OREFIELD - Aiden Braadt had to stay focused.

But the Northwestern sophomore couldn’t ignore what was happening in the lane next to him.

He could sense Pen Argyl’s Jake Hauff was coming.

Braadt never wavered, closing out the final leg of the 200 IM to hit the wall first and claim his first District 11 title.

“I know exactly what he’s doing,” Braadt said of Hauff. “I try to make sure that my head’s straight but I’ve got my eyes over on him and try to make sure I can out-reach him in the end.”

The sophomore won the Class 2A event at Parkland High School with a time of 2:06.14, just topping Hauff, who finished with a time of 2:06.25.

Braadt was seeded second with a time of 2:11.87.

“I’m really happy. It’s a big drop,” he said.

Braadt used a big effort in the third leg, finishing with a split of 38.20 to Hauff’s 40.25.

“I tend to slow down a little bit towards the end,” said Braadt. “I like to push the breast stroke, but by the time I get to the freestyle (at the end) I get a little tired and that’s probably where I need to work on.

“Jake is really nice and a good sport and absolutely talented. Last year I swam against him. He’s a really talented swimmer.

In the final leg - the freestyle - Hauff swam a 28.56 to Braadt’s 30.02.

Through the first two legs - the butterfly and the backstroke - Braadt swam 26.32 and 31.60 to Hauff’s 25.40 and 32.04.

“I like it because there’s multiple strokes and once you switch strokes you get the fatigue off from the previous one and you can kind of just go fast,” said Braadt. “And I’m a sprinter, so I just like going fast.

“I thought I had it from the beginning, but he was really with me. It was a little unexpected. Towards the end I didn’t know if I had it, but I just tried my best to get to the wall first.”

Swimming for Northwestern, a school without a swimming program, Braadt dedicates much of his time - and life - to the sport.

“I’ve been swimming since I was 4,” he said. “I joined a club team when I was 11 and I train year-round. Just putting in the work, and working with my coaches and with my friends. They help me love swimming and stay with it. Just have to get into a (good) mindset, and you can drop time and place (well).

“After school, about two hours after school, I have a two hour to two hour and 45 minute practice, five to six days a week. We practice at Allen High School through my club team, Parkland Aquatic Club. We also swim at Muhlenberg College on Mondays and Fridays and every other day is at Allen.”

That work has paid dividends for Braadt, who will now head to Bucknell University for the PIAA Championships.

“I’m really excited,” said Braadt. “I wasn’t even really too aware about states up until this point if I’m going to be really honest. But I’m really excited for states and I hope I do well then.

“Just putting in the work, it’s nice to see the outcome and what you’ve been working for all year has paid off. To finish a race like that and drop time too. And to swim with all these guys here, it’s fun and it’s nice to do.”

Northwestern’s Hunter Slasko placed third in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:56.90.

He was seeded second with a time of 1:59.00.

“Hunter has been swimming with me and he’s really been helping my through,” Braadt said of Slasko. “I’ve probably known him since I was about 8, since elementary school.”

Blue Raider relays

Tamaqua’s boys also finished third in the 200 freestyle relay.

Jacob Hehn, Ethan DiBonifazio, Jack Tharp and Stephen Behun swam to a time of 1:37.50 to land on the podium. They were seeded third with a time of 1:38.89.

The Blue Raider boys and girls relay teams each placed fourth in the 200 medley relay.

The team of Gabby Blasko, Lily McNutt, Savannah Wilson and Ava Jones swam to a fourth place finish with a time of 2:05.18. The group turned in a stellar performance to finish on the podium, being seeded ninth with a time of 2:09.61.

“So to start off the meet with the girls was like a surprise finish. They came from the first heat, weren’t even in the fastest heat, swam their best alone and then took fourth place,” said Tamaqua head coach Jen Paisley. “So it was amazing. They were very excited. As soon as they saw the times come up, they were like, ‘Oh my god. Our times were faster than that.’ So it was very exciting for them and I was happy for them because those girls have been working hard all season long.”

The group has been together throughout much of the season, developing a chemistry and camaraderie that is evident when they’re in the water.

“Sometimes we will switch Savannah and Lily between breast stroke and freestyle depending on the week and kind of what I’m seeing at practice,” said Paisley. “So we went with Lily in the breast stroke and Savannah in the fly today so that seemed to be the best combination for us and it worked well.”

In the boys 200 medley relay, Brandon Long, Stephen Behun, Jacob Hehn and Jack Tharp placed fourth with a time of 1:52.02. They were seeded fourth with a time of 1:55.40.

The performances of both boys relay teams was impressive with each group using an alternate in the race to replace Jathan Krall, who was out sick.

“We expect the boys to be in the mix,” said Paisley. “We kind of moved relays around, so we weren’t sure what was going to happen. But we put the alternates in - that’s why we have the alternates. They train as hard as they can so that they can step in and hopefully be just as fast and give the relay a solid finish and that’s exactly what happened for both of those relays for the boys today. So there’s definitely lots to be happy about.”

In the 200 medley relay, Jacob Hehn was the alternate who slid into the lineup, while Ethan DiBonifazio was the alternate who swam in the 200 freestyle relay.

UP NEXT

... The Class 2A competition continues today at Parkland, beginning with the girls 100 freestyle at 10 a.m. Marian’s Michael Strucko is the top seed in the boys 500 freestyle with a time of 5:11.25. He is also the second seed in the 100 backstroke with a time of 56.32 behind Moravian Academy’s Nicholas Ritter (53.90).