OREFIELD - Marian’s Maddie Dando picked up her fourth straight District 11 Class 2A gold medal in the 100-yard backstroke on Sunday.

None of them came easy, but this might be the most rewarding.

For a year now, it’s been the mental part of swimming - as much as the physical - that has been Dando’s biggest challenge.

Last year at districts, there was a glitch with the scoring display at Parkland High School that delayed the official decision on who won. Eventually, it was straightened out and Dando was awarded the backstroke gold medal.

After training for states, Dando showed up at Bucknell University, only to find out that the 2A portion of states had been postponed by the coronavirus. Weeks later, the PIAA swimming finals were officially canceled, and Dando never got the chance to compete at states.

Fast forward to this season, and the concerns surrounding the coronavirus are still very present and wreaking havoc with sports schedules, including training schedules for athletes. When she could no longer train with her club team at the Hazleton YMCA, Dando admitted she thought all might be lost for her senior season.

“I really didn’t think that I could do it this year,” said Dando, who without a swim team at Marian is at the mercy of club teams to train and record times to compete in districts and states. “I had to change teams this year, and that was heartbreaking because those were the kids I grew up with and the coaches that I grew up with.”

Fortunately for Dando and her training friend, Dylan Schreffler, the Bloomsburg YMCA took them in and allowed them to train and compete. Dando is grateful to the Bloomsburg Y for the opportunity that allowed her to return to districts to defend her title and win No. 4.

“We [her and Schreffler] didn’t even think that we could come here because we didn’t have a pool,” said Dando, who recorded a time of 59.85 to capture her gold medal. “It was hard, but it taught me to never take anything for granted, because you never know. I doubted myself a lot and it was hard to stay motivated, but it toughened me up pretty much.”

Elsewhere in the girls’ competition, Jacqueline Kokinda of Panther Valley also had to deal with the trauma of being a swimmer without a school team, but she was back at districts and placed third in the 100-butterfly and fifth in the 500-yard freestyle.

“There are always challenges when you’re swimming independently, and we’ve had them all four years that I’ve been in high school. It means practicing at crazy hours and having to find places to practice. This year, it was even more challenging because of COVID, so I’m really happy with my performance today and how things have turned out for me over the past four years,” said Kokinda.

Another Panther Valley swimmer, senior Emily Newton, finished her high school career with a third-place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke, and a ninth-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle.

In boys action, Tamaqua’s 200 freestyle relay team picked up a medal with a fourth-place finish. The foursome of Nathaniel Kovalchick, Jack Tharp, Brandon Long and Ethan Amershek swam the event in 1:41.87. That same foursome also swam to fifth place in two other relays. Amershek, a senior sprinter competing in his final district meet, swam the anchor leg of both freestyle relays.

“Our relays really came strong,” said Tamaqua head coach Jennifer Paisley. “The boys finished in fourth place in the 200 freestyle relay. They really had nice splits in the relays, so they really worked hard for each other.”

GOOD TIMES FOR TAMAQUA ... The Tamaqua girls team put together a solid performance Sunday. Four of its swimmers finished higher than they were seeded coming into districts. Juniors Rylee Wenzel and Maura Walker both finished higher than their seeding in the 50-yard freestyle, with Wenzel finishing 11th and Walker 12th. Senior Madelyn Jones and freshman Lily McNutt both moved up over their seeding in the 100-yard breaststroke.

BOYS AREA TOP 10s ... Northern Lehigh’s Zachary Lehman finished eighth in the breaststroke. Amershek (individual medley) and Long (backstroke) both took ninth place in individual events, while Tharp (individual medley) finished 10th in his only event.

GIRLS

Team Standings

1. Blue Mountain (BM) 400, 2. Pottsville (PO) 242, 3. Moravian Academy (MO) 232, 4. Central Catholic (CC) 230, 5. Saucon Valley (SV) 218, 6. Tamaqua (T) 152, 7. Salisbury (S) 145, 8. tie Mahanoy Area (MH), North Schuylkill (NS) 119, 10. Schuylkill Haven (SH) 59, 11. Panther Valley (PV) 55, 12. Palisades (PA) 33, 13. East Stroudsburg North (ESN) 32, 14. Marian Catholic (MC) 20, 15. Notre Dame Green Pond (ND) 6.

