OREFIELD - Tamaqua’s Savannah Wilson has battled Paige Bensinger of Blue Mountain often this season.

The Eagle senior bested Wilson twice during the regular season in the 100 breaststroke, but the Raider sophomore turned the tides at the Schuylkill League meet.

On Saturday during Day 2 of the District 11 Class 2A swimming championships at Parkland, the pair were once again matched up in what was expected to be another tight race.

Wilson, fighting through nerves and the competition, turned in her best effort in the event to claim a gold medal and guarantee a berth at states.

“I knew the times were going to be close, but I just really focused on what I was doing and had a good mindset coming in,” said Wilson, whose 1:07.51 edged Bensinger by .43.

Wilson was one of two area swimmers to earn gold on Saturday.

Marian’s Michael Strucko, who posted a victory in Friday’s Day 1, also swam to a win in the 100 backstroke on Saturday.

Wilson finished the district meet with four medals, also earning an individual silver on Friday while gaining a third and fourth in relays. But it was the 100 breast that stood out.

“I focused on everything that I needed to do all through the race,” said Wilson. “And I was able to drop two seconds off my best time, so I am really excited about that.”

While Wilson held on during a close race, Strucko wasn’t challenged during his event.

The Marian sophomore placed second in the 100 back at the Schuylkill League championships, but the winner, Blue Mountain’s Noah Powers, opted not to swim the event at districts. That left the door wide open for Strucko, whose seed time was seven seconds faster than the next best.

Strucko didn’t disappoint, as his 54.94 was more than a second-and-a-half better than his time at leagues and earned him another title.

With multiple wins at districts, he will now be able to compete in two events at states.

And what will make states even better is he’ll be able to share the moment with his sister, Lydia, who earned gold on Friday and added a silver in the 100 back on Saturday.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun and I look forward to showing her the experience, and I am going to enjoy being there with her,” said Michael, who will play the role of big brother to his freshman sister when the two compete at Bucknell University in the PIAA championships.

“We started by just taking swimming lessons, and we both eventually started to get into a little bit of competitive swimming and joined a club and started competing and have just continued to where we are today.”

Lydia was also hoping for a second gold, like her big brother, but her effort in Saturday’s 100 back came up just a bit short to Saucon Valley’s Julia Cort. Lydia posted a time of 58.97, less than a second off Cort’s 58.05.

“It’s really eye-opening to see the amount of support that we give each other,” said Lydia about her brother. “He is definitely one of my biggest supporters and when we are at a meet, I always look forward to seeing how he does, and we feed off each other.”

Northwestern’s Aiden Braadt also picked up a silver medal Saturday, finishing second in the 100 breaststroke in a time of 1:06.32. The event was won by Blue Mountain’s Christian Fisher (1:04.12).

Tamaqua’s Lexi Buchala placed third in the 500 free, while both Blue Raider 400 free relay teams finished fourth.

MULTIPLE MEDALS ... Including medals from relay events, the Times News area had 10 different swimmers collect multiple medals. Medals were awarded to the top four in each race. Tamaqua’s Wilson (first, second, third, fourth) and Jathen Krall (two thirds, two fourths) both collected four at the meet.

RELAY SUCCESS ... The Tamaqua boys medaled in all three relay events, gaining thirds in the 200 medley and 200 freestyle on Friday, and fourth in the 400 free on Saturday. Three Blue Raiders were part of all three of those teams - Krall, Jack Tharp and Stephen Behun.

TEAM STANDINGS ... Blue Mountain captured both the boys and girls team titles by wide margins. The Tamaqua girls finished third, while the Blue Raider boys were fourth.

