ALLENTOWN — Three area swimmers went into the second day of the District 11 Class 3A Championships with titles to defend.

All three did so with success.

Marian Catholic’s Michael and Lydia Strucko both won their second straight backstroke gold medal, while Tamaqua’s Savanna Wilson won the 100 breaststroke for the second year in a row.

Lydia Strucko, a sophomore, has followed in her older brother’s footsteps by taking second place at districts as a freshman then winning in her second trip to the event, which was held at Parkland High School.

She put on a dominant performance Saturday, swimming the 100 backstroke in 57.21 to win the event by just over six seconds.

“I’d say I went into it really confidently,” Lydia Strucko said. “Given the fact that I’m not tapered or rested at all, I’m pretty happy with my time. I’m hoping to go faster at states.”

She will also swim the individual medley at states, as she won a district crown in that event Friday.

After taking ninth place in the backstroke in her first trip to the PIAA championship meet, Lydia Strucko is looking to improve on the 57.78 she swam at states last season.

“Last year I was more nervous and didn’t know what to expect” she said. “This year I’m more prepared. I’m going into it with a really aggressive mindset, and I’m ready to go.”

Michael Strucko also won his event by a comfortable margin Friday, finishing in 51.89 with the second-place finisher at 54.68.

“I think that’s a good time going into states,” Michael Strucko said. “I think that will set me up for success there. I think I did my job today, and I’m excited to see what happens in two weeks.

“Anything around 51 is good. I’m planning to swim faster at states, but I’m happy with it.”

The Marian junior is making his third trip to the state meet. Last year he made the B finals in the backstroke for the first time in his career and swam times of 54.56 (prelims) and 54.31 (finals).

“I’ve gotten a lot faster,” he said.

His district time from this year would have earned him a top-five finish at states last year. He’s planning to drop more time in two weeks and finish on the podium at states.

“Top three is going to be the goal,” Michael Strucko said. “I’m going to rest, taper and really lock in.”

Wilson swam the breaststroke in 1:06.22, with Salisbury’s Olivia Amorim touching the wall second in 1:08.94.

“I felt really good going into the water,” Wilson said. “I swam my fastest splits, got a personal record. I felt really energized, ready to swim today.”

Entering the meet as the defending champ was a new experience for the Blue Raider junior.

“Compared to last year it’s much different,” she said. “Last year I wasn’t expected to win. This year I was. It’s a much different thing for me to prepare for.”

She is looking to make it through preliminary heats in her second trip to states, where the top eight prelim times qualify for championship finals and earn medals, while the next eight prelim finishers swim in B finals.

Wilson will have more company at this year’s state meet as her medley relay team qualified for states on Friday.

“My goal this year for states is to make it to finals,” she said. “I was just out of finals last year. But I also get to go to states with my team this year for the medley. It will be nice having my friends there.

“Last year I didn’t know what to expect. I was going into a completely different atmosphere. This year I know what to expect, so hopefully I can use it to my advantage.”

OTHER MEDALISTS ...Northwestern Lehigh senior Aidan Braadt finished fourth in the boys 100-yard breaststroke, finishing with a time of 1:04.63. Marian senior Zoe Katona finished fourth in the girls 100-yard breastroke with a time of 1:10.39.

WE’RE SAYING THERE’S A CHANCE ...District 11 event winners earn automatic bids into the state meet, while other swimmers still could qualify for states based on their time from districts compared to other swimmers’ district times from around the state. The state championship meet will be held March 12-13 at Bucknell University’s Kinney Natatorium.

District 11 Swimming Championships

At Parkland High School

Class 2A

Legend

Allentown Central Catholic (ACC), Blue Mountain (BM), Catasauqua (Cat), East Stroudsburg North (ESN), Mahanoy Area (Mah), Marian (Mar), Moravian Academy (Mor), North Schuylkill (NS), Northwestern Lehigh (NWL), Notre Dame-Green Pond (NDG), Palisades (Pal), Panther Valley (PV), Pottsville (Po), Salisbury (Sal), Saucon Valley (Sau), Schuylkill Haven (SH), Southern Lehigh (SL), Tamaqua (Tam)

