LEWISBURG - The final day of competition at the PIAA Swimming and Diving championships at Bucknell University saw a pair of Marian swimmers and one from Tamaqua take to the pool.

The two - Michael and Lydia Strucko - are each other’s biggest fans, and both competed in the 100-yard backstroke. Tamaqua’s Savannah Wilson competed in the 100 breaststroke in Saturday’s competition.

Michael Strucko, who is a sophomore at Marian, swam in the morning session and turned in a time of 54.56 in the backstroke which was good enough to get him into the consolation heat of the finals. The time was faster than his district time of 55.34 and put him in 15th place.

The sophomore dropped another 0.25 seconds from his time in the consolation heat for a time of 54.31, which moved him up to a final position of 13th for the event.

“I know I could get much faster, but there were a lot of things to clean up; the start for one. Normally for backstroke there are ledges to start off of and here there isn’t, so my start is really flat and slow and that’s one of my weaknesses,” said Strucko. “It was still a fun weekend though.”

The girls’ preliminaries took place later in the day and Lydia Strucko turned in a time of 58.49 in the backstroke, which was nearly a half-second faster than her time in districts where she finished with a time of 58.97 seconds. Strucko missed reaching the medal round by just 0.13 seconds as Kasey Schrecongost of Freeport secured the final spot in the finals with a time of 58.39 seconds.

Strucko dropped more time when she swam in the later session, finishing in 57.78 to hold onto the ninth overall spot. A night earlier, Strucko had reached the finals and finished 10th in the 200-yard individual medley.

“It feels really great, and it was nice to come in ranked a little higher than I was last night,” said the Marian freshman. “There are a lot of really fast swimmers in this event, so it was a battle and I’m glad about how it ended.”

Wilson missed qualifying for the finals in the 100 breaststroke when she finished 17th with a time of 1:08.39, leaving her just 0.21 seconds behind the 16th-place finisher. Wilson won the gold medal at districts for the breaststroke and also went home with a silver in the 200 IM, but did not qualify for states in the IM.

For the Strucko siblings, being able to both compete at states was a special experience, and it likely will not be the last time they spend a couple of days at Bucknell University.

“We had a great time,” said Lydia Strucko of their two days at states. “It’s really cool that we were able to be here to support each other, and I am so proud of him because he did a phenomenal job.”

The Struckos were the only swimmers from Marian to compete in states. Lydia picked up 16 points in the team standings to put the Colts at 35th, and Michael received 11 points, good enough to tie Marian for 45th in the boys’ team standings.

GIRLS

(top four plus locals)

100 Freestyle: 1. Lily King (Mt. Pleasant) 48.38, 2. Elise Nardozzi (Northgate) 49.66, 3. Katie Jackovic (South Park) 51.32, 4. Genevieve Cody (Thomas Jefferson) 51.48; 500 Freestyle: 1. Kimberly Shannon (Lewisburg) 4:47.58, 2. Ava Jochims (Shady Side Academy), 3. Eliza Miller (Kiski Area) 4:56.27, 4. Lydia Gonzales (Dallas) 4:56.84; 100 Backstroke: 1. Leah Shackley (Bedford) 50.76, 2. Lainey Sheets (Hampton) 55.06, 3. Kiersten O’Connor (Mt. Pleasant) 55.39, 4. Maria Costa (Cathedral Prep) 55.87, 9. Lydia Strucko (Marian Catholic) 57.78; 100 Breaststroke: 1. Giona Lavorini (Knoch) 1:02.11, 2. Peyton Scott (Indiana) 1:02.30, 3. Esther Park (Lower Moreland) 1:03.78, 4. Allison Stinnett (Greensburg Salem) 1:05.34, 17. Savannah Wilson (Tamaqua) 1:08.39; 400 Freestyle Relay: 1. Northgate 3:35.05, 2. Kiski Area (3:35.74, 3. York Suburban 3:36.37, 4. Mt. Pleasant 3:36.90; Diving

: 1. Brianne Dempsey (Dallas) 4:11.85, 2. Gabriella Elk (Hampton) 389.00, 3. Justine Frantz (Upper Moreland) 382.20, 4. Ruby Olliffe (Quaker Valley) 379.20.

Team Standings

1. Mt. Pleasant 164, 2. Cathedral Prep 145, 3. Springfield Township 129.5, 4. Dallas 129, 35. Marian Catholic 16.

BOYS

(top four plus locals)

100 Freestyle: 1. Noah Powers (Blue Mtn.) 43.82, 2. Preston Kessler (Indiana) 44.01, 3. Maddoc Watkins (Dallas) 45.64, 4. Will Cross (Springfield Township) 45.80; 500 Freestyle: 1. Woobie Kupsky (MMI) 4:30.74, 2. Soren Cooper (Shady Side Academy) 4:34.47, 3. Justin Tucker (Kiski Area) 4:36.01, 4. Brady Turner (Cardinal O’Hara) 4:43.64; 100 Backstroke: 1. Luke Lamb (North Catholic) 48.08, 2. Joseph Roth (Riverside) 48.34, 3. Owen Eisenhofer (Schuylkill Valley) 49.68, 4. Jack Raimy (Cathedral Prep) 50.01, 13. Michael Strucko (Marian Catholic) 54.31; 100 Breaststroke: 1. Joseph Gardner (Mt. Pleasant) 54.28, 2. Alex Bauer (Indiana) 56.17, 3. Zachary Schuster (Northgate) 56.33, 4. Oleksandr Zholob (Philadelphia Academy Charter) 57.04; 400 Freestyle Relay

: 1. Indiana 3:06.81, 2. Springfield Township 3:09.09, 3. Mt. Pleasant 3:10.09, 4. Franklin 3:12.62.

Team Standings

1. Indiana 184, 2. Mt. Pleasant 168, 3. Northgate 118, 4. Blue Mountain 115.5, T45. Marian Catholic 11.