Mar. 15—LEWISBURG — Blue Mountain swimmers secured six state medals during the morning preliminaries Wednesday at the PIAA Class AA Swimming Championships at Bucknell University's Kinney Natatorium.

The Eagles' Hannah Magdeburg won the girls' 50-yard freestyle in 23.78, beating second-place Brenna Ross of Danville by 0.21 seconds. She'll look to win a gold medal when the girls' championship and consolation finals begin at 3:25 p.m.

Magdeburg will add medals in the 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay, teaming with Victoria Ellex, Paige Bensinger and Sage Kaplafka in both events. The Eagles placed seventh in the 200 medley in 1:51.34, then were third in the 200 free relay in 1:39.95.

Ellex will return to the consolation finals (places 9-16) after taking 16th in the morning prelims in 24.82, 0.42 seconds faster than her seed time. Ellex jumped from the 30th seed to 16th with her swim.

On the boys' side, Noah Powers and Matheson Bair earned medals in the 50 freestyle after finishing second and seventh, respectively, in the prelims. Powers was clocked in 20.57, just 0.15 behind first-place Henry Miller of Southmoreland (20.42). Bair finished in 21.65 after dropping 0.36 seconds from his seed time.

Powers is the defending champion in the event and will look to win a second straight gold when the boys' consolations and championship finals begin at 6:05 p.m.

Powers and Bair also teamed with Christian Fisher and Kyan Mitchell to garner a medal in the boys' 200 freestyle relay, placing eighth in 1:29.59. Bair, who also placed 32nd in the 100 fly, opened the race with a split of 21.97 seconds and Powers closed it in 20.26, passing two teams over the final 25 yards to secure a medal.

That same Blue Mountain foursome qualified for the consolation finals with a 12th-place finish in the 200 medley relay in 1:41.09. Schuylkill Haven senior Reese Felty also advanced to the consolation finals by placing 13th in the boys' 50 free in 22.17.

Other local finishers Wednesday included the Mahanoy Area girls' 200 medley relay team of Abby Dudash, Tabbatha Ward, Lexi Chilinskas and Kaylee Senglar, 18th in 1:56.23; Pottsville's Adalia LaSelva, 30th in the girls' 100 fly in 1:03.29; and Pottsville's Noah Bevan, 32nd in the boys' 200 freestyle in 1:58.19.

For live updates from tonight's championship and consolation finals, follow Sports Editor Leroy Boyer on Twitter @pubsportsboss.

Contact the writer: Lboyer@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6026; @pubsportsboss on Twitter