PHOTO PROVIDED Williamsport's Evan Summers poses with his third-place medal in the 100 breast. He became Williamsport's highest finisher in state swimming competition since Chip Frazier took silver in 1976.

Prior to Saturday, it had been 49 years since a swimmer from Williamsport High School stood near the top of the podium. But on Saturday at the PIAA Class AAA swimming championships on the final day of competition, Williamsport’s Evan Summers accomplished just that.

The Millionaire swam a time of 55.03 to take bronze in the 100 breast, the only medalist for the Millionaires this winter. Summers’ third-place finish is the highest for a Williamsport swimmer since Chip Frazier took silver in the 100 fly in 1976.

“I think it’s an excellent for him. I think it’s great for the program. It gives him a stepping stone on what he can do in the future and what he can look forward to,” Williamsport coach Brett Johnson said. “I think he had a great meet and a great swim. It was an unbelievable experience for him.”

Upper Dublin’s Toby Herzog won gold in the event with a time of 53.76 while Cumberland Valley’s Bode Groh was a silver medalist in 54.93. Summers was just .10 seconds behind Groh in an outstanding race down the stretch.

Summers is only a sophomore and has already established himself as a swimmer to beat in any race he swims.

“That’s a huge accomplishment especially as a sophomore. Knowing he has two more years and he could get to that top of the podium not once, but maybe even twice? That’s a huge accomplishment for him,” Johnson said. “He could really look forward to what can come.”

In swimming competition at Williamsport, Summers joins a short list of swimmers to earn all-state honors in the sport. To be named all-state, a swimmer must reach the A finals in their respective event. Reaching the B finals earns you honorable all-state honors.

Summers joins Chip Frazier (second in 100 fly, 1976), Kathy Frazier (seventh in both the 100 fly and 100 free, 1978), Keizo Hataji (seventh in 100 back, 1995) and Andrew Burkey (eighth in 100 back, 2005) as the only swimmers in Williamsport history to place in the top-8 individually in swimming competition.

Williamsport has had three top-8 finishes in diving history: Karen Straley (fifth in 1990; seventh in 1989) and Jack Beattie (fifth in 2021).

Williamsport saw Katie MacKenzie take 10th in 1995 in the 100 back in girls competition. Kathy Frazier took ninth in 1976 in the 100 fly and 10th in the 500 free in 1976. Williamsport saw Kathy Frazier, Joan Kitt, Brenda Baer and Sue Menniti take fifth in 1978 in the 200 medley relay competition.

After reaching the A finals, Johnson noted that Summers didn’t show any nerves and swam the best of his ability. And after he dropped 1 1/2 seconds in the prelims in the morning, he had confidence going against the top swimmers in Class AAA.

“I think he was very confident. I don’t think there were any nerves at all, at least he didn’t show it if he did. He went through his same routine before the meet and before the event,” Johnson said. “I think he was very confident in what he was able to do. Obviously he was a little bit disappointed that he didn’t win it, but yes, he was very relaxed and confident going into the race.”

In the prelims on Saturday morning, the Millionaire finished in 55.12, dropping more significant time after districts. His time also earned him High School All-American honors as he reached the qualifying time of 55.22 for the honors in the event.

Summers’ time was the second best in the prelims as well. The only swimmer with a prelim time faster than Summers was Herzog who swam a 54.93.

“After he swam the 200 medley relay and we saw what he did in his split, we were all pretty confident he was going to drop time,” Johnson said. “He was swimming really well in that relay and it just led to today swimming the 100 breast and basically mirroring what he did in the medley relay.”

Summers has had an outstanding year. He broke the school record in the 200 IM earlier this season and capped his second varsity season off with a bronze medal at the state meet. From last year to this year, Summers has only gotten better meet by meet, invitational by invitational.

“Not only this year, but his development since he was a freshman to where he is now. I think he dropped a total of five seconds in the two years and in the breaststroke, that’s a huge drop especially in four lengths of the pool,” Johnson said. “So it’s exciting to see that much of an accomplishment in a short time and I’m looking forward to seeing how much more he can drop in the next couple of years.”

In the 100 free prelims, Williamsport senior Keller Griswold swam a time of 47.59, dropping time by nearly a second, and finished 27th in the preliminary race.

