100 freestyle, Emmaus stood just 22 points behind Parkland. Emmaus later closed the gap to 20 points, but Parkland had a good showing in the 100 breaststroke late in the meet to put Emmaus 24 points behind and effectively leaving the title out of reach. When all was said and done, the team of Katie Champagne, Gravereaux, Heilenman and Reilly King took first in the final event of the day, the 400 freestyle relay, leaving Emmaus 16 points shy of first place in the team standings for districts.

“I think it’s a testament to our senior leadership,” said O’Connor. “These girls were tested through the Wilson Relays, the Bucknell Invitational and then the dual meets with Liberty and Parkland, and they really believed they could make up that deficit, and they almost did.”

The second-place finish emphasized the importance of just how much a good diving team can do for a program. To put it in perspective, had Emmaus been able to place a diver only as high as fourth in diving, the two teams would have tied for the district championship.

Gravereaux took first place in the 200 freestyle before winning the 100 freestyle to secure a spot in states in both events. Champagne placed first in the 100 backstroke, with Kaitlin Hur finishing third. In addition to winning the 400 freestyle relay, Emmaus took gold in the 200 freestyle relay when Champagne, Heilenman and Gravereaux teamed with senior Marissa Decker for first place.

“It was great that we finished one and two,” said Gravereaux of the finish in the 100 freestyle. “We scored a lot of points for our team, and that’s what we needed. I love racing against my teammates because we always push each other and it brings out the best in all of us.”

During the event, the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference Girls Swimmer of the Year was announced, with the award going to Gravereaux. That award is based on a point system from meets throughout the season. The boys swimmer of the year honor went to Central Catholic’s Gabe Castano.

“I’m excited about going back to states,” said Champagne. “It’s been a really exciting meet and I’m really proud of my teammates.”

The state meet is coming up March 17-18 at Bucknell University. Top finishers in each event get automatic bids into states, with others gaining entry based on their finishing time compared to those in other districts.

Champagne’s time of 2:08.12 in the 200 individual medley was good enough for a spot in states, as was King’s time of 5:11.29 in the 500 freestyle.

“I’m happy with how the girls competed,” said O’Connor. “When you look back on this season, they had an undefeated season in the EPC, they beat Parkland for the first time in years in the dual meet and they had a good showing here in districts. Now, they compete in states and it’s going to be interesting to see how they push each other there. I’m sure they’ll take the same approach that they did coming in here, ‘there’s a chance,’ and sometimes, that’s all you need.”