Peter Conzola swims
Freedom's Peter Conzola swims the 100 butterfly March 15 at the PIAA State Championships. Conzola was one of five Patriots on The Express-Times All-Area first team.
(Photo by NANCY SCHOLZ | Express-Times)
The time has come to honor the best the winter season had to offer.
The Express-Times All-Area team recognizes standout performers from schools within the newspaper's circulation area, where the paper is home-delivered.
Those schools include: Bangor, Belvidere, Bethlehem Catholic, Delaware Valley, Easton, Faith Christian of Roseto, Freedom, Hackettstown, Liberty, Moravian Academy, Nazareth, North Hunterdon, North Warren, Northampton, Notre Dame of Green Pond, Palisades, Pen Argyl, Phillipsburg, Pius X, Saucon Valley, Voorhees, Warren Hills, Warren Tech and Wilson.
Today, The Express-Times recognizes outstanding performers in boys swimming and diving.
Scott DelFranco
The Freedom senior is making his fourth appearance on the all-area team and second straight as the 200 free first team selection. DelFranco placed third in the Class AAA district meet and 29th at states. He also placed second in the 100 backstroke and went on to win the consolation finals at the state meet. He earned a district bronze in the 200 free relay and silver on the 400 free relay, which qualified for states. His 1:43.42 is the area's best in the event.
Connor Harrigan
The Freedom junior is making his second appearance on the first team. Harrigan earned a fifth place finish in the IM at the AAA district meet. His 2:00.05 is tops in the area. In the 500 free, he dropped over 14 seconds off his seed time to place third. At the state meet, he finished 21st in the 500. He also earned a fourth place medal as part of the Patriots medley relay team.
Zach Kantz
The Bangor junior is making his third overall appearance on the first team and second in the 50 free. Kantz dominated the sprint events holding the top nine times in the 50 and top five in the 100 free. At the AAA district meet, he won two gold medals and set two district records (50 free 20.65; 100 free 45.81). At states, he became the first Slater swimmer to earn a medal. He placed second in both events. Kantz was the only boy to go sub-22 seconds in the 50 during the dual meet season. His area best times are 20.42 in the 50 and 45.05 in the 100.
Bryan Rivera
The Liberty senior is a first team selection for the first time. Rivera scored 306.85 points to place fifth in the Lehigh Valley Conference Championships. Rivera finished seventh in the AAA district meet. He holds the top three scores in the 11-dive category.
Eric Lawrence
The Freedom senior is making his second straight appearance on the first team in the fly. Lawrence finished fourth in the event in the AAA district meet as well as eighth in the IM. He also earned a bronze medal as part of the 200 free relay squad and a silver on the 400 free relay team that qualified for states.
Daniel Weekes
The Moravian Academy junior is making his debut on the first team. Weekes earned the first boys state medal in school history after placing eighth in the 50 free at the AA meet. Weekes finished 18th in the 100 free. He won a gold medal in the 50 at the district meet after earning silver the two previous years. He finished sixth in the 100 free.
Sam Magnan
The Freedom sophomore earns his second nod on the first team in the 500 free. Magnan cut over seven seconds off his original seed time to place second in the event at the AAA state meet. His 4:29.60 at states is an area best and school record. He also earned a silver medal in the 500 at districts. Magnan was a member of the Patriots free relays that placed third (200 free) and second (400 free) at districts.
Peter Conzola
The Freedom senior is the area's best backstroker for the third straight year. Conzola won the AAA state title in the event with a 48.80, a school record. He also won the consolation final in the fly at the state meet. At districts, he won his third title in the back and second in the fly. His 49.21 in the back was a new meet record. He earned the districts' boys swimmer of the meet award. He holds the top three times in the back and top five in the fly. His best fly time is 50.47.
Craig Weeks
The junior is making his first appearance on the first team. Weeks placed third in the event at AA districts and qualified for states where he placed 19th. Weeks finished seventh in the 50 free at districts. He holds the top two times in the event with his best being 1:02.50, recorded in the prelims at states.
200 freestyle--Grant Durner So. Nazareth
200 IM--Jarrod Hendricks So. Nazareth
50 freestyle--Tyler Primrose Sr. Moravian Acad.
100 butterfly--Sean Riddle So. Easton
100 freestyle--Patrick Cobb So. Bangor
500 freestyle--Bobby Spichiger Fr. North Hunterdon
100 backstroke--Sean Vannatta Jr. Liberty
100 breaststroke--Alexander Lopez So. Moravian Acad.
Ari Gouskos, Easton, Sr.; Evan Graziano, Warren Hills, Sr.; Richard Liao, Nazareth, Sr.; Brandon Shelly, Nazareth, Jr.; Liam Breslin, Warren Hills, So.; Jarod LaSelva, Bethlehem Catholic, So.; Samon Nakamura, Bethlehem Catholic. So.; Thomas Santos, Hackettstown, So.; Evan Smith, Liberty, So.; Trevor Watlington, Freedom, So.; Alexis Calderon, Liberty, Fr.; Greg Sherman, Easton, Fr.