The big fish has left the small pond.
Eve Phillips enjoyed a remarkable career for Waynesboro’s girls swimming team, but her days competing for the Maidens came to an end last winter. Her graduation undoubtedly leaves a big hole in the lineup, but Waynesboro has plenty of reasons to get excited for the upcoming season.
The Maidens return plenty of impactful swimmers from last year’s 10-0 squad, including a PIAA qualifier in Ruth Phillips and two district qualifiers in Rylie Tritle and Mady Barker, and won’t go down without a fight.
Expect similar resolve from our other area swimming squad: Chambersburg. The Trojans bring back deep lineup and are spearheaded by Margot Ritchie, who qualified for states in two events last season. We’ll take a closer look at both the Maidens and Trojans in our girls swimming previews.
Stay with Local.News1 in the days to come as we continue to preview the winter sports season.
Below are team-by-team previews for the girls swimming teams in the Local.News1 coverage area:
Waynesboro Maidens
Coach: Sharon McIlquham
Division: Mid-Penn Colonial Division
Last season: 10-0
Top projected returners: Katie Baker (Sr.), Mady Barker (So.), Sarah Bedell (Sr.), Leah Bryan (So.), Addison Callaway (Sr.), Liz Callaway (So.), Abigail Carbaugh (So.), Avery Hess (Jr.), Vanna Keyser (So.), Lili Moreno (Jr.), Anna Oslikova (Sr.), Ruth Phillips (Jr.), Rylie Tritle (So.), Kylie Wieczorek (Sr.), Claire Yost (So.), Leah Yost (Jr.)
Meet the Maidens: There’s no doubt about it, Waynesboro is going to miss the star power of the graduated Eve Phillips, who is now competing for Division I Mount St. Mary’s … Phillips had a brilliant postseason last winter, mining four silver medals at Mid-Penns and striking gold in both the 50 and 100 freestyle at the District 3-3A meet, before concluding her career at states with a bronze medal in the 100 freestyle and a fourth-place showing in the 50 freestyle … Even with the loss of Phillips, though, we expect the Maidens to be a force to be reckoned with on the dual scene … Waynesboro returns one PIAA individual qualifier in junior Ruth Phillips, who swam the 50 freestyle … Phillips will be part of Wayensboro’s “Big Three” this season, along with Rylie Tritle and Mady Barker, who swam with Phillips on last season’s PIAA-qualifying 200 freestyle relay team … Tritle claimed Mid-Penn silver in the 100 butterfly, and was a district qualifier in the same event … Barker also had a solid postseason, nailing down Mid-Penn medals in both the 200 freestyle (4th) and 100 backstroke (5th), before surging to an eighth-place finish in the 100 backstroke at districts … Vanna Keyser could be in for a breakout season. As a freshman last year she was a district qualifier in the 50 backstroke and qualified for Mid-Penns in three different events: The 50 backstroke, 100 freestyle, and 200 freestyle … Lili Moreno and Addison Callway both qualified for the Mid-Penn meet in multiple events and will be counted on for dual production this year … Waynesboro graduated its top diver in Camryn Bonner, but returns its No. 2 in Leah Bryan.
Opener: Tuesday, Dec. 9, at home vs. Big Spring
Chambersburg Trojans
Coach: Hali Cormany
Division: Mid-Penn Commonwealth Division
Last season: 7-3
Top projected returners: Margot Ritchie (Sr., Freestyle/Backstroke), Ava Grove (Jr., Breaststroke/IM), Calla Hoffman (So., Backstroke), Audrey Keller (So., Butterfly/IM), Brooke Reichelderfer (Sr., Butterfly), Ada Velazquez (Sr., Diving), Addison Zimmerman (Sr., Freestyle), Sofia Baccus-Rauser (So.), Maria Belen Rosas Gastelum (Jr.), Graciana Clark (So.), Melani David (So.), Sarah Foster (Sr.), Olivia Keller (So.), Lakin Lescalleet (Jr.), Ashton Lucas (Sr.), Caitlyn Rankin (Sr.), Emma Skultety (Sr.), Izabella Terrazas (So.), Jade Uglow (So.)
Meet the Trojans: Led by PIAA qualifier Margot Ritchie and two other district-caliber swimmers, Chambersburg should be competitive on both the dual and postseason scene … Ritchie is coming off a junior season that saw her land a PIAA 10th-place finish in the 100 backstroke (56.61) and 21st-place in the 200 freestyle (1:56.31). She warmed up for states by landing four medals at both the Mid-Penn and District 3-3A meets … Two other Trojans, Calla Hoffman and Audrey Keller — each captured double district medals as members of Chambersburg’s 200 medley and 200 freestyle relay teams, which took seventh and eighth, respectively … Hoffman was also a district qualifier in the 200 freestyle and 100 backstroke, and snared four medals at Mid-Penns … Keller, the Mid-Penn’s fourth-place finisher in the 100 butterfly, qualified for districts in the same event, as well as the 100 backstroke … This core group of swimmers guided Chambersburg to a 10th-place team finish at districts and a fifth-place showing at Mid-Penns … Mid-Penn qualifiers Ada Velasquez (diving), Ava Grove (breaststroke/IM), and Brooke Reichelderfer (butterfly) are all projected to return for the Trojans … Chambersburg will have a few holes to patch up in the lineup with the loss of district qualifier Lilly Evans (500 freestyle) and Mid-Penn qualifiers Jillian Johnson (diving), Lauren Markle (100 breaststroke), and Kayla Wolfe (100 backstroke).
Opener: Tuesday, Dec. 2, at home vs. Bishop McDevitt
