LEWISBURG — Franklin Regional and Shady Side Academy went back and forth over the course of two hours Saturday evening to decide the PIAA Class 2A girls swimming team champion at Bucknell University’s Kinney Natatorium.
Each team captured medals. Shady Side junior Ava Jochims was golden again in the 500-yard freestyle.
With Shady Side holding a slim lead over FR, the teams’ 400 free relays decided the winner.
The Bulldogs’ quartet of Jochims and freshmen Rachael Bummer, Ella Kiger and Elyse Brenenborg finished a close second (3 minutes, 31.17 seconds) to District 1’s Villa Maria Academy (3:31.11), while Franklin Regional’s team of senior Magdalena Hull, junior Phoebe Boswell, freshman Anna Tomasic and junior Scarlett Zolnak took third (3:32.09).
When the relay points were distributed, a four-point lead grew to six (185-179), and Shady Side was the girls state champion for the first time in program history.
Shady Side coach Erika Cooper took a celebratory plunge with her swimmers after receiving the team trophy.
“It was a little cold, colder than I remember it being from 30 years ago when I last swam,” she said. “It was great to be able to do that. I coach summer club and USA club, and my high school team has been bugging me to get in the water. I said they have to win something before I get in, so this is pretty special.”
The teams traded the lead several times Friday.
Shady Side got important performances from Bummer with a sixth in the 100 free (52.80) and Kiger with a sixth in the 100 breast (1:05.34).
Jochims captured her second straight 500 free state title in a time of 4:53.93 while standing on the top of the podium with Brenenborg who placed second (4:56.87).
“Kiger gave us some breathing room,” Cooper said. “We were doing the math this afternoon to see where we were at. We were projecting some things out, and we thought it might be a couple of points either way. The girls had the lead going into the relay, but they still wanted to win that (relay) title. It was really tight.”
Franklin Regional helped its cause with three medal finishes Saturday. Tomasic placed fourth in the 100 free (51.78), Hull took eighth in the 500 free (5:12.93), and Zolnak finished sixth in the 100 back (58.81).
“I am so proud of these girls,” Panthers coach Dan Taylor said. “It comes down to having fun, being with your teammates, swimming fast and competing. That’s all these kids did all weekend long. We were following the standings and seeing how everything was turning out after each event. With the numbers game, we were hoping to give ourselves a chance at the end. The relay raced their hearts out. It was such great competition both nights. It was a lot of fun.”
Shady Side edged Franklin Regional at Bucknell after FR took second and Shady Side third, behind Indiana, at WPIALs on Feb. 27 at Pitt.
Jochims said it was good to have Brenenborg next to her in the 500.
“It was a lot of fun to be beside each other in that race,” said Jochims, who also claimed her second 200 individual medley crown Friday.
“She was pushing me, and I was pushing her. Elyse swam an amazing time. I am just so happy for her.”
In the midst of the Shady Side Academy and Franklin Regional battle for team gold, Hampton made a charge of its own to third overall with 138 points.
Talbots senior Lainey Sheets won her second state title in as many days with a first in the 100 back (54.72) to go along with the 100 butterfly title she captured Friday. Add in her performances in two of Hampton’s relays, and PIAA officials selected her as the girls swimmer of the meet.
“I thought about it and wondered if it was possible,” Sheets said. “I though it was based off points, and relays count. But I was totally shocked. There were so many amazing swimmers here.”
Sheets shared the 100 back championship heat and then the podium with twin sister, Libby, who moved up from the eighth seed for the finals to fifth overall (58.71). It was a special moment for the fellow Duquesne commit who Friday lost out on a spot in the finals in the 200 IM in a swim-off for eighth.
“It meant everything to me to be up on that podium with her,” Lainey Sheets said. “Swimming alongside her my whole life, we got better together and had so much fun.
“Seeing myself perform well these past two days really showed my growth as a swimmer. Closing this chapter of my life, I am really happy with what I have accomplished, and I am excited to see what is to come.”
Those capturing individual bronze medals Saturday evening were Winchester Thurston senior Thea Siegel in the 100 free (51.44), Northgate sophomore JoAnn Cook in the 100 back (57.37) and Southmoreland senior Allison Stinnett in the 100 breast (1:03.99).
Class 2A boys
Joshua Reed’s first PIAA individual swimming championship Saturday night in the Class 2A finals at Bucknell University capped a season that saw the Indiana junior grow through adversity.
He has continued to swim and swim well since a chronic kidney disease diagnosis a few weeks before the season began.
Reed brought home gold in the 100 free (46.06), cutting almost a second from his time in the preliminaries.
He adds that gold medal to the silver he won in the 50 free Friday and the three relay championships he helped bring home from previous PIAA swims.
“I am grateful to be able to come out here and have a great race,” Reed said. “I am blessed to be surrounded by so much support from family, coaches and all my teammates. I’ve had a lot to work through, but there have been so many people in my corner helping me stay where I need to be.”
Reed was third in the 100 free last year. He takes the 100 free championship baton from former Indians teammate Preston Kessler, who graduated in 2025 with three PIAA gold medals in the Class 2A 100 free. Kessler now swims at the Naval Academy.
“The first two years, I was racing Preston, one of my own teammates,” Reed said. “Being able to carry on what he did for three years of his high school career, it means so much to me.”
Northgate senior Sam Cavanaugh was golden Saturday in the 500 free after winning the 200 IM on Friday.
He won the 500 by almost five seconds, touching the wall in a school record 4:30.08.
“I really wanted to be under 4:30. It was so close,” Cavanaugh said. “I was a little bummed out at first, but then I was happy with dropping a good bit of time.”
Cavanaugh’s two state titles and runner-up finishes as part of the Northgate 200 medley and 400 free relays put him in the running for swimmer of the meet. That distinction, however, went to Schuylkill Valley senior Owen Eisenhofer who won gold in two relays, the 100 back and the 200 free.
Cavanaugh teamed with Nate Parker, Jakob Vranick, and Greyson McKelvey for second in the 400 free relay. The time of 3:11.39 is a new school record by two seconds. The relay went 3:14.10 in the prelims and 3:13.14 at WPIALs.
The 34 points scored helped Northgate finish a close battle for second. Erie’s Cathedral Prep won with 198 points. Tunkannock from District 2 finished second (147 points), while Schuylkill Valley from District 3 was third (141) and Northgate fourth (138).
Laurel Highlands senior Kasey Mahoney won his third PIAA medal in the 100 breast.
Fifth as a sophomore and fourth last year, the Clarion commit led the WPIAL 100 breast contingent in third place with a time of 56.07. It was nearly seven tenths of a second faster than his prelim time and also was faster than his third from WPIALs (56.64).