Hornet Swimmers Bring Home More Medals on Day Two Of District Swim Championships

By: Ed Weaver  /  February 27, 2026

Junior Max Mascho and all four members of the Wellsboro Girls Swim team brought home medals on the second day of the District IV Swimming Championships at Williamsport on Thursday evening.

Mascho placed 4th in the 100 Backstroke in 1:04.17.

All four members of the Lady Hornets: seniors Makenna Robbins and Kristina Belz, sophomore Piper Anderegg and freshman Joelle Bull placed 4th in the 400 Free Relay in 4:14.61. Anderegg also earned a bronze medal in the 500 Free (5:45.57).

The Hornets finished tied for 6th in the boys meet with Mount Carmel with 123 points. The Lady Hornets, only comprised of the four swimmers, finished 9th with 117 points.

Robbins finished 5th in the 100 Breaststroke (1:13.07) and Belz was 14th in the 100 Breastroke (1:22.18).

On the boys side, sophomore Matthew Robbins was 8th in the 100 Free (53.14), freshman Austin DeShazo was 9th in the 100 Back (1:08.47), and sophomore Wyatt Sporer was 11th in the 100 Breaststroke (1:16.03).

"I've been reflecting about this entire season - especially after two very successful days at Districts and how our team of 11 was able to qualify eight swimmers, with six of them reaching the podium and earning medals, in only our second year as a PIAA recognized team," head coach Jenn Sporer said. "Sophomore Piper Anderegg was a workhorse again this season as she was phenomenal in the 500 Free (5:45.57) after establishing a consistent pace in the race - the strategy she had thought through in preparation for Districts, which resulted in a third place finish. She also secured medals by placing fourth in the 200 Free (2:08.34) and as a member of the 400 Free relay (4:14.61). Sophomore Matthew Robbins displayed grit beyond belief after coming back from two concussions this swim season, to earn a fourth place finish among an unbelievably strong field of competitors in the 50 Free (24.11). New to the team, but not swimming, was junior Maxwell Mascho, who fine-tuned his fundamentals in practice in order to deliver a medal-winning performance by finishing 4th in the 100 Backstroke (1:04.17). One of the highlights of the meet was the last event of Thursday night, the 400 Free relay, comprised of Anderegg, seniors Makenna Robbins and Kristina Belz, and freshman Joelle Bull. After a 7th seed ranking , the girls dropped 4.77 seconds (4:14.61), capturing 4th place and spot on the podium - a wonderful way to cap off the careers of Robbins and Belz, who earned their first ever District medals.

"Our boys relays came within seconds of making the podium as they finished fifth in both the 200 Medley relay (1:54.99) and 200 Free relay (1:41.78) with contributions by sophomore Wyatt Sporer and freshman Austin DeShazo.

"Our senior co-captains, Makenna Robbins and Kristina Belz, have been wonderful leaders on the pool deck, during practices, and at the meets. Our team is like a family and they are definitely the big sisters - we are really going to miss them next year, but we'll be cheering them on at Mansfield University (Kristina - Track) and Lycoming College (Makenna - Swimming).

"We achieved our team goal - every single swimmer swam personal best times in all of their events! It was exciting to watch two of our swimmers, Elijah Kennedy and Conlen Whitsell, who have never swam competitively, place in meets and learn so much over the course of the season. I think what folks don't realize is that our practices involve traveling to a nearby town every day, as we do not have a home pool per se, however we are thankful for the partnership with Mansfield University in allowing us practice for the past two seasons, and moving forward, allowing us to host a first-ever home meet for Wellsboro High School's growing team next season.