POTTSVILLE - On a day the Schuylkill League took time to give a special salute to its senior swimmers, it was a group of young stars who stole the show.

Marian freshman Lydia Strucko won two individual gold medals, Tamaqua sophomore Savannah Wilson captured an individual gold and silver along with a relay gold, and Colt sophomore Michael Strucko - Lydia’s brother - came away with an individual gold and a silver.

They were part of a huge Saturday for area swimmers at the Schuylkill League championships as Tamaqua walked away with 16 medals and Marian picked up eight.

Strucko times two

One year after Michael Strucko burst onto the Schuylkill League swim scene with a pair of gold medals as a freshman, sister Lydia was just as impressive in her debut season.

Lydia breezed to a pair of dominant victories. She won the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:15.7 - nearly five seconds better than the Raiders’ Wilson, who finished second with a time of 2:20.49 - and followed that up with another powerful performance in the 100 backstroke as her winning time of 1:00.64 was over four seconds ahead of second-place Sage Kaplafka of Blue Mountain (1:05.17).

“I’m really happy I was able to do what I did today and share this experience with all my teammates and with coach (Andrea) Feathers,” said Lydia. “There are so many talented swimmers here ... I’m just thrilled I was able to be part of this.”

Lydia - who was seeded first in both events - said the performance of her brother last year and the motivation and inspiration he constantly provides is invaluable.

“Michael is definitely my inspiration,” said Lydia. “I see how hard he works, and I can’t help but push myself. He’s an incredible role model.

“But I didn’t enter the meet trying to match what he did as a freshman. My only focus was on swimming my best and enjoying myself. I knew if I was able to do that, then the results would take care of themselves.”

Michael came close to matching his performance from last year and equaling his sister’s double gold this season. He opened his day with an easy victory in the 500 freestyle, finishing with a time of 5:09.35 - over seven seconds better than his closest competitor. He followed that with a strong second-place finish to Blue Mountain’s sensational Noah Powers in the 100 backstroke. Powers shattered league, meet and pool records with his winning time of 52.13. Strucko’s time of 56:57 was nearly five seconds ahead of the bronze-medal time.

“I think today went about as well as I could have hoped,” said Michael. “I’ve been dealing with a shoulder injury for about the last month, and I didn’t definitely decide if I was going to compete until Friday night. But I’m glad I did, and glad I got to swim with all my teammates.

“I’m happy with my performance, but it definitely wasn’t my best. I wasn’t as well prepared as I will be going forward in the postseason because my shoulder has limited my workouts. I’ve been trying to rest it, and I’m confident I’ll be closer to 100% for districts.”

The Struckos’ big day highlighted a strong performance by Marian - which fielded a team this season for the first time in school history after years of being represented by a handful of independent swimmers.

“I’m really happy for the program,” said Feathers. “Our kids have been super dedicated. Without having our own pool, we have to travel to different places to get our work in. But they never complain.

“Obviously, Lydia and Michael winning gold medals was a huge highlight, but I’m happy with the performance of all our swimmers. Coming out of the meet with eight medals - including a relay medal - is great for the program moving forward.”

Savannah and the Raiders

On a day where Tamaqua swimmers exceeded their seeds in a number of events and spent plenty of time walking to the medal stand, no one did that better - or more often - than Wilson.

Seeded-second entering the 100 breaststroke, Wilson survived a sprint to the finish in the most hotly-contested race of the day. Wilson (1:09.92) edged Marian’s Zoe Katona (1:10.10) and Blue Mountain’s Paige Bensinger (1:10.18) in a race where the top three were separated by just .26 of a second.

“I’m extremely happy,” said Wilson. “Zoe and Paige are both amazing swimmers ... I needed to swim a PR (personal record) today to be able to beat them and fortunately I was able to do that. ”

Although Wilson expected the race to be close, she didn’t know how close it turned out to be until she looked up at the scoreboard after hitting the wall.

“I had no idea,” said Wilson about the near photo finish. “When I’m swimming, I only check out the other swimmers when I’m turning. With Zoe and Paige being in the lanes next to me, they weren’t in my line of vision heading home so I had no idea where we all stood. I was just focused on my stroke. I’m thrilled it turned out like it did.”

While Wilson wasn’t able to check out the competition in the 100 breaststoke, she had no problem with that in the 400 freestyle relay. Before and after swimming the third leg for the Raiders, Wilson said she was in full cheerleader mode supporting teammates Isabella Jones, Gabby Blasko and Lexi Buchala, while also eyeing the competition.

“That was so exciting,” said Wilson about the relay victory. “We have been putting in the work all season to get to this point, so, it’s great to be able to achieve that goal.”

Tamaqua’s winning time of 4:01.86 easily beat out second-place Schuylkill Haven (4:05.97).

The two firsts for Tamaqua were part of a day that also saw the Raiders produce six second-place finishes, five thirds, and three fourths.

Although they don’t keep team scores at the Schuylkill League meet, Raider coach Jen Paisley said it was the program’s top performance in a while.

“Savannah obviously came up huge in the 100 breast. She had a tremendous race against strong competition,” said Paisley. “Our 400 free relay team was also sensational. They have been setting their sights on league and district medals since our opening meet, so this was a great way to start the postseason.

“But it’s not just our gold-medal performances I’m excited about. We got some great swims up and down our lineup. We picked up a lot of medals and had a number of kids who outswam their seeds - which is always great to see. All in all it was a good day.”

TAMAQUA HARDWARE …. In addition to the two golds and the second-place finish by Wilson in the 200 IM, the Raiders also got seconds from Buchala in the girls 200 free and the 500 free; Stephen Behun in the boys 50 free; Lily McNutt in the 100 fly; and the boys 200 medley relay of team of Jathan Krall, Behun, Jack Tharp and Ethan DiBonifazio. Tamaqua got third-place medals from Tharp in the 200 IM; Audrey Nattress in the 100 fly; Krall in the 500 free; and the boys 200 and 400 relay teams that both consisted of Tharp, DiBonifazio, Krall and Behun. Blue Raider fourth-place finishes were turned in by Blasko in the 500 free; DiBonifazio in the 100 breast and the girls 200 medley relay team of Blasko, McNutt, Wilson and Ava Jones.

MARIAN MEDALIST ... In addition to the four medals won by the Stuckos and the second place-place finish by Katona in the 100 breast, Marian also got third-place finishes by Katona in the 200 free and Reece Steibler in the boys 100 free; and a fourth-place finish from the girls 400 free relay team of Makenzie Moyer, Delaney Erickson, Katona and Strucko.

SENIORS … The Schuylkill League honored all of the league’s senior swimmers prior to the final relay races of the day. They included Blasko, McNutt, Buchala, Krall, Behun, Tharp, DiBonifazio, Alex Zehner, Peter McGinley and Jesse Gormley from Tamaqua; Moyer and Ethan Movassaghi of Marian; and Michael Williams of Panther Valley.

DISTRICTS NEXT ... The District 11 championships will be held on Friday and Saturday, March 1-2 at Parkland High School.