In the moments before competing for a medal in districts, a lot of thoughts go racing through a swimmer’s mind.

For Lower Dauphin junior Evan Wagner, these thoughts were contrary to the usual nerves that come with competition at a high level.

“I was just excited to be swimming at districts and having the potential to medal,” said Wagner describing his mental thought process leading up to his event.

Also on the line for Wagner was the possibility of breaking the school record for the 100 yard breaststroke. 

The then-sophomore explained, “I wasn’t really thinking about breaking the record, it kind of just happened.” 

Despite not intentionally focusing on surpassing the record, Wagner etched his name into LD swimming history for a reason. Working hard in the weight room and getting a lot of cardio into his routine helped Wagner to lower his times and ultimately qualify for districts and break the 100 yard breaststroke record.

Additional contributions to the young swimmer’s success were club coach Megan DeManicor and LD’s Kaitlyn Druby. 

“[The coaches helped] a lot because of them willing to put their time in to make me a better person, better swimmer and we practice pretty much 12 months [a year],” stated Wagner.

The tragic loss of beloved club coach Dino last fall gave Wagner more of an aspiration to accomplish.

“[Coach Dino impacted me] a lot I would say. It really gave me a goal to reach. It felt like I made him proud because that’s what his vision was for me—to go to districts to get the high school record.”