Hershey takes home medals from PIAA AAA State Championship-Swimming and Diving

Christina Lengle, Social Media Editor

March 20, 2024

HHS Swimming poses by the Bucknell Bison after their first day of competing. The team took 9 swimmers to the meet, and had a successful week (Natalie Colarossi/HHS Broadcaster).

Hershey sent five girls and four boys to the PIAA AAA State Championships for Swimming and Diving at Bucknell University on March 13 and 14, 2024.

Day one started for the boys with the 200-yard medley relay and 200 IM. Caleb Serfass (12), Gavin Tran (10), Luke Tinsley (10), and Austin Fastrich (10) placed 20th and did not make finals, but improved their place in the 200-yard medley relay. Gavin Tran was an outstanding competitor in the meets leading up to the PIAA 3A State Championship, however, he did not make finals in the 200.

The Hershey Girls Swimming Team came out of day 1 with a few girls entering the final spots instantly. Natalie Colarossi (12) placed 4th in the Girls 200 Free prelims and ended up medaling in the finals at 6th place. Next up Maddie Serfass (12), University of New Hampshire commit, did not unfortunately make it to finals in the Girls 200 IM. To end day one, was the Girls 200 Yard Free Relay with a team of Natalie Colarossi, Lydia Mcmullen, Luna Golden (9), Maddie Serfass, they placed 12th in the preliminary round. Consequently, they placed 12th in the finals overall.

Day two, March 14th, 2024, started off with the Boys 100 Breaststroke. Gavin Tran (10) placed 10th in the preliminary round, and held his place strong in finals. Natalie Colarossi, a Liberty University commit, swam the Girls 100 Freestyle with a time of 51.46 seconds in the first round, which got her locked into finals. When it came time for her to swim her final High School individual event, she swam a time of 51.63 and medalled 8th in finals. As for Maddie Serfass, she also competed in her last individual race of her high school swim career. Two girls, Lydia Mcmullen (12) and Avery Kesterson (9), were competing in the 100 yd. Backstroke for a chance at swimming in the finals. Mcmullen swam strong and fast with a finish of 6th place into finals, to secure her medal 7th overall. For only being a freshman, Kesterson went out of prelims with 16th place and kept the place for finals. The PIAA 3A State Championship-Swimming and Diving meet ended with the Girls 400 Free Relay. Lydia Mcmullen, Maddie Serfass, Luna Golden, and Natalie Colarossi placed 17th in preliminary’s, however they did not make it to finals.

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Overall, the Hershey High School Swimming and Diving Team had strong competitors against the other teams at the PIAA 3A State Championships for Swimming and Diving.

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About the Contributor

Christina Lengle, Social Media Editor

Christina Lengle is the Social Media Editor for The Broadcaster, and is in her fourth year on staff. She enjoys content creation, cheer, and hanging out with friends.