JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com
It is a budding rivalry – a rivalry that will only last about a month – but a rivalry sure to make plenty of waves in Lancaster-Lebanon League swimming circles.
Get to know the names Giovanni Sherk and Chris Hoke. You should be hearing plenty about those two guys in the coming weeks as they vie for the L-L League’s King of Speed title.
Sherk is a senior at Hempfield; Hoke a junior at Manheim Township. And they both have a serious need for speed.
When former Conestoga Valley and Cocalico sprint specialist Chace Caruso picked up his diploma last spring, the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle events became, well, winnable again.
“Chace was ridiculously good,” Sherk said. “I never did the sprints before this year because I knew he’d kill me.”
Caruso devoured the competition in his first two seasons at Cocalico, before transferring to CV for his final two years. He won a pair of PIAA 50-yard freestyle gold medals, helped the Buckskins’ team finish second in the state last season, and was a two-time high school All-American.
Caruso accepted a scholarship to swim for Indiana University, before recently transferring to Penn State. He will go down as one of the best sprinters to ever come through the L-L League.
“Chace is a lot to live up to,” said Hoke, who will do battle with Sherk for the first time in the postseason Friday in the league meet at 7 p.m. at Lititz Rec Center.
“The last couple of years, when you thought of the L-L League, Chace was usually the first person to come to mind,” Hoke said. “I try not to think about what he did too much. I’m trying to do my own thing.”
Hoke has done that quite well this season, and he’s put himself in prime position to win both of the freestyle sprint races in the league meet.
Hoke, who competes with the Five Star Club, will be the No. 1 seed in the 100 free, with a qualifying time of 48.88. Sherk is seeded No. 2 in the 100, with a qualifying time of 48.90.
So those two are separated basically by a fingernail at the wall in that event.
Sherk, meanwhile, will be the No. 1 seed in the 50, with a qualifying time of 21.94. Hoke is seeded second in that event with a qualifying time of 22.01.
So again, those two are separated by a blink of an eye in the mother of all sprint events – the 50. Down, flip turn, and back. Winner takes all.
“Gotta love the 50 – up and back,” Hoke said. “Start, turn and finish. Get off the blocks and go as fast as you can. That’s what I like about it the most. There’s not much strategy; just go as fast as you can.”
So when the 50 and the 100 are contested Friday night – and Feb. 29 in the District 3 Meet at Cumberland Valley, and March 12-15 in the PIAA Meet at Bucknell University – be sure to stop what you’re doing and watch Sherk and Hoke battle it out.
Also keep an eye on Donegal’s Brandon Smith in Friday’s 50 free. He has a qualifying time of 22.49, and would love to unseat the top two seeds.
“It’s anyone’s game,” said Sherk, who topped Hoke in the 50 and in the 100 when Hempfield took on Township in the regular season, giving Hoke some extra motivation on Friday.
“The 50 is anyone’s to win,” Sherk continued. “And there’s a lot more pressure when you’re the favorite. Being seeded first is a lot tougher than being seeded second.”
Two other boys’ swimmers earned a pair of No. 1 seeds:
Warwick’s Colin Schouten is first in the 200 free (1:45.14) and first in the 500 free (4:44.18).
And Cocalico’s Marc Maurizi, who will be competing in his final meet this season before undergoing surgery for Paget-Schroetter Syndrome, a debilitating vein disease, is No. 1 in the 100 butterfly (54.39) and No. 1 in the 200 individual medley (2:02.69).
Sherk’s teammate, Dan Lumas, earned the top seed in the 100 breaststroke (1:01.37).
Saturday’s girls meet, set for 9 a.m. at Lititz Rec Center, features four No. 1 seeds from Hempfield:
Georgia Emert in the 200 IM (2:13.04) and in the 500 free (5:14.38), Sarah Ault in the 200 free (1:59.53), and Dana Schleif in the 100 backstroke (58.97).
This will also be the first postseason meet for Cedar Crest freshman phenom Samantha Moffitt, who is seeded first in the 50 free (24.20) and first in the 100 free (52.73).
Cocalico’s Cari Czarnecki is the swimmer to beat in the 100 butterfly (59.95), while Township’s Rachel Butler earned the No. 1 seed in the 100 breaststroke (1:08.06).
As for the team competition, Township’s boys team and Hempfield’s girls team both went undefeated during the league meet season and won the regular-season championships.
Hempfield won the boys and girls championships at the league meet last year.
One scoring change to report for this year’s meet: The top eight finishers from each event will count toward team points – down from the top 12 finishers in previous years.
