Sisters help CVCC to third in PASDA Division 3
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Megan, Haley and Paige Yingling moved from Indiana too late last summer to be a part of the Princeton Area Swimming and Diving Association, but the sisters were thrilled to be a part of it this year.
They are thrilled to have found swim teams — club, school and summer — to keep them busy in their favorite pastime.
”We loved it,” said Megan, the oldest of the three, who will be a junior at Montgomery High School. “The team was really nice. It helped us adjust to the area.”
The Yingling sisters helped the Cherry Valley Country Club swim team finish a big turnaround season by placing third in Division 3 at the PASDA Championships.
”I didn’t really know what it would be like,” said Haley, who is 11 minutes older than her twin, Paige. “I didn’t know that last year they hadn’t won any of their meets until someone was talking about it. I think we did well. Everyone swam well.”
Paige won the 12-and-under girls 100 individual medley in 1:24.54. Haley Yingling was third in the IM in 1:32.52. Page won the 12-and-under girls 50 backstroke in 40.03 seconds, and swam a season-best 43.71 for second in the breaststroke.
Said Paige: “They were pretty good swims.”
Haley placed third in 12-and-under girls 50 butterfly in 41.45 seconds, and was fourth in the 12-and-under girls 50 free in 34.78 seconds. The twins were able to swim on the same relay. CVCC was the lone entry for the 200 medley relay that they swam in 3:01.35.
”I like to swim against her,” Haley said of her sister, “but I usually know she’s going to beat me.”
Megan was second in the girls 18-and-under 50 breast in 42.85 seconds, fourth in the 18-and-under girls 100 IM, fourth in the 50 free, and swam the fastest split, 32.70 seconds, on the winning 200 free relay.
”I felt pretty good,” Megan said. “I enjoyed swimming in the pool. It was a nice pool. They weren’t my best swims, but it felt good to be outside swimming.”
All three of the Yinglings also swim year-round for the Princeton Piranhas. Swimming has helped them acclimate to their new community.
”It’s fun to do Piranhas,” Paige said. “Some of the people from Piranhas were in school so we had more friends when we moved here.”
This summer, they were happy to find the chance to swim with CVCC. It opened them to more friends and the chance to swim in another environment.
”It’s not the main thing, but we enjoy it,” Megan said. “We get to meet a lot of different people. It’s a different side of swimming. It’s not as competitive.”
CVCC was thrilled with the addition of some dedicated swimmers like the sisters. They helped the team enjoy a great regular season and championship that culminated with the team being given the Division 3 Sportsmanship Award winner.
”It was really good,” said CVCC head coach Claire Scarpa. “We had a great season. We went 4-1 and ended up tying for first place in Division 3. We had a bunch of really close meets, which made for a good season. Even the meet we lost, it came down to the last relay.”
Scarpa saw her team perform well at the CVCC. The team had a triple winner in Grace Seitter, who won the girls 14-and-under 100 IM in 1:15.77, won the 50 back in 35.86 seconds and the 50 breast in 41.06, faster than her seed time.
”They all swam really fast,” Scarpa said. “We didn’t have the numbers that other teams have, which makes a big difference. The more people that you can get, the more chances you have to score points. We had a lot of fun at Champs and we make the most of it.”
It was a new experience for the Yinglings, who had also been involved in summer swimming back in Indiana.
”Our old team was very different,” Megan said. “We had a different kind of invitational. It was smaller. This was more competitive. It was fun to see people from our year-round team.”
Megan, whose top event is breaststroke for her club team, enjoyed being a bigger part of the summer swim team. She was able to help as a volunteer assistant coach for CVCC.
”I got to work with the younger kids,” she said. “It’s a different take on swimming. My old team, I wasn’t technically labeled as a coach, but I got to work with them some. It wasn’t my first time working with them, but it was my first time being a volunteer coach so it was fun.”
Her 11-year-old sisters look up to Megan. They used to sit poolside and watch her compete, and then they asked to start swimming.
”She was the one that introduced us to swimming,” Haley said. “She’s the one that started it all. We take after her.”
Added Paige: “It was pretty cool that she got to coach us. She coached the younger kids on our old team. She’s told us what sets and stuff to do.”
The extra help was welcome at CVCC. Scarpa had the chance to coach Megan in the winter at MHS and again this summer.
”They moved last summer and she swam high school,” Scarpa said. “She volunteered her time and came and coached the little guys. She was really good with the kids.”
Megan likes being the older sister to a pair of twins. They might at times team up against her, but Megan is enjoying watching them develop.
”It’s fun because when they were younger, they were like the same,” Megan said. “Now they’re become different.”
The twins have different strengths in their events. Megan is hopeful that the two will get the same positive experiences out of swimming that she has. She is looking forward to returning to the MHS team this winter that advanced all the way to the state final in her first year.
”I loved that,” Megan said. “Just meeting everyone, that helped a ton. My old team was much bigger because we didn’t have cuts. Being on a smaller team, we’re all really close. One girl on Piranhas, I got to know her well. And it was fun to make it to the state championships and go that far.”
Haley and Paige still have a ways to go. They will be in sixth grade together at Montgomery Middle School this year.
”I’m looking forward to it,” Paige said. “We’re looking forward to seeing friends from last year and meeting new friends.”
The twins have embraced Montgomery, and their first year has been full of fond memories.
”It’s different,” Haley said, “but it’s a good different.”
Swimming has helped. They used to play soccer and basketball before swimming took up their time. Swimming gave them a circle of friends in Montgomery quickly and helped their transition.
”It’s fun,” Haley said. “Some of my friends that are on Piranhas are on Cherry Valley also. It’s fun to swim together.”
It’s also fun to swim as a family. They can cheer each other on, and the twins can even do some racing against each other in some of the events. While Haley favors the 50 free in the summer, Paige likes the 50 breast and 100 IM best. Once she learned the butterfly a couple of years ago, she found out she could do well in the IM, but she didn’t go into the PASDA Championships expecting to win it.
”I didn’t really know,” Paige said. “It felt pretty good.”
One year after their move, the Yingling sisters are finding plenty of new friends, a welcoming new school and swim teams like CVCC that are thrilled that the three sisters have joined them.
Said Paige: “It’s really fun.”