By Terrance Ji ’22 News Reporter
Mercersburg Academy hosted the Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) Swimming and Diving Invitational at the Lloyd Aquatic Center on February 1, 2020. This is the first time in history a MAPL meet was hosted in the Lloyd Aquatic Center, which only officially opened in December 2019.
For a school that has a glorious tradition of swimming, it seemed only fitting that the new aquatic center would host the MAPL meet.
During the swimming portion of the invitational, Jake Evert ’20 and Jonah Harm ’20 each dominated the meet. Evert won the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 20.51 seconds and the 100-yard freestyle in 46.28 seconds, while Harm placed first in the boys’ 100-yard butterfly coming in at 50.21 seconds and 100-yard breaststroke at 58.59 seconds.
However, Evert and Harm were not the only ones that performed well at the meet. The Blue Storm faithful saw many of its athletes swim fast, proving to all that Mercersburg’s swimming teams are a force to not be taken lightly.
Erika Eichelberger ’20 said, “I did pretty well. I dropped two seconds in my 100-yard breaststroke and 100-yard freestyle.” After her successful outing, Eichelberger looks forward to the Eastern Interscholastic Swimming and Diving Championships in mid-February. She gives a positive outlook: “Everyone is on the right track for Easterns. I think we have a solid team this year. I am excited to see what our team can accomplish.” She said confidently, “We always have a chance.”
Peem Pibuldham ’22 placed in four of his events, including helping to win the 200-yard freestyle relay. Pibuldham remarked, “The boys and girls both did well. I was happy with my performance, I did all right,” he continues, “I feel like we are kind of ready for Easterns, but there are a lot of people injured, which can potentially affect our performance. So we have to figure out a way as a team.” Pibuldham also commented that what makes the swim team so great is the close relationship among the swimmers. “I love and appreciate everyone’s enthusiasm for competition, showing our fantastic team spirit.”
Along with the swim team, the Mercersburg diving team also performed solidly, with senior Stapley Curwen ’20 finishing in third place and upper-middler Maggie Betkowski ’21 finishing in fourth. Content, Curwen stated, “Being on the home turf and knowing it was my last home meet of my diving career gave me a boost of confidence which translated into my dives. Those factors allowed all of us to perform to the best of our ability.”