POTTSVILLE It was a gold rush for TIMES NEWS area athletes at the Schuylkill League swimming championships Saturday.

Led by four first-place finishes from Tamaqua's Joann Butkus, local swimmers captured 40 medals, including 18 gold.Butkus was joined on the top of the medal podium by teammates Miranda Amey, Makayla Boyle, Carly Trovinger, Danielle DeCindio and Rebecca Kanaskie. In addition, Marian's Katie Kurzinsky and Timothy Dando and Weatherly's Jacob Sirkot also won gold.But it was Butkus who stole the show at Ned Hampford Natarorium, matching last year's performance and making it eight gold medals in her last two league championship meets.Butkus won top honors in the 50 and 100 freestyles as well as the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays."It's a great feeling to come into a meet and compete like this," Butkus said. "To be able to come in and put in some really great times for me ... that's the fastest I have even swum ever here. I'm really excited."I'm looking forward to see what the rest of the postseason is going to bring."But Butkus wasn't alone when it came to outstanding performances. Teammates Carly Trovinger and Danielle DeCindio both got their hands on that much desired gold medal more than once.Trovinger won the 50 breaststroke and the 100 IM, while DeCindio touched the wall first in the 50 butterfly. DeCindio also swam a leg in the winning 400 freestyle relay, while both her and Trovinger joined Butkus with Boyle to help the Blue Raiders open the meet by winning gold with their 200 medley relay team.Teammates Amey (gold in the 400 free relay, silver in the 200 and 500 free), Boyle (gold in the 400 free relay, silver in the 50 backstroke), Kanaskie (gold in the 200 IM and the 400 free relay, silver in the 100 breaststroke) and Victoria LaBar (silver in the 500 free) all had memorable days.The combined effort led Tamaqua to the Schuylkill League girls championship."I'm indescribably proud of the team this year," said Butkus. "They have really stepped it up in every way. Everybody works so hard. We all motivate each other. There's no negative attitudes at all. We're all cheering each other on."It's a really big cliche you hear a lot, but this year, it's definitely the closest I have felt to a family with a team. I love them. They're stepping it up meets and practice, and it's really paying off."On the boys' side, the Raiders' Patrick McMullen won the 100 IM."I'm really happy to see them all do that well," Tamaqua coach Ashley Stanek said about her medal winners. "It was really nice to see them be able to do that well today based on how hard they have been training throughout the season."They all gave 100-percent and that's all you can ask for. They went all out today and they focused on what we have been working on at practice. So, it was really nice to see all of them do well."Although Marian and Weatherly don't have swim teams, several individuals didn't let that slow them down at all as the Colts' Timothy Dando, the Fillies' Katie Kurzinsky and Angelina Krupko and the Wreckers' Jacob Sirkot and Keith Cullen showed they could keep up with the best of the Schuylkill League.Dando won gold in the 200 free and a bronze in the 500 free in his very first league meet. Kurzinsky won her first ever gold medal in the 100 backstroke. She also scored a bronze in the 100 free. TKrupko recorded a silver (50 breaststroke) and bronze (100 breaststroke).All three swimmers are freshmen."I did really well in my events," Kurzinsky said. "I'm pretty proud of myself and I am very happy with the outcome."In his second league meet, Sirkot got his hands on his first gold, winning the 50 breaststroke. He later added a bronze in the 100 breaststroke. Cullen took a silver in the 50 fly."I'm very happy with the way I did today," said Sirkot. "I trained very hard this season and it showed."All the local athletes that made a name for themselves at the Schuylkill League meet now have a chance to do the same at the District 11 Class AA Championship, which will take place Feb. 28 and March 1 at Parkland High School."I think it's great to have this kind of competition a couple of weeks before Districts," Stanek said. "We have a lot of talented swimmers in the Schuylkill League, who we will be also competing with at Districts. This competition will help improve seed times for Districts too."It's always nice to be able to compete