MECHANICSBURG — What a difference a year can make. Just ask Irie Graeser.
The Boiling Springs junior swam a time of 5:21.08 — over twenty seconds faster than her mark last year — to win the Class 2A 500-yard freestyle Saturday at the District 3 Swimming Championships at Cumberland Valley.
She dropped a second off her personal-best time to do so, a mark that was set at the Mid-Penn Conference meet earlier this month.
“I’m really happy with it,” Graeser said. “I definitely wasn’t expecting it at all, but I’m really proud.”
At the District 3 meet as a sophomore, Graeser hit the wall in 5:42.78, taking eighth place. She beat the field by over nine seconds Saturday.
“This year, I’ve really put in the work,” she said. “Last year, I was in a really bad mindset. I wasn’t confident at all; I didn’t see myself as a strong swimmer.”
“This year, I’ve really grown as a person, and I’ve started looking at swimming differently. I realize that if I put in the work, then I see the results and my abilities.”
The win completes a strong district-meet showing for Graeser, who took home the silver medal in the 100 butterfly Friday (1:00.66).
This year’s PIAA 2A meet, to be held at Bucknell on March 13 & 14, will be Graeser’s first as an individual swimmer.
“I think I’ll feel a lot more excited, just because I’m there on my own terms,” she said. “I’ll feel more involved with the meet itself. I’m really excited.”
Graeser said her hopes at the state meet are to break a minute in the 100 fly and go under 5:20 in the 500 free.
Heyman goes golden again
Piper Heyman wishes that every meet was at Cumberland Valley.
The Boiling Springs junior’s previous personal-best 100 free time at the prep level was at the Eagles’ Holliday Invite on Dec. 29.
After a couple months of adding time, Heyman found her form Saturday to hit the wall in 54.04, winning her second gold medal of the weekend.
“Throughout the season, this was one of my goals,” said Heyman, who also won the 100 free at last year’s D3 meet. “So it’s good to make it happen.”
There’s not a pool on earth that Heyman feels more comfortable in. She swims for Cumberland Valley Aquatic Club in the prep offseason.
“It’s a great pool,” she said. “It’s always fun to swim here… I wish states could be here.”
Heyman entered Saturday more relaxed than the day before, when she ripped her tech suit putting it on before warmups.
Her pre-race routine involves eating gummies and wearing headphones all the way up until she steps onto the blocks.
“It really just gets me dialed in,” she said. “I think it’s better than just having the space around me.”
Heyman also won the 50 free Friday with a time of 24.77. She, along with Graeser, were also part of Bubbler quartets that won silver and bronze in the 200 medley and 200 free relays Friday.
A pair of Boiling Springs sophomores also medaled Saturday: Kara Hostetter in the 100 back (sixth, 1:04.90) and Liv Garman in the 100 breast (sixth, 1:09.78).
Hostetter was additionally the third leg of the Bubblers’ 400 free relay team that earned a sixth-place finish Saturday (4:02.01), along with Marissa Lenker, Julia Toner and Jillian Murphy.