Williamsport saw junior Brady Ross swim in the 500 free prelims on Saturday morning as well. Ross finished in 4:59.26, finishing 32nd in the prelims.

Cooper Allmaras competed in the 100 back prelims and finished in 55.38, dropping roughly half a second of his time, to finish 29th in the prelims.

Williamsport senior Kendall Cohick competed in the 100 back on Saturday in the prelims and finished in 1:00.45, finishing 29th in the event. Williamsport junior Kyla Becker competed in the 100 breast in the prelims and finished with a time of 1:13.90, taking 30th in the competition.

They were the only two Williamsport swimmers who competed on Saturday.

Williamsport’s Clover Lindsay and Allie Eberhart both competed in the PIAA Class AAA diving championships. Clover, a junior, scored a 121.90 in the finals while Eberhart, a freshman, scored a 112.60.

The duo finished 22nd and 23rd, respectively.

Conestoga senior Avery Hillier took gold by scoring a 480.35 while Freedom junior Hayden Taylor scored 467.45 for silver.

Williamsport saw eight individual swimmers and two divers head to the state meet this year between Friday and Saturday’s competition. Many dropped times, a few reached the B finals and of course Summers medaled. All in all, it was an outstanding state competition for the Millionaires program, and something Johnson was more than glad to see from his swimmers who swam both individually and in relay competition.

“The more kids that we can get to states and the more kids that are initially at districts and can see those time drops and move on, I think it’s just going to help show what the program can do and maybe it’ll help bring other swimmers to us so the program can grow,” Johnson said. “But overall, with states, we did have a number of drops, especially with the boys. I just think the program’s going in the right direction.”

GIRLS CLASS AAA RESULTS

TEAM RESULTS (top 8): 1. Upper Dublin 261; 2. Wilson 188; 3. Hatboro-Horsham 180; 4. North Allegheny 171; 5. State College 143; 6. Fox Chapel 143; 7. Cumberland Valley 99; 8. North Penn 78.

