Swimming

Leah Shackley Undercuts National High School Record at PIAA District Meet

February 28, 2024

2024 PIAA Swimming & Diving District 6 Championships

February 23-24, 2024
York YMCA, York, Pennsylvania
Short Course Yards (25 yards), Timed Finals
Full Meet Results

While most American swimming eyes were focused on swimming at high school state championship meets, college conference championship meets, and LSC championship meets, Bedford Area High School’s Leah Shackley flew under the radar at a district championship meet in central Pennsylvania – though she had one of the best weekends of all of the above.

Shackley, one of just two swimmers from her high school to compete at the meet, won the 100 back and 100 fly for the third-consecutive season (her freshman championship meet was canceled), and in the process rose up the National Age Group rankings in one of those events.

Her first win came in the 100 fly, where she swam 51.16. That was about two-tenths slower than her previous personal best in the event, done at last year’s YMCA National Championships in April.

Then, in the 100 back, she swam 50.43, which undercuts her time from Winter Juniors – East by two-tenths of a second. That moves her up to 8th place all-time in the 17-18 National Age Group Rankings, jumping ahead of names like Katharine Berkoff, Gretchen Walsh, Rachel Bootsma, and Amy Bilquist.

Shackley, who will head to NC State in the fall, is the two-time defending AA (small schools) State Champion in both races. If she continues her pattern from past seasons, she would still have another drop to go – at either the State Championship meet from March 13-16 at Bucknell University, or a month later at the YMCA Short Course National Championships. She hasn’t peaked at her district meet in either of the last two years.

In the 100 back, that would put her within reach of Claire Curzan’s National Age Group Record (49.46). She is already faster than the National Public High Schools Record of 50.97, though she was faster than that time at last year’s district meet as well and it was never recognized by NISCA. That recognized record was done in November 2023 by Maggie Wanezek from Brookfield East High School in Wisconsin.

SwimSwam: Leah Shackley Undercuts National High School Record at PIAA District Meet