200 Medley Relay - 1. Central Catholic (Grace Shucavage, Samantha Mikosky, Sabringa Yurconic, Mimi Norris) 1:54.19, 2. Saucon Valley, 3. Moravian Academy, 5. Tamaqua (Gabby Blasko, Madelyn Jones, Maura Walker, Rylee Wenzel); 200 Freestyle - 1. Mimi Norris (CC) 1:58.25, 2. Katherine Sarnes (BM), 3. Julia Graver (S), 10. Nicole Ramirez-Aguerro; 200 IM - 1. Cece Traub (MO) 1:12.13, 2. Taleah Ruben (PO), 3. Maria Lopez (BM), 9. Lexi Bachala (T), 10. Gabby Blasko (T); 50 Freestyle - 1. Hannah Magdeburg (BM) 24.92, 2. Morgan Yungling (BM), 3. Julia Balulis (PO), 9. Emily Newton (Panther Valley), 11. Rylee Wenzel (T), 12. Maura Walker (T); 100 Butterfly - 1. Sabrina Yurconi (CC) 1:00.30, 2. Grace Shucavage (CC), 3. Jacqueline Kokinda (PV); 200 Freestyle Relay - 1. Blue Mountain (Morgan Yuengling, Paige Bensinger, Maria Lopez, Hannah Magdeburg) 1:42.24, 2. Saucon Valley, 3. Central Catholic, 6. Tamaqua (Rylee Wenzel, Lexi Buchala, Madelyn Jones, Maura Walker); 100 Freestyle: 1. Hannah Magdeburg (BM) 53.94, 2. Morgan Yuengling (BM), 3. Maria Donahue (SV); 500 Freestyle - 1. Katherine Sarnes (BM) 5:13.59, 2. Sabrina Yurconic (CC), 3. Mimi Norris (CC), 5. Jacqueline Kokinda (PV), 9. Gabby Blasko (T), 10. Lily McNutt (T); 100 Backstroke - 1. Maddi Dando (MC) 59.85, 2. Abby Dudash (MH), 3. Julia Graver (S); 100 Breaststroke - 1. Taleah Ruben (PO) 1:07.56, 2. Tabbatha Ward (MH), 3. Emily Newton (PV), 8. Madelyn Jones (T), 12. Lily McNutt (T), 13. Hailey Toth (T); 400 Freestyle Relay - 1. Blue Mountain (Morgan Yuengling, Katherine Sarnes, Marie Lopez, Hannah Magdeburg) 3:42.49, 2. Pottsville, 3. Salisbury, 6. Tamaqua (Nicole Ramirez-Aguero, Madelyn Jones, Rylee Wenzel, Lexi Buchala).

BOYS

Team Standings

1 Blue Mountain (BM) 356.5, 2. Central Catholic (CC) 307, 3. Moravian Academy (MO) 230, 4. Pottsville (PO) 228, 5. Tamaqua (T) 122, 6. Schuylkill Haven (SH) 104, 7. North Schuylkill (NS) 84, 8. Salisbury (S) 67, 9. East Stroudsburg North (ESN) 66, 10. Saucon Valley 55, 11. Mahanoy Area (MH) 37.

200 Medley Relay - 1. Blue Mountain (Mikolas Barbe, Tbaer Perry, Sean Sopko, Derrick Yuengling) 1:14.11, 2. Central Catholic, 3. Pottsville, 5. Tamaqua (Brandon Long, Ethan Amershek, Nathaniel Kovalchick, Jack Tharp); 200 Frestyle - 1. RJ Farina (ND) 1:43.53, 2. Travis Stanitis (NS), 3. Logan Stein (BM); 200 IM - David LaBarre (Pen Argyl) 1:57.88, 2. Francesco D’Avella (ND), 3. Derrick Yuengling (BM), 9. Ethan Amershek (T), 10. Jack Tharp; 100 Butterfly - 1. Danny Hayes (Pen Argyl) 51.85, 2. Nathan Harris (CC), 3. Armaan Panther (MO), 12. Nathaniel Kovalchick (T); 200 Freestyle Relay - 1. Blue Mountain (Derrick Yuengling, Mikolas Barbe, Matheson Bair, Sean Sopko) 1:32.51, 2. Central Catholic, 3. Pottsville, 4. Tamaqua (Nathaniel Kovalchick, Jack Tharp, Brandon Long, Ethan Amershek); 100 Freestyle - 1. Zaidian Van Orden (PO) 47.25, 2. Mile Whitley (SV), 3. Dylan Schreffler (Nativity); 500 Freestyle - 1. RJ Farina (ND) 4:43.23, 2. Logan Stein (BM), 3. Gregory Rautzhan (BM) 11. Jathan Krall (T); 100 Backstroke - 1. David LaBarre (Pen Argyl) 53.03, 2. Danny Hayes (Pen Argyl), Armaan Pandher (MO), 9. Brandon Long (T). 100 Breaststroke - 1. Francesco D’Avella (ND) 59.92, 2. Jake Hillibush (MH), 3. Taber Perry (BM), 8. Zachary Lehman (Northern Lehigh); 400 Freestyle Relay - 1. Central Catholic (Eaomon Cunningham, David Castano, James Manley, Nathan Harris) 3:24.0, 2. Pottsville, 3. Moravian Academy, 5. Tamaqua (Nathaniel Kovalchick, Jack Tharp, Brandon Long, Ethan Amershek).