Girls Swimming: Resweber surprises herself with silver in 500 free

Ascending the second step of the medal podium, Frances Resweber looked a bit stunned. There was no surprise, however, on the face of her Strath Haven coach, Dina Dormer.

“Dina told me, ‘ Fran, you’re a 1:52 200 freestyler; there’s no reason you can’t break five minutes,’ Resweber said. “I told Dina, ‘ You’re nuts.”

Dormer may not have been perfectly accurate, but the gist of her faith showed through when Resweber pulled away from her heat in the 500 free and clocked in a time of 5:00.90, earning second place overall and a trip to states.

“Dina told me to take it out with that easy speed like I do by 200, and I just made my move late,’ Resweber said. “I was so excited to see the time. At first I thought, ‘ Aw I was so close to a 4:59.’ But it’s my best time by nine seconds, so I’m not going to allow myself to be upset about that.’

Resweber’s swim was the highlight of another fantastic day for the Panthers.

Summer Martin held serve in the final heat of the 100 free to finish fifth, her second individual event at states. Camille Jablonski went 1:06.04 in the 100 breaststroke, good for seventh and a very legitimate shot at an at-large bid in an event where 13 finishers were quicker than last season’s states cut.

To top it off, the 400 free relay team of Jablonski, Resweber, Martin and Katie Willis finished sixth in 3:33.48, over three seconds under the at-large cut for last season.

The result was a fourth-place finish in team standings, easily the highest in program history.

Strath Haven's Frances Resweber poses for photos while accepting a third place medal in the 200 meter freestyle at the district championship meet at La Salle University Friday. On Saturday, Resweber did one better by winning Silver in the 500 (Times Staff / JULIA WILKINSON )