Shady Side Aquatics Dominates PIAA Championships!
Mar. 14—LEWISBURG — As the No. 1 seed by eight seconds in the Class 2A girls 200-yard individual medley, Shady Side Academy junior Ava Jochims felt confident that she could bring home a second straight state championship in the event Friday evening at the PIAA swimming championships at Bucknell University.
But she wasn't overconfident. Jochims trusted her abilities and put the pedal to the metal from the first dive into the water to the final touch of the wall. Her time of 2 minutes, 1.
13 seconds was more than seven seconds faster than runner-up Locklynn Bienkowski, a freshman from Dallas in District 2, and third-place finisher Jaslene Cage, a junior from Erie's Cathedral Prep. "It is so much fun to come up here and compete with the best in the state," said Jochims, who is looking forward to going after her second state title in the 500 freestyle Saturday. "All of the girls are absolutely amazing.
It is definitely a great feeling to also come here with a larger team and see girls swimming a number of individual events. " Jochim's win in the 200 IM helped the Bulldogs score 88 points with place finishes in the championship and consolation heats on Day 1 of the Class 2A meet at Bucknell. Franklin Regional's championship in the 200 free relay capped first-day performances that lifted the Panthers to the top spot in the standings with 108 points.
SSA swimmers grabbed their own relay gold to kick off Friday's girls session. Jochims provided the pop of experience with the youthful talent of freshmen Elyse Brenenborg, Ella Kiger and Rachael Bummer. The quartet swam to a school-record time of 1:47.
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