The District 11 Swimming and Diving Championships saw the Emmaus girls team finish second behind Parkland. The only member of the Emmaus girls squad that qualified for the PIAA Championships was freshman diver Jess Hurlburt, who had won the District 11 diving competition.

A number of swimmers posted their personal best times while competing at districts, which was held last Friday and Saturday at Parkland High School.

Senior Tori Bingham and freshman Lydia Garton both had big weekends. In relays, Bingham and Garton teamed up with Claire Frank and Lexi Ruth to finish third in the 200 yard freestyle relay and they teamed with Casey Young and Kaitlin Hur for a fifth-place finish in the 400 yard freestyle relay.

Individually, Bingham placed fifth in the 500 yard freestyle and Garton finished third in the 100-yard breaststroke.

"I'm really happy," said Garton. "This was really exciting and a great first experience. I had no idea what this season would be like and it's been wonderful."

Garton's time of 1:09.34 in the breaststroke left her just under three seconds short of the time needed to qualify for states in the event.

"Lydia's come a long way this season," said Emmaus head coach Tim O'Connor. "She's really tried to apply what we've been teaching her and has shown a lot this season.

Young and Samantha Mull finished third and fourth, respectively, in the 200-yard freestyle on day one, and Mull finished fifth in the 500-yard freestyle event. Through Friday's events, Parkland held a 237-199 edge over Emmaus, with Liberty, Nazareth and Easton rounding out the top five. The Lady Trojans had a big day on Saturday and eventually won the event by a score of 443-334 over Emmaus. Liberty finished third, while Nazareth and Freedom tied for fourth in the team competition.

"These girls worked hard all season and today, we had a number of girls set best times for themselves and they can all feel good about that," said O'Connor. "Certainly, we want our swimmers to reach states and succeed there, that's what it's all about, but that's not easy.

"We'll have to wait and see if any of our girls make it based on their times, but whether they do or not, I'm proud of how they competed this weekend."

Hurlburt will head to Bucknell to compete in the diving championships, which will be held on March 13th. Hurlburt's performance in districts earned her the third seed in the competition, an impressive feat for a freshman diver.