March 4, 2011 - Panther Valley’s Karoline Vavra and Northwestern’s Madison Burns both gain gold medals during the opening day of the District 11 Class 2A swimming championships at Parkland. Vavra takes first place in the 50 freestyle, registering a time of 24.86. The PV senior entered the event as the No. 2 seed. Burns captures her title in the 200 IM, touching the wall in 2:06.13. Other area swimmers to earn medals include Palmerton’s Katie Pielmeier (third in 200 IM), Tamaqua’s Joann Butkus (third in 50 free), Weatherly’s Matt Cullen (third in 50 free) and the Tamaqua boys 200 medley relay team (third).