2023 District XI AAA Swimming Champions Crowned: Lady Trojans, Emmaus Boys

In front of the packed Parkland High School natatorium, on March 3rd at 7:00pm, the District XI AAA 2023 Swimming Championships kicked off with lots of energy and excitement. The swimmers were loud, fans were on their feet, and the coaches were prepared for the biggest weekend of the season. Everyone enjoyed the crazy, noisy, thrilling atmosphere. Districts this year consisted of the top 16 swimmers in each individual event and the top relay from each team. Each swimmer had worked incredibly hard over the 22-23 season to get to this point and they were all ready to showcase what they worked for.

On the girls side, Parkland was in the lead with a score of 236, Emmaus was in second with a score of 224, and Nazareth was in third with a score of 169. Friday’s session consisted of events 3-14.

The meet began with the girls 200 medley relay, which got the crowd and athletes on their feet. This was an exciting race to watch. Parkland placed first with a time of 1:48.36. The team consisted of senior Simone Lin, freshman Kelsey McPeek, freshman Milla Hahn, and junior Madison Roseman. Emmaus placed second after Parkland, then Southern Lehigh and Liberty followed in third and fourth.

The 200 freestyle winner was Kseniia Luniushina (East Stroudsburg South, Jr.) with a time of 1:54.78 followed by Simone Lin (Parkland, Sr.), Brianna Wasem (Southern Lehigh, Jr.), and Mia Baldwin (Emmaus, Jr.).

In the 200 IM, Hahn took gold in a time of 2:09.46. Marianne Tassinari (East Stroudsburg South, Sr.) came in second, Catherine Sirignano (Emmaus, Sr.) came in third and Ashley Settle (Parkland, Sr.) came in a close fourth.

Jillian Kingsley (Nazareth, Sr.) placed first in the 50 freestyle with a time of 24.52. She was followed by Alexis Hoyer (Southern Lehigh, So.), Jewel Little (Stroudsburg, Sr.), and Natalie Brezinsky (Liberty, Jr.).

The last individual event of the night was the 100 fly, where Hahn earned her second individual gold and third gold overall of the meet in a time of 58.67. Hahn was followed by Ava Palochik (Nazareth, Jr.), Kyla Spengler (Nazareth, So.), and Grace Robinson (Southern Lehigh, Jr.).

To finish off the night for the girls, we got to watch an impressive 200 freestyle relay race. The team that took gold was Nazareth in a time of 1:37.17, consisting of Kinglsey, Spengler, Palochick, and junior Cameron Alvino. Southern Lehigh finished in second. Emmaus touched in third. And Parkland came in fourth.

On the boys side, Emmaus was in the lead with a total of 269 points, Nazareth was in second with 235 points, and Parkland was in third with 205 points. After the exciting girl’s medley relay, we continued on to watch an exciting boys medley relay.

Emmaus placed first with a time of 1:36.42, sophomore Griffin Messenlehner started off the relay and was joined by senior Ryan DeJohn, senior Ethan Ferris, and freshman Anderson Borst. They were followed by Liberty. Nazareth finished third, and Parkland took fourth.

In the 200 freestyle, Ethan Coffman (Nazareth, Sr.) took gold in a time of 1:42.37. Aaron Stinner (Whitehall, Jr.) came in second, Logan Shriver (Emmaus, Jr.), and Jack Reppert (Emmaus, Sr.) came in third and fourth.

The 200 IM winner was Malcom Collins (Liberty Jr.) with a time of 1:56.67 and was followed by Andrew Taylor (Emmaus, Sr.), Logan Hartman (Emmaus, Jr.), and Gabe Krizel (Parkland, So.). In the 50 freestyle, Jack Hasker (Nazareth, Sr.) excitingly grabbed first in an end lane with a time of 21.66. Tyler Tinsley (Nazareth, Sr.) finished second. Ian Thomas (Whitehall, Jr.) finished third, and Ross Ellis (Nazareth, Sr.) finished fourth.

Cole Coffman (Nazareth, Jr.) placed first in the 100 fly with a time of 51.76, followed by Carter Mui (Pocono Mountain West, Jr.), Griffin Messenlehner (Emmaus, So.), and Ethan Ferris (Emmaus, Sr.) to conclude the individual races of the Friday session.

To complete the night as a whole, we got to watch a fast 200 freestyle relay race. The team that took gold was Nazareth. E. Coffman, Ellis, Tinsley, and Hasker finished in a time of 1:24.62. Emmaus finished second, Liberty touched in a close third, and Parkland came in fourth.

Friday’s session contained plenty of best times, great races, and lots of energy. This was a great kickoff to Districts and we expect to see a lot more to come from these talented athletes. The excitement is here for District XI swimming and the teams came back ready to finish this meet off on Saturday with even better performances.

Saturday, the final day of the District XI AAA 2023 Swimming Championships, consisted of events 15-24. This was the last chance to put points up on the board for the teams.

Day two of the meet kicked off with the girls 100 freestyle. Kingsley earned her second gold of the meet with a time of 53.56. Wasem came in second. Isabelle Johnson (Southern Leigh, Jr.) came in behind her, and Alvino followed in fourth.

As for the 500 freestyle, Lin finished first in a time of 5:15.95, followed by Julianne Zaffiro (Parkland, So.), Morgan Gould (Emmaus, Sr.) in a close third, and Robinson fourth.

The next event for the girls was the 100 backstroke where Luniushina took gold with a time of 58.32 just ahead of Sirignano, who was followed by Palochik, and Izzy Sparaco (Emmaus, Jr.).

The last individual event of the meet was the 100 breaststroke. McPeek placed first in the event with a time of 1:06.04, Brezinsky took second, Settle, and Tassinari followed.

Nazareth put on an exciting 400 freestyle relay and placed first with a time of 3:35.65. The team consisted of Kingsley, Palochik, Alvino, and Spengler. Southern Lehigh finished second, Parkland, and Emmaus finished third and fourth.

After the girls’ 100 freestyle, the boys put on a great race themselves. Taylor finished first in the 100 freestyle in a time of 47.93, followed by Ellis, Tinsley, and DeJohn.

The next event for the boys was the 500 freestyle where E. Coffman took gold just ahead of Shriver by 0.57 of a second. Stinner and Reppert followed.

As for the 100 backstroke, Messenlehner came in first in a time of 52.62 and finished ahead of C. Coffman, Josh Doule (Nazareth, Sr.), and Jacob Brunetti (Easton Area, So.). To finish up all the individual events of the meet, the boys put on an exciting race where Mui finished first ahead of Collins by .10 of a second with a time of 57.31. Thomas and Leo Quaranta (Nazareth, Jr.) took third and fourth.

To complete Districts entirely, we got to watch an impressive 400 freestyle relay race. The team that took gold was Nazareth in a time of 3:10.10. On the winning relay was E. Coffman, Hasker, Ellis, and Tinsley who out touched Emmaus’s relay by 0.40 of a second. Behind them was Liberty and Parkland.

The overall winner of the District XI AAA 2023 Swimming Championships for the girls was Parkland with a score of 426 marking this as their 26th District win. Emmaus was the 2023 District XI AAA runner up with a score of 409 and Nazareth came in third with a score of 296.

As for the boys, Emmaus claimed gold and came out on top with their 16th straight District win with a score of 478. The runner up on the boys side was Nazareth with a score of 416, and in third place was Parkland with 329 points.

Congratulations to all the teams on successful seasons and to each swimmer on incredible swims. Good luck to all the athletes competing at states in two weeks!

Photo Credits: Abigail Sheridan