The Bishop McDevitt boys’ 200 free relay team set a new state record on their way to a gold medal in the PIAA Swimming Championships at Bucknell University on March 15.
The team of John Haskins, Rocco Solimeo, Isaac Hancock and Lucas Hancock stopped the clock at 1:24.30, edging the previous state record by nearly half a second. Senior Lucas Hancock anchored the relay with a blistering time of 19.75.
The 400 free relay team of Haskins, Solimeo, Lucas Hancock and Robert Dempsey also won the gold medal in their event, after coming in as the fifth seed.
During the live broadcast of the state championships on PCN, Lucas Hancock told interviewers, “We worked a lot on this. It came down to swimming very well.” He also took third in the 50 free.
Efforts by the 200 medley relay team (sixth place) and Haskins’ performance in the 100 butterfly (seventh place), along with the gold and bronze medals, solidified an overall team silver for the Crusaders in the PIAA Class 2A Boys’ Championships.
A full interview with the champions will be featured in an upcoming edition of The Witness.
(Photo courtesy of Bishop McDevitt Crusader Athletics.)
