Keystone Games swimmers bring fun, fierce competition to Misericordia

DALLAS TWP. — Though the high school season is still a few months away, there’s no shortage of high-quality competition for the state’s best and brightest swimmers this weekend.

The Keystone State Games brought dozens of athletes to the water at Misericordia University’s Anderson Center on Friday for the first of two days of championship competition.

As always, the event brought together a mix of local competitors and fresh faces from all over Pennsylvania, all duking it out under one roof for Keystone Games gold.

“That’s the best part of the Games, it brings people from all over the commonwealth,” said event director Mike Galli. “You get to compete against people you wouldn’t normally get the chance to.”

A lot of Friday’s competitors swam representing their local YMCAs, while others donned their high school colors and were listed as “unattached” for the competition.

One of the biggest groups was the contingent from the Indiana (Pa.) YMCA, a mainstay at the Keystone Games swimming competition.

In fact, the very first champion crowned on Friday was a member of the Indiana squad — 17-year-old Preston Kessler, who swam to a time of 21.36 seconds in the Boys 50 Free to win gold and start the day right for his team.

“This keeps the team together, it keeps morale high,” Kessler said after the race, with about a dozen or so of his teammates waiting to congratulate him.

Kessler adds a Keystone gold to his already-impressive trophy collection. He won a state championship in the 200 Free and a state silver in the 100 Free this past March at the PIAA Class 2A Swimming Championships.

A handful of District 2 medalists were on hand Friday as well, looking to stay sharp and gain some momentum heading into next season.

Right after Kessler’s win in the Boys 50 Free, Dallas High School standout Audrey Haydu followed suit with a win of her own in the girls competition.

As a junior, Haydu won four medals at the District 2 championships in March — a gold as part of Dallas’s 400 Free relay team along with three silver medals.

She looked to be locked in to championship form on Friday, racing to a win in the 50 Free. It was the first in a busy weekend for Haydu, with four more championship races on her schedule.

“I felt pretty good, we had great practices all week,” Haydu said. “I really like to know where my times are at.”

Lake-Lehman swimmer Connor Runquist added another gold medal to the local tally in the next event, the Boys 500 Free. Runquist steadily built up his lead lap after lap, finishing comfortably in first place with a time of 5:10.59 to win gold.

“I felt pretty good, it’s not my best time but I’m still happy with it,” Runquist said.

Runquist won a bronze medal in the 500 Free at districts in March, behind a pair of seniors in Dallas’ Andrew Wilk and MMI Prep’s Woobie Kupsky (who went on to win the state title, as well.)

Getting ready to start his junior year at Lake-Lehman, Runquist’s Keystone Games time is already about two seconds faster than the mark he won bronze with at districts.

“I think it’s going great, I’ve been pretty consistent,” Runquist said.

Many of the swimmers shared the same sentiment. Events like the Keystone Games are huge for maintaining that competitive edge and getting in good reps, while still providing a fun, relaxed environment for the competitors.

Galli agreed with that assessment.

“It’s a good way to keep focused and stay in the competitive mindset,” Galli said.

The youth swimming portion of the Keystone Games will wrap up on Saturday morning, and shortly after the Masters Swimming event will be contested at the Anderson Center to conclude this weekend’s swimming activity.