GROVE CITY — The Grove City boys swimming team’s dominating performance at the District 10 Class AA Championships has yielded a very heavy presence at this week’s state meet.

The Eagles earned first place in nine of 11 events at districts and will have at least one entry in every event at the PIAA Championships, to be held Friday and Saturday at Bucknell University’s Kinney Natatorium.

“This is the most dominating our boys team has ever been,” said Grove City coach Karen Wendelschaefer, who started the Grove City swimming program in 2000. “Our expectation is to win a state team title. We have someone who can score points in every event and that helps.”

Austin Wilson headlines the Eagles’ PIAA team. The senior is ranked first in the state in the 100-yard backstroke with a school-record time of 49.81 seconds — 1.84 seconds ahead of WPIAL champ Logan Palochak of Hopewell.

Wilson’s best individual effort to date at states is a seventh-place finish in the 50 freestyle his sophomore year. While he seems primed to win his first individual state title, Wilson’s ultimate goal has nothing to do with where he places.

“I’m more focused on my time,” he said. “I think I can go faster and my goal is to go below 49 seconds,” he said.

Wilson is also seeded fifth in the 200 freestyle and is a member of Grove City’s 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays, both seeded first. His teammates in the medley include Thomas Somora, Rockwell Pokrant and Devin Reynolds. Wilson will be joined in the 400 freestyle by Marcus Swartfager, Ben McKnight and Reynolds.

“Austin is a leader for the guys, making sure we stay focused,” said Wendelschaefer. “Most of the boys have been swimming since they were 5 years old. They put a lot of hours in the pool and in weight training. We are now capitalizing on that.”

Other high seeds for the Eagles include Pokrant (fifth in butterfly), Swartfager (seventh in 100 freestyle), Somora (seventh in breaststroke) and the 200 freestyle relay (second), which includes Swartfager, Will Rastatter, Pokrant and Reynolds.

The adage that success breeds success has found a home with the Eagles.

“We like to push each other,” said Wilson. “Our practices are like competitions. We’re a family.”

Grove City’s girls feature Austin Wilson’s sister, Emma, a freshman seeded first in the 50 freestyle.