with other talented swimmers in the Schuylkill League first."Schuylkill LeagueSwimming ChampionshipsLEGENDBlue Mountain (BM), Halifax (H), Mahanoy Area (MA), Marian (Ma), Millersburg (Mi), Mount Carmel (MC), Pottsville (P), Schuylkill Haven (SH), Tamaqua (T), Tri-Valley (TV), Weatherly (W)GIRLS200 Medley Relay 1. Tamaqua (Boyle, Trovinger, Butkus, DeCindio) 2:00.37, 2. Mahanoy Area, 3. Blue Mountain, 4. Schuylkill Haven, 5. Blue Mountain.200 Freestyle 1. Mary Zimmerman (SH) 2:04.87, 2. Miranda Amey (T), 3. Rebecca Donohue (BM), 4. Madeline Consugar (P), 5. JoJo Jacobson (BM).200 IM 1. Rebecca Kanaskie (T) 2:24.84, 2. Kiera Van Horn (MA), 3. Taylor Felty (SH), 4. Courtney Dukmen (BM), 5. Rebecca Consugar (P).100 Butterfly 1. Maddie Bartush (BM) 1:02.55, 2. Danielle DeCindio (T), 3. Janna Daley (SH), 4. McKenzie Smith (Mi), 5. Carleigh Bogotuik (BM).50 Freestyle 1. Joann Butkus (T) 24.96, 2. Allison Adams (SH), 3. Noel Bernardyn (MA), 4. Brooke Kufrovich (MA), 5. Elizabeth Bayliff (SH).100 Backstroke 1. Katherine Kurzinsky (Ma) 1:03.58, 2. Allison Adams (SH), 3. Courtney Dukmen (BM), 4. Ava Kappenhagen (H), 5. Natalie Frantz (H).50 Breaststroke 1. Carly Trovinger (T) 34.47, 2. Angelina Krupko (Ma), 3. Stephanie Paulauskas (H), 4. Mykaihla Sternick (P), 5. Paige Fellows (P).200 Freestyle relay 1. Schuylkill Haven (Adams, T. Felty, Bayliff, Zimmerman) 1:46.38, 2. Mahanoy Area, 3. Blue Mountain, 4. Tamaqua, 5. Schuylkill Haven.500 Freestyle 1. Mary Zimmerman (SH) 5:41.22, 2. Miranda Amey (T), 3. Taylor Felty (SH), 4. Rebecca Donohue (BM), 5. JoJo Jacobson (BM).100 IM 1. Carly Trovinger (T) 1:09.90, 2. Carleigh Bogotuik (BM), 3. Ava Kappenhagen (H), 4. Hannah Nabholz (P), 5. Amber Gulick (T).50 Butterfly 1. Danielle DeCindio (T) 29.36, 2. Janna Daley (SH), 3. McKenzie Smith (Mi), 4. Samantha Miscavage (MC), 5. Megan Berdanier (P).100 Freestyle 1. Joann Butkus (T) 54.88, 2. Maddie Bartush (BM) 57.14, 3. Katherine Kurzinsky (Ma), 4. Brooke Kufrovich (MA), 5. Taylor Alexander (H).50 Backstroke 1. Natalie Frantz (Ha) 31.97, 2. Makayla Boyle (T), 3. Samantha Miscavage (MC), 4. Elise Horvath (P), 5. Victoria LaBar (T).100 Breaststroke 1. Noel Bernardyn (MA) 1:13.53, 2. Rebecca Kanaskie (T), 3. Angelina Krupko (Ma), 4. Stephanie Paulauskas (Ha), 5. Erica Donohue (BM).400 Freestyle relay 1. Tamaqua (Amey, DeCindio, Kanaskie, Butkus) 3:53.79, 2. Schuylkill Haven, 3. Mahanoy Area, 4. Blue Mountain, 5. Pottsville.BOYS200 Medley relay 1. Blue Mountain (Boran, Marino, Greenawalt, Johnson) 1:48.68, 2. Pottsville, 3. Tamaqua, 4. Mahanoy Area, 5. Pottsville.200 Freestyle 1. Timmy Dando (Ma) 1:54.01, 2. Billy Sieck (SH), 3. Matt Stanek (T), 4. Ian McGowan (SH), 5. Jake Wenzel (T).200 IM 1. Cole Davis (Mi) 1:59.59, 2. Liam Mansell (MA), 3. Jacob Wessner (BM), 4. Jacob Spece (P).100 Butterfly 1. Ian Lloyd (Mi) 54.31, 2. Ben Turrano (T), 3. Anthony Wojciechowsky (P), 4. Ryan Alicandri (T), 5. John Rakowsky (SH).50 Freestyle 1. Nathanael Marino (BM) 22.98, 2. Josh Marx (P), 3. Ethan Eberts (T), 4. Stephen Johnson (BM), 5. Richard Cross (Mi).100 Backstroke 1. Ian Lloyd (Mi) 56.05, 2. Mark Boran (BM), 3. Billy Sieck (SH), 4. Jake Kropp (T), 5. Liam Mansell (MA).50 Breaststroke 1. Jacob Sirkot (W) 31.51, 2. Tanner Steinhart (P), 3. Tanner Willey (BM), 4. Josh Howell (P), 5. Patrick McMullen (T).200 Freestyle relay 1. Blue Mountain (Johnson, McLaughlin, Boran, Marino) 1:34.04, 2. Schuylkill Haven, 3. Pottsville, 4. Mahanoy Area, 5. Tamaqua.500 Freestyle 1. Cole Davis (Mi) 4:55.40, 2. Mark Boran (BM), 3. Timmy Dando (Ma), 4. Matt Stanek (T), 5. Ian McGowan (SH).100 IM 1. Patrick McMullen (T) 1:08.75, 2. Tim Panchari (P), 3. Ryan Alicandri (T), 4. Derek Mosteller (BM), 5. Brendan Ebling (P).50 Butterfly 1. Josh Marx (Po) 25.37, 2. Keith Cullen (W) 28.50, 3. Anthony Wojciechowsky (Po) 29.32, 4. Dan Wanser (Po) 39.32100 Freestyle 1. Nick Semanco (SH) 50.98, 2. Michael Smerlick (P), 3. Richard Cross (Mi), 4. Kyle McGarry (SH), 5. Stephen Johnson (BM).50 Backstroke 1. Nathanael Marino (BM) 26.72 (meet record), 2. Jake Kropp (T), 3. Charlie Botto (P), 4. Keith Cullen (W), 5. Ethan Eberts (T).100 Breaststroke 1. Nick Semanco (SH) 1:07.83, 2. Tanner Steinhart (P), 3. Jacob Sirkot (W), 4. Tanner Willey (BM), 5. Josh Howell (P).400 Freestyle relay 1. Schuylkill Haven (McGarry, McGowan, Sieck, N. Semanco) 3:37.49, 2. Pottsville, 3. Tamaqua, 4. Schuylkill Haven, 5. Pottsville.