Berks defending District 3 swimming champs will be pushed by county rivals as 11 county swimmers get No. 1 seeds

Brian Rippey, Reading Eagle, Pa.
·3 min read

Feb. 26—Daniel Boone's Chris Guiliano and Wilson's Shelby Kahn will have to look no farther than their own backyards for their toughest competition in the District 3 Swimming Championships, which will be held Saturday, March 6.

Guiliano, who won District 3 Class 3A titles in the 200- and 100-yard freestyles last year, is seeded first in both events — two of the 11 top seeds earned by Berks swimmers — according to psych sheets released Friday.

Guiliano, the returning PIAA champion in the 200 free, is seeded first with a time of 1:41.92. Right behind is Gov. Mifflin's Ben Gerhard with a 1:41.99 seed time.

In the 100 free, an event in which Guiliano has captured two straight District 3 titles, he is seeded first with a time of 43.91, nearly three seconds better than the No. 2 seed.

Kahn won District 3 Class 3A titles in the 200 and 500 free last year. She is seeded No. 1 in the 200 in 1:50.67, a little more than a second better than the second seed. No. 3 seed Megan Unruh of Exeter is close behind in 1:51.87.

But in the 500 free, Kahn is seeded second in 5:01.93 with Unruh No. 1 in 5:01.67. Gov. Mifflin's Ellie Friedlander is No. 4 in 5:08.69.

Also back to defend a 3A girls title is Muhlenberg's Sydney Gring in the 100 butterfly. Gring, the PIAA runner-up in the event last season, is seeded first. She also is seeded No. 2 in the 200 individual medley.

In boys Class 3A, Gerhard is the defending champion in the 500 free and is the No. 1 seed in 4:38.58.

Wilson's Cameron Reeder, the 2020 champion in the 200 IM, has opted not to swim that event this season and is instead entered in the 100 fly and 100 breaststroke.

Wilson has won four straight District 3 boys championships and is seeded No. 1 in all three relays. The Wilson girls also are seeded No. 1 in the 400 free relay.

In Class 2A, the Schuylkill Valley girls have won four straight District 3 titles. The Panthers are seeded No. 1 in the 200 medley relay and are second in both freestyle relays.

Megan Ehrnfeldt, who won the District 3 Class 2A title in the 100 fly last season, is swimming the 200 and 500 free events this year. She is seeded third in the 200 and second in the 500.

The Class 3A championship meets will be held at Cumberland Valley. The girls meet will start at 10:15 a.m. followed by the boys meet at 3:45.

The Class 2A championship meets will be held at Central York. The girls meet will start at 10:15 a.m. and the boys meet will start at 3:30 p.m.

Due to COVID, the fields have been reduced to 16 individuals and eight relay teams per event in Class 3A and 12 individuals and eight relay teams per event in 2A.