Saturday’s results

GIRLS

100 freestyle - 1. Julia Cort (Sau) 51.98, 2. Donja Tripp (NDG) 53.65, 3. Sage Kaplafka (BM) 54.05, 4. Hope Stauffer (SH) 54.38, 5. Angelina Dechert (Sau) 55.91, 6. Cali Stauffer (SH) 56.20, 7. Kamryn Wolfe (NS) 57.96, 8. Nicole Domermuth (SH) 58.30; 500 freestyle - 1. Phoebe Ballek (Sal) 5:15.35, 2. Lillian Brown (Mah) 5:37.58, 3. Julia Crossen (BM) 5:45.56, 4. Addie Kohoe-Huck (ACC) 5:49.02, 5. Kate Behun (Tam) 5:54.32, 6. Isabella Lafko (BM) 5:55.60, 7. Maddy Aemisegeo (Mor) 6:00.93, 8. Sarah Chaffier (Sau) 6:03.25; 100 backstroke - 1. Lydia Strucko (Mar) 57.21, 2. Lillian Brown (Mah) 1:03.27, 3. Maliya Walp (Cat) 1:06.17, 4. Katryna Price (Sau) 1:06.75, 5. Gianna Laselva (Po) 1:06.79, 6. Kate Behun (Tam) 1:06.92, 7. Mia Uliana (NDG) 1:12.80, 8. Lily Razavi (Mor) 1:12.92; 100 breaststroke - 1. Savannah Wilson (Tam) 1:06.22, 2. Olivia Amorim (Sal) 1:08.94, 3. Alayna Hensel (BM) 1:10.13, 4. Zoe Katona (Mar) 1:10.39, 5. Tori Oldford (Pal) 1:10.99, 6. Elizabeth Matrinko (Po) 1:14.76, 7. Alexis Chilinskas (Mah) 1:15.86, 8. Emily Murgia (Mor) 1:17.98; 400 freestyle relay - 1. Blue Mountain (Alayna Hensel, Julia Crossen, Isabella Lafko, Sage Kaplafka) 3:49.01, 2. Saucon Valley 3:50.53, 3. Schuylkill Haven 3:50.61, 4. Salisbury 4:00.29, 5. Pottsville 4:03.92, 6. Tamaqua (Audrey Nattress, Isabella Jones, Ava Jones, Savannah Wilson) 4:04.51, 7. Moravian Academy 4:06.78, 8. North Schuylkill 4:11.89.

Team Standings

1. Blue Mountain 321, 2. Saucon Valley 239, 3. Salisbury 192, 4. Moravian Academy 182, 5. Schuylkill Haven 174, Tamaqua 174, 7. Allentown Central Catholic 153, Pottsville 153, 9. North Schuylkill 136, 10. Marian Catholic 98, 11. Mahanoy Area 85, 12. East Stroudsburg North 36.

BOYS

100 freestyle - 1. Noah Powers (BM) 45.09*, 2. Nick Janis (ACC) 47.41, 3. Liam Fitzpatrick (ACC) 48.95, 4. Gavin Mentzer (NS) 49.87, 5. Aaron Lyon (SL) 50.55, 6. Aidan Varney (BM) 50.72, 7. Thomas Rafferty (ACC) 51.14, 8. Jacob Weikert (Sau) 51.37; 500 freestyle - 1. Sarnes Porter (BM) 4:52.41, 2. Liam Magdeburg (BM) 5:08.57, 3. Sachin Sareen (SL) 5:16.07, 4. Jason Russo (SL) 5:25.98, 5. Caden Wright (Po) 5:27.01, 6. Jonathan Hart (BM) 5:31.52, 7. Derek March (BM) 5:34.69, 8. Evan Johnson (SL) 5:38.23; 100 backstroke - 1. Michael Strucko (Mar) 51.89, 2. Dylan Smith (SL) 54.68, 3. Brody Moyer (BM) 55.14, 4. Luke Rizzo (SL) 58.57, 5. Gavin Mentzer (NS) 58.71, 6. Zach Scala (BM) 1:01.00, 7. Thomas King (Sau) 1:01.27, 8. Jake Tsyvine (SL) 1:02.92; 100 breaststroke - 1. Logan Crus (ESN) 1:02.32, 2. Ethan Miller (SH) 1:03.21, 3. Alex Zabinski (SL) 1:04.38, 4. Aidan Braadt (NWL) 1:04.63, 5. Caeden Amorin (Sal) 1:05.02, 6. Max Williams (Mor) 1:07.07, 7. Jamison Walsh (Po) 1:07.87, 8. Martin Davis (Po) 1:08.14; 400 freestyle relay - 1. Central Catholic (Thomas Rafferty, Gavin Mahon, Liam Fitzpatrick, Nick Janis) 3:17.22, 2. Southern Lehigh 3:21.47, 3. Blue Mountain 3:26.27, 4. Pottsville 3:30.88, 5. North Schuylkill 3:36.56, 6. Moravian Academy 3:37.82, 7. Salisbury 3:39.94, 8. Marian Catholic (Reece Steibler, James Gomez, Andrew Metters, Michael Strucko) 3:44.13.

Team Standings

1. Southern Lehigh 390, 2. Blue Mountain 356, 3. Pottsville 228, 4. Central Catholic 201, 5. Saucon Valley 169, 6. North Schuylkill 143, 7. Moravian Academy 133, 8. Salisbury 123, 9. Marian Catholic 104, 10. East Stroudsburg North 79, 11. Schuylkill Haven 70, 12. Tamaqua 40.