After the Lady Beavers finished winning eight of the 11 events Friday to repeat as team champs, setting two school records and numerous personal bests and qualifying a few additional athletes for regionals in the process, Gressler and his swimmers had plenty to be happy about.
"It's real exciting to repeat," Gressler said. "We felt good about our chances, but it's a real credit to the girls that they didn't lose their focus. Everything was great, Morgan (Lingle) became a four-time placewinner, Veronica (Corcoran) set two school records, it was fantastic the way they all came together."
The Lady Beavers rolled to the championship, scoring 352 points. Clearfield's depth helped it to finish second with 262 points while St. Marys (220) was third, Brookville (195) was fourth and Bradford (179) was fifth.
Corcoran, a junior, won the 100- and 200-yard freestyle events, setting new DAHS records in both.
In the 100, Corcoran swam a 57.23 seconds to win by a little more than a second while smashing Kasey Gressler's school mark of 58.29 seconds that she set in 2004. Gressler is Mike's sister, so the record was a little bittersweet, according to the head coach.
In the 200, Corcoran won her friendly rivalry with her teammate, sophomore Lizz Platt, and broke Platt's record in the event.
Corcoran finished in 2:03.49 while Platt just .21 seconds behind her.
"I really didn't expect those times," Gressler said.
Platt dominated her event, the 500-yard freestyle, finishing the 20-lap endurance test in 5:37.23, nearly 24 seconds of the second-place finisher.
According to Gressler, it was her second-fastest time in the event she holds the school mark.
"That was an awesome performance. She swam it the way we wanted her to," Gressler said.
Lingle, a senior, also stood atop the medal podium twice after winning the 100-yard butterly and the 200-yard individual medley.
In the 200 IM, Lingle's time of 2:29.87 was a personal best. In the 100 fly, Lingle won by more than five seconds with a time of 1:07.13.
For Lingle, her win in the 100 fly was a matter of redemption. She was seeded first in the event a year ago, but finished fourth.
The 200 IM was as good as it could get for the Lady Beavers with freshman Jayla Andrulonis grabbing second and senior Liz Felix finishing third.
The relays were also a clean sweep for the Lady Beavers.
Felix, Anna Pfingstler, Lingle and Andrulonis teamed up on the 200-yard medley, winning in 2:02.13.
In the 200 freestyle, Pfingstler, Felix, Corcoran and Platt nearly broke a DAHS record while finishing in 1:46.89, missing it by six-hundredths of a second.
In the 400 relay, the foursome included Corcoran, Andrulonis, Lingle and Platt as they won in 3:55.01.
The Lady Beavers had a number of other highlights, including:
* Freshman Gabby Humphrey had a personal bests in the 200 IM and 100 fly;
* Felix had a personal best in the 100 backstroke;
* Three Lady Beavers had personal bests in the 100 breaststroke, including Pfingstler, Courtney Dodd and Sam Carpin.
Gressler was also excited about qualifying three addtional swimmers for the regional.
Senior Grace Cramer and junior Sam Harris both made the time in the 500 free and junior Emily Spicher did it in the 100 backstroke.
"I felt confident they could do it, but I told them if they weren't quite sure, they probably wouldn't, but if they believed, they could, so that was really exciting to see them all make it," Gressler said.
Sixteen Lady Beavers have qualified for regionals.
Brookville senior Jamie Hays, fresh off her league diving title Thursday, won the 50-yard freestyle in 26.71 seconds, holding off Clearfield senior Brandie Centi by .12.
Bradford had a pair of winners as Chelsea Kahle won the 100 backstroke and Lacey Frownfelter took the 100 breaststroke.
For St. Marys, the Lady Dutch had its best season in school history, finishing with a winning mark at 6-4 and placing third Friday.
"I don't think too many people thought they could finish third here, but their hard work paid off," St. Marys head coach Mark DeMuro said.
The Lady Dutch have about a dozen swimmers headed to the regional, also a best for the team, according to DeMuro.
St. Marys' best finish came from sophomore Steph Buerk in the 500 free and fellow classmate Melinda Stebich in the 100 breaststroke as each was second.
The Lady Dutch had a number of third-place finishes, including:
* Senior Sam Ferragine in the 50 free;
* Freshman Michaela Rupprecht in the 100 fly;
* Brittany Orr in the 100 back;
* The 200 free relay team of freshman Kylee Proudfit, junior Megan Barber, Buerk and Ferragine and
* The 400 free relay of senior Kristan DeLullo, Orr, Barber and Buerk.
Those that qualified by time, during the season or at Friday's meet, will compete in the District 6-9 Regional at Penn State University's McCoy Natatorium next weekend.
DuBois will compete in Class AAA against State College, Hollidaysburg, Altoona and Central Mountain.
Brookville, St. Marys, Clearfield and Bradford will be part of the Class AA field that includes about a dozen schools from District 6.
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