Maggie Gruber of Mars has accomplished so much in her high school swimming career that it's easy to forget she is only a sophomore.

Her next chance to add to her resume will come Wednesday and Thursday in the PIAA Class AA Championships at Bucknell University.

Gruber is the defending state champion in the 100-yard butterfly. At the WPIAL Championships earlier this month, she won titles in both the butterfly and 100 backstroke.

She is seeded first at states in both events with times of 54.63 seconds (butterfly) and 56.0 (backstroke).

“I'm strong in both events, but I'm a little better in the butterfly,” said Gruber.

In fact, in the butterfly she is 3.57 seconds better than the next best girl in the state, Scranton Prep's Rebekah Campo.

For Mars coach Heidi Brandon, it has been a pleasure to watch such a talented athlete.

“When she hit the wall (and won) in last year's butterfly at states, I think we were all a bit stunned,” she said. “At that point, I said to myself, ‘Oh my gosh, we could have a four-year state champ on our hands.'”

• Knoch senior Kristy Daubner, who will swim in the 50 and 100 freestyle events, will be closing her career at Bucknell.

“That was one of our goals: to get her to the state meet in both events,” said Knoch coach Rick Hassler. “I'm sure the fact that this was her last year served as a bit of motivation.”

At the state meet last year, Daubner broke the school record in the 50 freestyle (24.5) and she broke her own school standard in the 100 freestyle at WPIALs earlier this month with a time of 55.15.

• Two Butler County residents and Shady Side Academy swimmers will be competing at states for the fourth consecutive season.

Anne Marie Bilott (Penn Township) and Hillary Cummings (Oakland Township) both will have a say in where the Indians place in the 200 medley relay.

Bilott (butterfly) and Cummings (breaststroke) recently helped Shady Side win the event at WPIALs for the second straight year.

The squad enters states seeded second at 1:49.65, just two-hundredths of a second behind Villa Maria Academy.

“It's going to be a tight race, but I think we've got a good chance of winning,” said Cummings,

Bilott will swim a leg of the 400 freestyle relay, which is seeded first at 3:33.16. She also is ranked fourth in the 200 individual medley and fifth in the 100 breaststroke.

“When I was a freshman, everything about the state meet was new to me,” said Bilott. “But now I've settled into it. You just have to get focused and do your best.”

Cummings also will swim in the Indians' 200 freestyle relay.

BoysMars will be represented by junior Jack Muehlheuser and freshman Chris Georgiadis, who will swim two events each.Muehlheuser (seeded eighth in backstroke) and Georgiadis (14th in 500 freestyle) also will compete in the 200 individual medley.“They've pushed each other in practice in the IM,” said Brandon. “At states, I think Jack may have an advantage just because he's been there before”Coming soon: A PIAA Class AAA preview.