LEWISBURG — Addison Elliott’s face lit up as soon as she found out her placement.
And for good reason. The results revealed that the Lancaster Catholic junior had placed eighth in the preliminaries of the 100 butterfly on Friday at the PIAA Class 2A Swimming and Diving Championships, guaranteeing her her first state medal in the event. Elliott qualified for the final by a hundredth of a second.
Elliott swam in the second heat, finishing in 59.06 – more than a half-second faster than her seed time. She knew that she had performed well, but didn’t think that it would be good enough to reach the final at Bucknell University’s Kinney Natatorium.
“I honestly figured that I was more likely to make consolations,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting at all to be able to make the championship final.”
When the results of the fourth heat flashed on the scoreboard, Elliott was nearly bursting with excitement. After double-checking with coach Becca Carver — who confirmed that she had made the final — Elliott embraced Carver for a celebratory hug.
“It feels really surreal,” Elliott said. “Especially at a meet like this.”
If just making the final wasn’t enough, Elliott provided an encore Friday night.
She swam a 58.12 to place seventh and break a 15-year-old school record in the process. She broke former Georgetown University swimmer Elizabeth Davis’ mark set in 2009. It’s Elliott’s second school record; she also owns the top mark in the 100 backstroke.
She also drastically improved after finishing 31st in the 100 fly at last year’s state meet.
“Last year, I didn’t have a great swim,” she said. “So having done well this year was really exciting.”
She’ll have another chance to medal today, as she’s seeded sixth in the 100 backstroke.
“I’m definitely looking forward to backstroke; that’s my favorite event of all time,” she said. “I’m hoping to actually drop time and make the championship final.”
Pioneers earn consolation place
Despite slightly adding to its seed time, Lampeter-Strasburg’s 200 free relay squad of Lilah Schwartz, Kylie Gerhardt, Maddy Juba and Zara Paisley managed to jump seven places to qualify for the consolation final.
Nearly every team that finished below the Pioneers added at least a half-second to their seed time, allowing L-S to steal a spot in the nightcap by qualifying 15th in 1:42.89.
“I don’t think we were expecting to go up seven seeds,” said Paisley, a senior who anchored the relay. “It’s definitely crazy.”
The Pioneers finished the consolation race in 1:43.19 to place 16th.
“I’m just grateful to be here and swim with my team,” said Paisley, a Clarion recruit. “It was just so exciting and fun.”
Paisley, a sprint swimmer, also competed in the 50 free on Friday. She placed 23rd in 25.02.
The placement is a improvement, as she placed 27th at the PIAA meet in 2023. Paisley attributed her improvement to her prior experience at the meet.
“To come into the unknown in my first year was definitely more nerve wracking,” she said. “But now that I’ve done it a few times, it’s definitely more excitement (than pressure).”
Paisley is set to have a busy final day. She’s seeded 11th in the 100 free and also will be a part of the 16th-seeded 400 free relay team.
“I just want to go in and swim, just have a fun time,” she said. “It’s my senior year. Whatever happens, I’m leaving it in the pool.”
