The Emmaus swim teams competed in the highly competitive Bucknell Invitational last weekend at Bucknell University’s Kinney Natatorium, which will also serve as the site of this year’s PIAA championships in March.

Both Hornet teams had good showings, with the boys team finishing third in the team standings and the girls team finishing seventh. Wilson West Lawn won both the boys and girls team championships, while Parkland, the only other local team competing, finished seventh in the boys events and sixth in the girls competition.

The Hornets’ highest finish of the day came from the boys 200-yard freestyle relay team, which finished with silver medals, just behind event champion Wilson West Lawn. The team was made up of Alex Magditch, Andrew Taylor, Ryan DeJohn, and Ethan Ferris. Three of the four swimmers – DeJohn, Ferris and Magditch – teamed with A.J. Lamack for a bronze medal in the 200 medley relay, again finishing behind Wilson West Lawn, with Hershey finishing just ahead of Emmaus.

In individual events, the highest Emmaus finishes came from Andrew Taylor in the 500-yard freestyle and Ethan Ferris in the 100-yard butterfly. Both swimmers finished fourth in their respective events. Taylor was the individual leader in points with 26, while DeJohn finished with 21 on the day.

The EHS girls team left Bucknell without any top three finishes, but Morgan Gould finished fourth in the 500-yard freestyle and Chloe Vlaeminck finished fifth in the 100-yard breaststroke. Vlaeminck also finished seventh in the 200-yard individual medley and picked up the most points of any Emmaus swimmer with 26. Gould finished with 22 points and diver Morgan Belisle garnered 13 points with a sixth-place finish in the diving event.

“Both teams are really working hard and pushing each other to be better, but they are also learning so much about themselves, each other, and being a productive member of a team,” said coach Tim O’Connor of his team’s progress throughout the season. The boys team is 6-0 overall and 4-0 in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, while the girls are 3-3 overall and 3-1 in the EPC.

The team has a tough month ahead of them, starting with a trip to Wilson West Lawn Saturday for the Wilson Relays, another highly competitive meet. The Hornets travel back to Wilson six days later for a dual meet with the Bulldogs. Two other road meets at Freedom and at Northampton are on the schedule. Their next home meet will not be until February 1 when they host Allen in the final dual meet of the regular season. Add to those meets a highly increased academic schedule and the challenges mount quickly.

“January is a really challenging month with mid-terms, two to three meets a week, and travel and homework, but they really have been supportive of each other and performing in the water as well,” said O’Connor. “I am very pleased and look forward to the next month of challenges.”