200 medley relay: 1. Wilson (Olivia Vecchio, Emma Dougherty, Evelyn Quick, MAdalee Roberts), 1:41.47; 2. Upper Dublin, 1:42.16; 3. Parkland, 1:43.49. 200 free: 1. Sarah Pasquella, Fox Chapel, 1:48.84; 2. Claire Bacu, North Allegheny, 1:49.15; 3. Maddie Faikish, North Penn, 1:50.32; 4. Emmy Erikson, Hatboro-Horsham, 1:50.77; 5. Arina Vorobyeva, Upper Dublin, 1:50.90; 6. Paige Fisher, West Chester Henderson, 1:51.32; 7. Nora Weber, Wissahickon, 1:51.47; 8. Alexandra Scime, Kennett, 1:51.66. 200 IM: 1. Annie Jia, Hatboro-Horsham, 1:58.44; 2. Madison Watschke, State College, 2:03.63; 3. Olivia Auwarter, Upper Dublin, 2:04.42; 4. Ava Kopsnyder, Ephrata, 2:04.52; 5. Grace Petrakis, Central Bucks East, 2:04.77; 6. Caroline Whitney, Haverford, 2:05.07; 7. Cailin Maley, Avon Grove, 2:06.04; 7. Avery Kesterson, Hershey, 2:08.47. 50 free: 1. Molly Workman, State College, 22.44; 2. Sylvia Roy, Mount Lebanon, 22.86; 3. Sarah Parker, Hatboro-Horsham, 23.21; 4. Eve Phillips, Waynesboro, 23.37; 5. Alicia Taylor, Upper Dublin, 23.54; 6. Madalee Roberts, Wilson, 23.59; 7. Cameron Peretti, Woodland Hills, 23.63; 8. Brynn Lewis, Phoenixville, 23.74. 100 fly: 1. Annie Jia, Hatboro-Horsham, 50.65; 2. Addison Buckman, Cumberland Valley, 55.28; 3. Evelyn Quick, Wilson, 55.37; 4. Claire Roussakis, West Chester Rustin, 56.04; 5. Olivia Vecchio, Wilson, 56.14; 6. Lauren Opitz, Peters Township, 56.17; 7. Katie Potts-Drew, Lower Merion, 56.34; 8. Lauren Bell, Greater Latrobe, 57.15. 200 free relay: 1. Hatboro-Horsham (Annie Jia, Megan Luddecke, Emmy Erikson, Sarah Parker), 1:32.99; 2. Wilson, 1:34.86; 3. Upper Dublin, 1:35.47. 100 free: 1. Molly Workman, State College, 48.85; 2. Sarah Parker, Hatboro-Horsham, 50.42; 3. Eve Phillips, Waynesboro, 50.87; 4. Alexandra Scime, Kennett, 51.33; 5. Arina Vorobyeva, Upper Dublin, 51.66; 6. Vikki Williams, Upper Dublin, 51.71; 7. Emmy Erikson, Hatboro-Horsham, 51.79; 8. Brynn Lewis, Phoenixville, 52.04. 500 free. 1. Nora Weber, Wissahickon, 4:49.24; 2. Claire Bacu, North Allegheny, 4:52.24; 3. Maddie Faikish, North Penn, 4:55.57; 4. Julia Tengowski, North Allegheny, 4:57.66; 5. Caroline Whitney, Haverford, 5:01.08; 6. Morgan Harlan, Downingtown West, 5:02.39; 7. Mary Boone, Cumberland Valley, 5:02.90; 8. Ava Knopsnyder, Ephrata, 5:06.65. 100 back: 1. Sylvia Roy, Mount Lebanon, 52.74; 2. Olivia Vecchio, Wilson, 55.68; 3. Vikki Williams, Upper Dublin, 55.83; 3. Sydney LaBaugh, Parkland, 56.27; 5. Addison Buckman, Cumberland Valley, 56.33; 6. Claire Roussakis, WC Rustin, 56.70; 7. Olivia Auwarter, Upper Dublin, 56.78; 8. Lauren Opitz, Peters Township, 56.84. 100 breast; 1. Sophia Sileo-Magliara, Upper Dublin, 1:02.04; 2. Madison Watschke, State College, 1:02.54; 3. Sarah Shaffer, Pine Richland, 1:02.73; 4. Cami Schwartz, Manheim Township, 1:03.06; 5. Sarah Pasquella, Fox Chapel, 1:03.08; 6. Emma Dougherty, Wilson, 1:03.36; 7. Kelsey McPeek, Parkland, 1:03.48; 8. Paige Fisher, West Chester Henderson, 1:04.88. 400 free relay: 1. Hatboro-Horsham (Annie Jia, Megan Luddecke, Sarah Parker, Emmy Erickson), 3:32.29; 2. Upper Dublin, 3:26.42; 3. Wilson, 3:28.99. 1-meter diving: 1. Avery Hillier, Conestoga, 480.35; 2. Hayden Taylor, Freedom, 467.45; 3. Juliet Hood, North Allegheny, 450.95; 5. Layla Boghdadi, Owen J. Roberts, 382.60; 6. Mya Lee, Mars, 376.75; 7. Maggie Lapina, North Allegheny, 375.05; 8. Taliya Tyree, Northern York, 371.40.

BOYS CLASS AAA RESULTS

TEAM RESULTS (top 8): 1. North Allegheny 215; 2. LaSalle College 162; 3. North Penn 156; 4. Upper Dublin 143; 5. Upper St. Clair 137; 6. Central Bucks West 111; 7. Chambersburg 86; 8. Wilson 82.

