ST. MARYS, Pa. (EYT/D9) — The reality is starting to set in for Evie Bliss.
Years of swimming competitively is about to end.
(Union senior Evie Bliss with her brother, Hudson)
Bliss, a senior at Union, will shift to the next chapter of her athletic life in college — throwing the javelin. She will trade the pool for dry land. Swim strokes for a windup of her strong right arm.
“This year has been pretty bittersweet,” Bliss said. “It’s starting to hit a little too close to home. I told my mom yesterday, ‘Well, this is the beginning of the end.’”
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Bliss wants the end to come with a bang and she took the first step toward that outcome by winning the 200-yard freestyle at the District 9 Swimming and Diving Championships at St. Marys High School on Thursday night with a time of 2 minutes, 1.19 seconds.
She easily bested the field. Second place was Sophia Condon of St. Marys with a time of 2:08.27.
Bliss will gun for another district title on Saturday when she swims the 100 freestyle.
She won both the 200 and 100 free last year at the D9 meet.
“That would be awesome,” Bliss said. “I would love to have four titles, back-to-back years. It would mean a lot. It would be a really, really good way to end my school career. I definitely want to go out hard and I think I’m on my way to doing that.”
Bliss may be able to do that because of a scheduling quirk this season.
The first session of the championship meet was moved to Thursday because of the forecast of inclement weather for Friday. The final day of competition is Saturday, giving swimmers a 48 hour respite.
“I kind of like it this year,” Bliss said. “A lot of meets in the past, you’ll go for two days, three days non-stop. By the end of the last day, you’re pretty tired. So I wasn’t opposed to this day off in between.”
Bliss has been satisfied with her season thus far, even though she has yet to top any of the records she set in a scorching junior campaign for the independent swimming star who wears her Union colors proudly.
“It’s been hard not breaking records, but I think that is something I’ll look back and not feel sorry about,” Bliss said. “Last year, breaking records was kind of the theme of the year. This year the theme is just enjoying as much of it as I can before it’s over.”
Bliss’ brother, freshman Hudson Bliss, has helped add to her enjoyment this season.
Evie has a built-in teammate now. She also gets to watch him swim.
And be racked with jitters the whole time.
“Oh my gosh, I’m 10 times more nervous when he swims,” Evie said. “When I swim, I’m nervous before a race, but once the buzzer goes off and I’m in the water, I’m not nervous. When I watch him, I’m just praying and screaming the whole time.”
Hudson did well in his first D9 meet, placing fourth in the 200 individual medley, touching the wall in 2:19.09.
Evie is just happy she got to spend her final season with her brother at her side.
“That meant the world to me,” Evie said. “It was a huge blessing that he and I got to race together and be together on weekends and weekdays for our high school meets. It kind of hit me that this is the last few times I’ll get to swim with him and I think that’s the hardest thing about it, not necessarily that everything’s ending, but that I won’t be with him so much anymore.”
REOTT DEFENDS 50 FREE TITLE
In a race like the 50 freestyle, every little thing matters.
Moniteau senior Katelyn Reott makes sure she doesn’t waste any of that precious time.
“When I’m behind the blocks, I kind of like to sit there and think,” Reott said. “I like to think about specifically what I need to do such as my turns and my finish. I can’t mess up because that will take a good portion of time.”
(Moniteau’s Katelyn Reott poses atop the podium after her 50 free victory)
Reott was sharp again on Thursday, winning the 50 free in 24.57 seconds, beating second place Bailey Franci of Brockway by nearly a second.
It was her second straight D9 title in the event.
“It means a lot to me,” Reott said. “I’m doing it not just for myself, but for my family, my parents, my coach, because they also put a lot of time and effort into this, supporting me in swimming. I want to thank them for supporting me through everything.”
Last year, Reott became the first swimmer from Moniteau to place at the PIAA Swimming and Diving Championships. She placed fifth with a time of 24.17.
She wants to better that in two weeks when the state meet is held.
“I’m hoping to get under 24 seconds,” Reott said. “I’ve worked hard all season and in two weeks I hope to show that. I’m mentally prepared and I’m going to go in with a positive attitude and just believe I can do it.”
Like Bliss, Reott is an independent swimmer. But by now, the logistics of that are old hat.
Reott has plenty of opportunities to swim, both in high school and for her YMCA team.
She has a big YMCA district meet coming up next week before the state meet.
“Throughout the year we build our yardage until these big meets and then we’ll cut them back down,” Reott said. “That’s kind of been what we’ve been doing this past week. I’ve stopped doing dry-land workouts this week as well.”
It’s all to prepare Reott for that mad 24-second dash in the 50 free.
Reott will also compete Saturday in the 100 backstroke, where she is the top seed.
Reott is close to making a decision on where she will swim in college.
“I’m deciding between a couple of schools,” she said. “It’s exciting to have options.”
YOUNG SHINES FOR BROOKVILLE
North Clarion junior Patrick Young, who swims in a co-op for Brookville, won the 100 butterfly with a school-record time of 51.74 seconds, nearly six seconds faster than runner-up James Pistner of St. Marys.
Young, who has had a scintillating season for the Raiders with numerous pool and school records, will swim for another title Saturday in the 100 breaststroke.
Complete results:
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