One thing the organizers of the District Three Swimming & Diving Championships did not have organized was what would happen in the highly unlikely chance that two swimmers would both earn the same medal.

That was what happened with Kayla Parry and Mia Parry, who competed in the girls' District Three Class 3A 200-yard individual medley event at Cumberland Valley High School on March 3. Kayla, a Garden Spot senior, and Mia, her freshman sister, both posted a time of 2:07.07 while Hershey's Sydney Stasz won the gold with a time of 2:05.52.

"They had an epic swim in the 200 IM that brought gasps of amazement to fans in the balcony as well as the coaches and other swimmers around the pool deck," Garden Spot coach Darin Parry explained. "I was told this was the first time two siblings tied for second place in an event at districts.

"I had a coach comment, 'That is the best outcome for any parent to have when siblings are swimming against each other,'" Darin, the proud father and coach, added. The two sisters were competing with and against each other.

Kayla also took to the pool for the 100-yard butterfly. She finished third in just 57.60 seconds, earning the bronze medal.

"She put up her fastest time in over a year in the event," Darin noted.

Speaking of the medals, Darin explained, "Kayla has the silver medal; Mia's will be mailed to her in the coming weeks."

In addition to sharing the silver medal, Mia earned fifth in the 100 backstroke in 58.34 seconds.

"She swam another personal best in the event, which she had just done at leagues a few weeks ago," added the coach.

The Parry sisters along with Zach Delgado and Peter Hasse competed at Cumberland Valley. For Garden Spot, the boys swim in Class 2A while the girls compete in 3A.

Hasse, a senior, finished eighth (2:07.44) in the 200 IM and sixth in the 100 breaststroke, posting a time of 1:02.48.

"Peter had two very commendable swims to finish his high school career," Darin said. "Peter will be missed next year."

Delgado had two excellent times, finishing eighth in both the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events with respective times of 22.66 and 49.73 seconds.

"Both those times were personal bests," Darin pointed out. "He was able to cut time in both events to earn eighth-place medals. Zach has shown a real hunger and drive this season to get faster by cleaning up technical errors and attacking each of his postseason swims."

The two Parry sisters along with Delgado qualified for the PIAA State Swimming Championships at Bucknell University.

Though most schools arrived at Cumberland Valley on the team bus, the Spartan swimmers and coach could have all easily fit into a minivan.

However, there was quality over quantity at the district swim meet.

"The swimmers exuded a quiet confidence and belief that they belonged there," Darin recalled. "Each had put in the hard work to get to this point and now it was time to swim. Rather than being overcome by the moment, the place, and the competition, they simply ignored the noise and swam fearlessly."

WRESTLING

At the South Central Class 3A Regional Tournament, which was held at Spring Grove High School on Feb. 24 to 25, the Spartans were represented by three senior wrestlers.

Blake Weaver, Tyler Hurst, and Mason Musser all came up empty in their bids to earn medals at their respective weight classes.

Musser battled Treson Spahr of Lampeter-Strasburg in the first round of the 285-pound brackets with Spahr posting an 8-3 victory on his way to an eventual fifth-place finish.

"He had previously pinned him about a month ago in our dual meet," Adam Bunting, the Spartans' head coach, stated, alluding to both wrestlers competing in the Lancaster-Lebanon League.

Though Musser did come back and shoot past Guner Hiller of Cedar Cliff and Ian Scully of Central York, pinning both opponents, he fell to the eventual fourth-place finisher, Avery Kuhns of Chambersburg, in the next round of the consolation brackets.

"He bounced back with two big pins - one against a very tough wrestler in Ian Scully, who had pinned Mason earlier this year," Bunting commented. "He was battling Kuhns in a 0-0 match before getting reversed and pinned."

"Mason had a solid senior season, winning 28 matches - 26 by fall and two by forfeit," added Bunting. "So he pinned literally everyone that he defeated, which is a pretty remarkable feat."

Hurst had a similar weekend, losing the opening match in the 215-pound weight class and coming back with two wins in the consolations. Deion White of Boiling Springs downed Hurst in the second period of the first round.

"Tyler got caught out of position and got pinned in his first match, leading 2-1 at the time," Bunting explained.

The Spartan senior came back with a 7-1 victory over Elizabethtown's Bradley Candy and narrowly won 3-2 over James Lopez of Red Lion before suffering a second-period pin at the hands of Elco's Kyle Miller.

"He was battling in a close match with Miller from Elco," Bunting said. "He was up 1-0 before being taken down and getting caught in a cradle in the second period. He lost by a fall."

"Tyler finished his season with 31 wins to only 11 losses," Bunting pointed out. "He was a league runner-up, finishing with 22 pins. Tyler improved dramatically over the past two years and plans to wrestle for Millersville University next year."

Weaver wrestled at 189 and also suffered an opening-round setback. Hempfield junior J.J. Plaza eked out a 3-2 victory, sending Weaver to the consolation brackets.

"Blake's match with Plaza was very similar to their L-L League finale matchup - tied 1-1 late in the third period," Bunting said. "Only this time, it was Plaza that was on the winning side of a late scramble."

Weaver came back with a solid victory over Waynesboro's Caden Shockey. He defeated Shockey by a 6-1 margin.

Eventual fifth-place finisher Anthony Bruscino of Cumberland Valley halted Weaver's tournament with a 9-2 win in the second round of the contest.

"Blake battled until the end," said Bunting. "His bracket was one of the toughest weight classes in the district. The top two seeds, the number six, number 10 and 12 kids were ranked in the state."

Weaver, a three-sport athlete, finished the season with 29 wins and earned a league championship medal.

"He showed tremendous growth and was a great leader," Bunting remarked.

"All three wrestlers battled and finished their seasons and careers with no regrets," added the coach. "They were a force up top for us all year, and it was always awesome knowing we could count on big points at those three weight classes in dual meets. They will be greatly missed for both their wrestling and their leadership."