Hungry, humble and hardworking, Brody Reber had a very good scholastic swimming season overall. There were, of course, the requisite number of triumphs and challenges, ups and downs, ebbs and flows.

"I thought it was a pretty good year," said Brody, a freshman at Lititz Christian School who swims competitively for Warwick.

But on March 2 at the Cumberland Valley High School pool, the stars aligned, and everything came together for Brody, who captured the District Three Class AAA championship in the 500 freestyle in exciting fashion. Brody swam a personal-best time of 4:37.86 to edge Chambersburg senior Jed Ritchie by .73 seconds to claim the gold medal. Brody also copped a bronze medal in the 100 butterfly at districts.

Brody and Ritchie battled the entire distance of the 500 freestyle final before Brody outkicked him to the touch pad.

"I remember the guy in Lane Six (Ritchie) and I were in a pretty good race, neck and neck to the last 25 (meters)," said Brody. "I knew I had a chance to win, so I was going to bring it home. But I was really happy with my time."

Brody's winning time at districts represented a drop of five seconds off his personal best in the 500 freestyle from the beginning of the season. An experienced club swimmer, this winter was his first on the scholastic scene.

"I'd have to say the 500 swim at districts is the accomplishment I'm most proud of," said Brody. "I remember my performance at leagues (Lancaster-Lebanon at Wilson High School in February) was my least favorite thing. But I bounced back and won on a bigger stage."

Two weeks after the district meet at the PIAA Swimming Championships at Bucknell University, Brody finished 24th in the Class AAA 500 freestyle and 12th in the AAA butterfly.

"My main goal was to medal at states, which didn't happen," said Brody. "I wasn't happy about that. Next year I'll definitely do things differently, so I perform better at states. I guess it was OK for my first year."

"I just like the competitiveness of the sport," Brody added. "I can push myself to be the best I can be. When I see all the hard work I put in and the results that come from it, it's all worth it."

It's the kind of hard work that originates from a fun and healthy team atmosphere. Even though he attends a different school, Brody was familiar with a lot of his Warwick teammates before the initial practice of the season.

"I had already known a lot of the kids on the Warwick team," said Brody. "I was friends with them previously, so it wasn't too much of a transition. It made it more fun. It wouldn't be much fun swimming with a bunch of kids I didn't know."

In a very traditional sense, Brody learned to swim in the same manner that many of us do. What's different is what he did with it.

"I was 4 or 5 and my parents just wanted me to know how to swim to be safe," said Brody, 15. "As I stuck with it, I started enjoying it more. I've grown bigger and taller, but it's really just about putting in the work."