This past weekend, eight intrepid Blair students traveled to Franklin and Marshall University to compete at the Eastern Interscholastic Swimming Championships. Competing against teams two or three times their size, the Bucs finished a respectable 24th out of 36 teams thanks to two relays scoring in finals and three swimmers qualifying for finals in individual events.
Anna Insana '21 placed 13th in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:56.52 and 7th in the 500 yard freestyle with a time of 5:06.52. In the 500, she was the top MAPL finisher. Both times are new Blair Academy records and Anna is looking forward to returning next year for another record breaking season.
Camille Williams '20 qualified 9th for finals in the 50 freestyle with a time of 24.66, breaking the Blair school record in the process. She also placed 7th in the 100 yard freestyle with a time of 53.94, missing the Blair record by only .06 seconds. She will be swimming at Trinity College in the fall.
Aidan Stockhousen '20 barely missed making finals on Friday with a personal best time of 22.41 in the 50 yard freestyle. He came back with a vengeance on Saturday, qualifying for finals in the 100 freestyle with a time of 48.60, about a second and a half faster than his previous personal best. In the past decade, Aidan is only the second male swimmer from Blair to qualify for finals at this meet.
Nate Castimore '20, a senior who began swimming as a freshman at Blair, showed that hard work and dedication does pay off over time. He went a time of 1:52.72 in the 200 yard freestyle, lowering his best time from last season by about ten seconds. He also went 51.15 in the 100 yard freestyle, bettering his time from last season by 3.82 seconds. Nate will be attending Lehigh University in the fall where he will work to walk onto their swim team.
Rin Mori '23, a freshman, had an admirable showing in the 100 yard backstroke with a time of 56.71, giving hope for the continued success of the Blair Academy swim team in years to come. He finished 31st out of 61 swimmers in that event.
Peyton Schreiber '22 and Christina Tan '21 also contributed in two relays and the 50 and 100 freestyle events, both swimming multiple personal best times. Julian Huang, a freshman, contributed in relays and broke the “one minute barrier” in the 100 yard freestyle for the first time, showing potential for a promising swimming career at Blair.