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Kennett Square >> The Unionville High School swim team’s meet against Great Valley Friday on Senior Night not only was special for the Longhorn seniors competing, but was particularly poignant for the memory of their one-time teammate, Emma Hill.
Hill, who was a member of the Unionville Class of 2024 until she passed away on Feb. 19, 2022 following a brief, severe illness, was a fine swimmer for the Longhorns, and the Unionville squad paid a couple of tributes to her at the Friday evening meet at the Kennett YMCA.
“This was a good meet for us, and an emotional meet for us, because of Emma,” said Unionville head coach Mike Mangan, whose team won both the girls meet (96-68) and the boys meet (92-78). “Emma had such great spirit, she had such a positive attitude and was always smiling. Everybody loved her.
“Our swim team now has an annual award in her name that goes to the swimmer who best exemplifies her legacy, what she meant to the team, her sportsmanship, competitive spirit and positive attitude, and the way she cared for her teammates. Emma’s family and her friends were the ones who developed the criteria for the award. It’s a prestigious award – it went to Lily Manion last year, and Emily Albans (in 2022).”
Unionville senior co-captains Izzy Iwasyk and Lauren Dobie, who were good friends with Hill, remembered her sunny disposition.
Dobie said, “Emma was always really positive and had the brightest smile. She was always cheering for everyone on the team.”
At Friday’s meet, Unionville paid its first tribute to Hill when the seniors were introduced. Another tribute came in the final girls’ event of the night, the 400 yard freestyle relay. In Lane 3 the lineup consisted of three Longhorn seniors — Dobie, Kenedi Asarta and Iwasyk – and an open spot for the memory of Hill.
Iwasyk and Dobie were instrumental in the Longhorn girls win Friday, each of them winning two events. Iwasyk, an Auburn University commit and a PIAA state medal winner last winter in both the 50 and 100 yard freestyle, handily won the 200 yard IM (2:12.58) and 100 yard butterfly (59.11) Friday, posting district consideration times in both events. Dobie won the 50 yard freestyle with a district consideration time of 25.64 and finished first in the 100 yard freestyle (56.85).
The victory improved the Unionville girls’ record to 4-1 in the Ches-Mont American Division.
Iwasyk said, “This was a really good night for all of us, we swam well, we got to celebrate each other and we got to celebrate the memory of Emma Hill. This was a full circle moment for all of us – my freshman year we weren’t even doing (full) meets, it was just kind of getting some times in and getting to Districts. To now have a full Senior Night, with a bunch of people in the stands cheering for us, is really nice.”
Dobie said, “I was really excited to make the most of my last (high school) dual meet, to have fun with my friends and to honor Emma.”
Mangan said, “Izzy and Lauren have been our leaders, even before they were seniors. The leadership they bring to our team is their personality, the strength of their swimming and their dedication to swimming. They have competed at States the last two years, and the swimmers on our team look up to these two as real swimming leaders.”
Other first-place finishes for the Unionville girls were Jacqueline Heyer in the 100 yard backstroke (1:05.58), the 200 yard medley relay team of Jasmine Liu, Gianna Darmo, Reese Fleming and Amelia Miller (2:02.72) and the 200 yard freestyle relay quartet of Dobie, Ally Darmo, Miller and Iwasyk (1:46.81).
Unionville also honored the Great Valley senior swimmers at Friday’s meet, and one of those Patriot 12th-graders, Molly Foltz, won both the 200 yard freestyle (2:03.97) and the 500 yard freestyle (5:31.73). The Patriots’ Grace Curtis won the 100 yard breaststroke (1:12.78) and posted a district consideration time in the 200 IM (2:17.23) with a second-place finish in that event. In the girls 400 free relay, the quartet of Foltz, Bella Ertle, Emma Davey and Curtis finished first (4:02.66).
“I’m really proud of everyone on our team today – everyone swam hard and we kept the score close,” said Great Valley head coach Ashlyn Marabella, whose squad (both boys and girls) defeated Oxford and Sun Valley during the past week. “We had a lot of swimmers who dropped their times, and we’ll have about twice as many swimmers at this year’s Scott Elliott meet than we had at last year’s meet.”
A number of Great Valley girls in Friday’s meet attained the qualifying time for the upcoming Scott Elliott Ches-Mont meet, including Emma Davey in the 200 IM (2:36.62) and 100 free (1:00.83, second place), and Bella Ertle in the 500 free (6:09.80).
In the boys meet Friday, Unionville (3-2 in Ches-Mont American Division) won by a count of 92-78 and picked up 16 points in its first-place finishes in the 200 medley relay (district consideration time of 1:43.95) and 200 free relay (1:34.99). The lineup for both relays was exactly the same – freshman Grant Fleming, followed by senior Kyle O’Neill, Brendan Mannion and James Burns.
Mangan said, “The boys 200 medley relay and 200 free relay are the fastest relays we’ve had, we’ve been keeping them together in the same order and they’re going to swim in that same order at the Scott Elliott Meet and then, hopefully in Districts.”
Fleming also finished first in the 100 fly (54.54) and 100 back (55.81), posting district consideration times in both events.
“We’re excited to see what that next step looks like for Grant,” said Mangan.
Burns finished first in both the 50 free (23.20) and 100 free (district consideration time of 50.83). Mannion attained a district consideration time in the 200 IM (2:06.93), placing second, just .56 seconds behind the first-place finisher.
For the Great Valley boys, Patrick Li finished first in both the 200 IM (district consideration time of 2:06.37) and 100 breast (1:05.40) and senior Rafael Rodriguez Urbina made district consideration in the 100 back (58.09, second place). Patrick Hynes was first in the 200 free (1:56.27) and senior Tighe Hynes won the 500 free (5:19.32). The Patriot quartet of Rodriguez Urbina, Patrick Hynes, Tighe Hynes and Li finished first in the 400 free relay (3:35.58).
Unionville (boys) 92, Great Valley 78
200-yard medley relay: Unionville (G. Fleming, O’Neill, Mannion, Burns), 1:43.95; 200 freestyle: Patrick Hynes, GV, 1:56.27; 200 IM: Patrick Li, GV, 2:06.37; 50 free: James Burns, UN, 23.20; 100 butterfly: Grant Fleming, UN, 54.54; 100 free: James Burns, UN, 50.83; 500 free: Tighe Hynes, GV, 5:19.32; 200 free relay: Unionville (G. Fleming, O’Neill, Mannion, Burns), 1:34.99; 100 backstroke: Grant Fleming, UN, 55.81; 100 breaststroke: Patrick Li, GV, 1:05.40; 400 free relay: Great Valley (Rodriguez, P. Hynes, T. Hynes, Li), 3:35.58.
Unionville (girls) 96, Great Valley 68
200-yard medley relay: Unionville (Liu, G. Darmo, R. Fleming, Miller), 2:02.72; 200 freestyle: Molly Flotz, GV, 2:03.97; 200 IM: Izzy Iwasyk, UN, 2:12.58; 50 free: Lauren Dobie, UN, 25.64; 100 butterfly: Izzy Iwasyk, UN, 59.11; 100 free: Lauren Dobie, UN, 56.85; 500 free: Molly Foltz, GV, 5:31.73; 200 free relay: Unionville (Dobie, A. Darmo, Miller, Iwasyk), 1:46.81; 100 backstroke: Jacqueline Heyer, UN, 1:05.58; 100 breaststroke: Grace Curtis, GV, 1:12.78; 400 free relay: Great Valley (Foltz, Ertle, Davey, Curtis), 4:02.66.
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