DISTRICT 11 2A SWIMMING

GIRLS DAY 2

(top four plus locals)

100 Freestyle - 1. Victoria Ellex (Blue Mountain) 55.07, 2. Angelina Dechert (Saucon Valley) 55.89, 3. Kamryn Wolfe (North Schuylkill) 56.60, 4. Adalia Laselva (Pottsville) 57.20, 15. Ava Jones (Tamaqua) 1:04.14, 16. Janna Brown (Tamaqua) 1:22.02; 500 Freestyle - 1. Phoebe Ballek (Salisbury) 5:22.82, 2. Mollie Sarnes (Blue Mountain) 5:29.62, 3. Lexi Buchala (Tamaqua) 5:39.35, 4. Julia Crossen (Blue Mountain) 5:43.46, 10. Gabby Blasko (Tamaqua) 6:10.77, 15. Isabella Jones (Tamaqua) 6:27.29; 100 Backstroke - 1. Julia Cort (Saucon Valley) 58.05, 2. Lydia Strucko (Marian) 58.97, 3. Donja Tripp (Notre Dame-GP), 4. Sage Kaplafka (Blue Mountain) 1:02.46, 13. Audrey Nattress (Tamaqua) 1:11.65; 100 Breaststroke - 1. Savannah Wilson (Tamaqua) 1:07.51, 2. Paige Bensinger (Blue Mountain) 1:07.94, 3. Tori Oldford (Palisades) 1:09.15, 4. Zoe Katona (Marian) 1:11.12, 6. Lily McNutt (Tamaqua) 1:16.34, 8. Gabby Blasko (Tamaqua) 1:17.72; 400 Freestyle Relay

- 1. Saucon Valley 3:51.72, 2. Salisbury 3:59.04, 3. Central Catholic 3:59.11, 4. Tamaqua (Isabella Jones, Gabby Blasko, Savannah Wilson, Lexi Buchala) 4:01.84, 8. Marian (Makenzie Moyer, Delaney Erickson, Zoe Katona, Lydia Strucko) 4:15.07.

Team Standings

1. Blue Mountain 369, 2. Saucon Valley 283, 3. Tamaqua 219, 4. Central Catholic 191, 5. North Schuylkill 174, 6. Salisbury 155, 7. Pottsville 133, 8. Schuylkill Haven 125, 9. Marian 122, 10. Moravian Academy 103, 11. Mahanoy Area 100, 12. East Stroudsburg North 34.

BOYS DAY 2

(top four plus locals)

100 Freestyle - 1. Noah Powers (Blue Mountain) 45.92, 2. Matheson Bair (Blue Mountain) 46.97, 3. Nick Janis (Central Catholic) 49.05, 4. Aiden Varney (Blue Mountain) 51.32, 12. Reece Steibler (Marian) 56.22; 500 Freestyle - 1. Oliver Ritchey (Moravian Academy) 4:52.82, 2. Liam Magdeburg (Blue Mountain) 5:06.86, 3. Aidan Rodrigues (Moravian Academy) 5:07.28, 4. Jathan Krall (Tamaqua) 5:15.43, 8. Alex Zehner (Tamaqua) 5:47.60; 100 Backstroke - 1. Michael Strucko (Marian) 54.94, 2. Gavin Mentzer (North Schuylkill) 59.40, 3. Brody Moyer (Blue Mountain) 59.57, 4. Sebastian Malaver (Moravian Academy) 1:01.80, 8. Andrew Metters (Marian) 1:04.62, 9. Michael Williams (Panther Valley) 1:06.10; 100 Breaststroke - 1. Christian Fisher (Blue Mountain) 1:04.12, 2. Aiden Braadt (Northwestern) 1:06.32, 3. Vincent Prestileo (Pottsville) 1:07.22, 4. Stepan Goudsouzian (Saucon Valley) 1:08.32, 9. Ethan DiBonifazio (Tamaqua) 1:15.67, 11. Peter McGinley (Tamaqua) 1:16.47, 13. Ethan Movassaghi (Marian) 1:17.88; 400 Freestyle Relay

- 1. Blue Mountain 3:22.32, 2. Moravian Academy 3.27.69, 3. Pottsville 3:31.13, 4. Tamaqua (Jack Tharp, Ethan DiBonifazio, Jathan Krall, Stephen Behun) 3:31.92, 9. Marian (James Gomez, Michael Strucko, Andrew Metters, Reece Steibler) 3:58.41.

Team Standings

1. Blue Mountain 455, 2. Pottsville 257, 3. Moravian Academy 234, 4. Tamaqua 195, 5. Saucon Valley 180, 6. Central Catholic 163, 7. Pocono Mountain East 130, 8. North Schuylkill 125, 9. Marian 106, 10. Salisbury 71, 11. Schuylkill Haven 29, 12. Mahanoy Area 23, 13. East Stroudsburg North 13.