At the final turn of the 100-yard freestyle championship Sunday, Noel Fresa

Bailey McCausland, Noel Fresa, Maddie Modugno, and Devin Romanowski captured the gold medal in the 200- yard freestyle relay at the District One Class 2A Champ- ionships over the weekend.  The quartet also finished  second in the 400-free relay during the meet at LaSalle University.  Fresa won two individual titles.

noticed she was within an arm's length of the leader. Contrary to usual practice, she conserved enough energy for the final lap. Fresa rallied during the final 25 yards to capture her third gold medal at the District One Class 2A Swimming championships.

            Fresa finished with four medals, including three golds, during the meet at LaSalle University over the weekend. She won individual golds in the 100 and 200 free, setting personal bests and smashing the team record in both events. The Upper Perkiomen junior helped the 200 freestyle relay team – which included Devin Romanowski, Bailey McCausland and Madison Modugno – capture the title on Saturday, March 2.

            The following day, she led the Indians' 400 free relay team, consisting of the same quartet, to a second place finish and a new team record. During her opening leg, Fresa re-broke the team record in the 100-free she set earlier in the meet with a time of 51.58 seconds.

            According to head coach Brien Kalmoski, Fresa has earned the reputation as one of the top swimmers in the district.  "Noel had a great weekend," she said.

            Fresa earned a berth in the PIAA Championships, scheduled for March 13-16 at Bucknell University, in both individual events. The 200 free relay, the first female team in school history to win a district title, automatically qualified.

            Fresa said she felt the pressure to compete after earning the No. 1 seed in both of her individual events. She expected Kayla Lichtner, a junior from Nazareth Academy and Maura Fluehr, a sophomore from Springfield Township – both whom finished ahead of her in the 100 free last year – to provide a significant challenge.

            "I was really nervous," Fresa said. "Had I not won, it would have been a letdown for me and my coach."

            On Saturday, she won the 200 free with a time of 1 minute, 52.14 seconds, well ahead of Lichtner. Later in the day, she sparked the 200 free relay team – the No. 1 seed in the event – to a championship with a strong first leg. According to Fresa, the team had a body length lead when Romanowski, its second swimmer, hit the water. The lead continued to grow through all four legs, according to Kalnoski.

            The following day, in the 100 free final, Fresa noticed Fluehr in the next lane with a slight lead. However, Fresa had enough energy to rally for the gold.

            "(Fluehr) went out real fast," said Fresa, who said she decided not to swim the first three laps at the usual frenetic pace. "It was a gamble, but I didn't want to die at the end. Most people can't hold a full sprint for four laps."

            McCausland added a fourth place finish in the 100 breaststroke, by posting a personal best time for the Indians, who finished fifth overall.

            Modugno (100 free) and Darragh Martin (100 back) each finished in sixth place and posted personal bests. Laura Cooney and Kayman Heater finished 12th and 15th, respectively in the 500 free.

The 200 medley relay – consisting of Cooney, Erin Dunphy, Martin, and Heater – finished in eighth place with a time of 2:02.29, 4.53 seconds faster than their seed time.

            Kyle Kovalenko paced Upper Perkiomen's boys team by finishing second in the 100 yard breast-stroke with a time of 57.79 seconds. Kovalenko, who posted a personal best and broke the team record, entered the Class 3A meet as the No. 7 seed.

            Kovalenko posted a personal best in the 200 free. Kovalenko (1:48.16) finished 25th.  Trevor Cairns (1:49.98) ended up in 37^th place. Sean Lyman posted a pair of personal bests in the 200 IM (2:01.04) and the 500 free (4:54.47).