The Tyrone boys swim team capped off a very successful 2024-25 season with a second-place finish at the District VI AA Championship at Penn State on February 21.
Junior Lucas Bonsell led the Golden Eagles with a first-place finish in the 100 yard butterfly with a time of 57.90 seconds.
After the meet, Tyrone Head Coach Tom Getz praised his top swimmer.
“Lucas is the hardest worker on the team, hands down,” Getz said. “That is why he continues to drop time and be successful.”
Getz has been with Bonsell since he began his swimming career and has seen steady improvement in his technique and strength every year.
“He had an excellent swim against a very strong opponent,” said Getz. “When he swam the fly in the 200 medley relay, I knew he was ready. To be seeded first and win the event was quite an accomplishment. He is the first single district champion [for Tyrone] in some time.”
Freshman Patrick Van Kluenen had a strong second-place finish in the 100 backstroke with a time of 58.08, which was a blazing 2.78 seconds under his seed time.
Van Kluenen also shaved 2.59 seconds off of his 200 free time, good enough for fourth place with a 1:56.47.
The boys scored 148 points, falling just short to Central Cambria, who scored 209 points.
“We had a very strong district meet with almost every swimmer dropping time,” said Getz. “The ones that didn’t drop remained the same, which is good. The boys finished second for the second year in a row which is exciting as well.”
The 200 medley relay team of senior Isaac Yeskey, freshman Patrick Van Kluenen, junior Lucas Bonsell, and freshman Owen Dunklebarger finished second with a time of 1:50.21.
The 200 Free Relay team of Bonsell, Van Kluenen, junior Cameron Gallagher, and Yeskey also finished second with a time of 1:37.65
Bonsell was excited about the team’s second-place finish and his individual win.
“It feels great,” said Bonsell. “I have worked very hard to get to this point, and I could not have done it without my coaches and teammates.”
Despite losing senior Isaac Yeskey, the boys hope to keep competing as a team at the district level in the years to come.
“We had some freshmen on the podium, which is always great to see,” said Bonsell.
Bonsell also praised the girls’ team for their effort and improvement throughout the season.
“On the girls side, they didn’t have great numbers this year, but they did their best in the relays. Grace Corl dropped time in the 50 free and moved up three spots from where she was seeded,” said Bonsell.
The Tyrone girls scored four points with an 11th-place finish in the 200 free relay by the team of Grace Corl, Sophia Cowher, Adalyn Jeffries, and Blake Pennington.
The season is over for everyone except Bonsell, who is preparing for the State Championship Meet at Bucknell Univeristy on March 12-15.
Click below to view a PDF of all of the Tyrone times and places from districts:
