Sports

Upper Perk Boys' Swim Team Competes at District 1 AA Championships

Written by Larry Roeder, Editor Wednesday, 10 March 2010 11:20

The Upper Perk boys' 2010 team finished in second place at the District 1 Championships held last Saturday. Seated, left to right: Mason Cassel, Collin Junk, Adam Kulp, Liam Smith, Blade Umstead. Standing, left to right: Asst. Coach Missy Peart, Matt Rose, Blaine Umstead, Quinn Perlstein, Phillip Wellheuser, Peter Marino, Ryan Himmelwright, Zak Kibler, Kyle Himmelwright, Jody Peart and Head Coach Michael Tannous. Missing from the photo is Justin Sloyer.

The Upper Perkiomen High School swim team traveled to LaSalle University’s Kirk Natorium last Friday for two days of District 1 AA competition. The came home with a second-place finish, 13 medals, three school records, four swimmers qualifying to compete at states, a host of personal bests for the student athletes and the satisfaction of a very successful showing for their alma mater.

Medal winners were: Justin Sloyer, fourth, and Quinn Perlstein, fifth, in diving; Kyle Himmelwright, Zak Kibler, Mason Cassel, Blade Umstead, sixth, boys’ 200-meter medley relay; Collin Junk, seventh and Kibler, eighth, in the 200-meter individual medley; Liam Smith, second, and Peter Marino, fourth, in the 50-meter free style; Ryan Himmelwright, fifth, and Cassel, sixth, in the 100-meter butterfly; Ryan Himmelwright, fourth, and Marino, seventh, in the 100-meter free style; Smith, fourth, 100-meter backstroke; and Marino, Adam Kulp, Smith and Ryan Himmelwright, first, 200-meter freestyle relay.

Smith set a new school record of 21.91 in the 50-meter freestyle, besting the 21-year-old mark set by Shane Guenes. Smith, with a time of 57.47, also shattered the school record in the 100-meter backstroke, breaking the mark set by Greg Reihman 22 years ago.

The 200-meter free-tyle relay team of Marino, Kulp, Smith and Ryan Himmelwright set a new school record of 1:28.63, just .63 off the district record set in 1998. That qualified them as the second seed in the state competition on March 19. Smith and Marino will also be competing in the 50 meter free style. The state competition will be held at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa.

Upper Perk’s Young Regional Wrestlers Fall Short of States

Written by Jake Hallman, Staff Writer Wednesday, 10 March 2010 10:48

Just four Upper Perkiomen wrestlers earned a spot in the third leg of the postseason grind. The ride started at the sectional level, progressed to districts and picked up steam this past weekend at regionals with a chance to qualify for the upcoming PIAA Tournament in Hershey – the ultimate destination.

A top-four finish at regionals would punch a ticket to Hershey, with Upper Perk competing in the AAA Southeast Regional Tournament at Council Rock North High School this past weekend in one of the state’s five regional sites.

Of the Indians’ four entries, all four came up just short of a trip to states as the contingent mustered a collective fifth- and sixth-place finish. It was the first time in over a decade that Upper Perk has not sent at least one wrestler to the big dance, where the Indians and its storied program are no stranger to the Giant Center, or before that, the Hersheypark Arena.

But alas, there is good news.

Take a look at the ages of those four regional qualifiers and you’ll see that all four have a chance next season to improve on this year’s showing. The group includes a pair of stellar freshmen in Dylan Steffenino (103) and Wolfgang McStravick (112), as well as Dalton Fleming (152), a sophomore, and junior Dan Rodenberger (125).

Rodenberger earned a trip to regionals last season, but for the underclassmen, it was their first. And while Upper Perk’s wrestlers know what it’s like to go toe-to-toe with the very best, there are still growing pains to be learned at the postseason level. From that perspective, the Indians’ regional showing isn’t all that bad.

Steffenino looked like the early favorite to earn a trip to states. His postseason push, which included section and district titles, continued into regionals as he won his opener in a 3-1 decision against Norris-town’s Zach Fuentes. Steffenino downed Fuentes in the district semifinals, also by a two-point margin, en route to gold.

His latest win over Fuentes put Steffenino against Council Rock South sophomore Billy Rappo, a 30-match winner who grabbed third at districts. Steffenino fell, 4-1, in the match, sending him to the fifth-place match against West Chester Henderson’s Jim Long. Steffenino, a 30-match winner himself, made no doubt about it this time, racking up a 14-1 major.