200 medley relay: 1. Upper Dublin (Franco Ciccarone, Toby Herzog, William Matthews, Brady AMnser), 1:30.42; 2. LaSalle College, 1:31.34; 3. Upper St. Clair, 1:31.40. 200 free: 1. Sam Huggins, State College, 1:36.03; 2. Trevor Olson, Penn Manor, 1:37.65; 3. Nazar Zoukovski, Upper St. Clair, 1:39.68; 4. Reed Harris, Wissahickon, 1:39.72; 5. McClellan Clark, Pittsburgh Central Catholic, 1:40.04; 6. Christian Dantey, Fox Chapel Area, 1:40.37; 7. Amir tasker, Chambersburg, 1:40.58; 8. Gabriel Cowart, LaSalle College, 1:41.24. 200 IM: 1. Brody Reber, Warwick, 1:48.94; 2. Blaise Hofmann, Central Bucks West, 1:49.89; 3. Danny Lesinski, North Allegheny, 1:50.63; 4. Grant Fleming, Unionville, 1:50.82; 5. Cinco Perez, Pittsburgh Central Catholic, 1:51.36; 6. Owen Howell, Fox Chapel Area, 1:51.60; 7. Rinzen Sherpa, Mount Lebanon, 1:51.70; 8. Joey Myer, Ephrata, 1:53.25. 5 free: 1. Jonathan Hoole, Penncrest, 20.12; t-2. Colin Davis, Owen J. Roberts, 20.35; t-2. Braden Weise, Governor Mifflin, 20.35; 4. Derek Feldman, Central Bucks West, 20.36; 5. Grant Regule, North Allegheny, 20.46; 6. Brady Manser, Upper Dublin, 20.48; 7. Trey Stricker, Reading, 20.53; 8. Luke Lamb, Mars, 20.72. 100 fly: 1. Kai Boyer, Wilson, 48.33; 2. Eddie Stoltz, WC Henderson, 48.50; 3. Gus Miller, North Allegheny, 48.67; 4. Brendan Lao, North Penn, 49.17; 5. Ben Whitford, Upper St. Clair, 49.43; 6. Ryan Christie, Souderton, 49.45; 7. Franco Ciccarone, Upper Dublin, 50.05; 8. Christian Pong, Chambersburg, 50.06. 200 free relay: 1. North Allegheny (Grant Regule, Gus Miller, Mason Shantz, Zachary Totin), 1:22.50; 2. Central Bucks West, 1:23.07; 3. LaSalle College, 1:23.90. 100 free: 1. Jonatha Hoole, Penncrest, 43.66; 2. Colin Davis, Owen J. Roberts, 44.41; 3. Derek Feldman, Central Bucks West, 44.69; 4. Braden Weise, Governor Mifflin, 44.76; 5. Nazar Zoukovski, Upper St. Clair, 44.99; 6. Macek Vandermolen, North Penn, 45.08; 7. Brady Manser, Upper Dublin, 45.09; 8. Grant Regule, North Allegheny, 45.70. 500 free: 1. McClellan Clark, Pittsburgh Central Catholic, 4:2.78; 2. Trevor Olson, Penn Manor, 4:26.05; 3. Sam Huggins, State College, 4:27.49; 4. Gabriel Cowart, LaSalle College, 4:30.31; 5. Cinco Perez, Pittsburgh Central Catholic, 4:30.33; 6. Reed Harris, Wissahickon, 4:30.81; 7. Justin Tucker, Kiski, 4:31.65; 8. Cullen McGraw, Chambersburg, 4:39.36. 100 back: 1. Luke Lamb, Mars, 47.78; 2. Danny Lesinksi, North Alegheny, 49.03; 3. Gus Miller, North Allegheny, 49.16; 4. Brody Reber, Warwick, 49.17; 5. Ben Whiteford, Upper St. Clair, 49.37; 6. Grant Fleming, Unionville, 49.55; 7. Blaise Hoffman, Central Bucks West, 49.72; 8. Jack Ketchum, Elizabethtown, 49.75. 100 breast: 1. Toby Herzog, Upper Dublin, 53.76; 2. Bode Groh, Cumberland Valley, 54.93; 3. Evan Summers, Williamsport, 55.03; 4. Kyle Spaman, LaSalle College, 55.16; 5. Elias Panachyda, North Penn, 55.68; 6. Keagan Eisenhofer, Wilson, 55.83; Gavin Tran, Hershey, 55.86; 8. Owen Howell, Fox Chapel, 55.89. 400 free relay: 1. North Penn (Brendan Lao, Ryan O’Donnell, Mason DiMauro, Macek Vandermolen), 3:03.66; 2. North Allegheny, 3:04.84; 3. Souderton, 3:06.73. 1-meter diving: 1. Alex Wodehouse, Governor Mifflin, 593.10; 2. Cody Smtih, Freedom, 525.80; 3. Ethan Maravich, North Allegheny, 493.70; 4. Malcolm Thompson, MOunt Lebanon, 487.95; 6. Carter Wells, Upper St. Clair, 449.35; 7. Tyler Reeve, Ridley, 424.55; 8. Gavin Pacitti, Central Bucks West, 423.75.