JEFFERSON TWP — Knoch senior Chadd Cummings never swam for his high school team.

He’s never set any WPIAL records or even competed in any WPIAL meet.

He hasn’t had to.

Cummings, a Butler YMCA swimmer since age 5, owns six YMCA state championships and the state record of 2 minutes, 7.85 seconds in the 200-yard breast stroke. He has qualified for YMCA Nationals three times.

Next year, he will swim for Bucknell University. Cummings signed his letter of intent to do so in November.

“We sort of found each other,” Bucknell coach Dan Schinnerer said. “Our academic challenges are strong here and we look for athletes who can meet that. We look for versatility in the pool as well.

“Chadd is a good fit for us that way and we feel like we’re a good fit for him.”

Cummings carries a 4.0 grade point average at Knoch and plans to major in accounting and financial management. He also visited Army and Carnegie Mellon before deciding on Bucknell.

“They’re all great schools, but Bucknell fills my academic needs a little more and I feel like I can step in and contribute to the team right away,” Cummings said. “That’s my goal, anyway.”

Before going to college, Cummings has one more piece of business to accomplish in YMCA swimming. He is chasing the state record in the 100 breast stroke.

The record is 56.60 seconds. Cummings’ personal best is 56.84.

“I want to get that before I’m done,” he said.

And it will be tough to go once he is finished. Cummings will end his YMCA swimming career at nationals this summer.

“It’s definitely going to be life-changing,” he admitted. “I’ve been part of the same team for 12 or 13 years, grew up in the water with the same kids. We all became friends.

“Now I’ll be going to a new place, trying to accomplish new things and continue moving forward.”

Schinnerer is confident Cummings will do just that.

“He definitely has the versatility,” the coach said. “We like the skill set we’re seeing right now and there’s potential to get so much better on top of that.

“His IM, butterfly, sprint freestyle ... Chadd’s solid in all of those. But the breast stroke is where we feel he can impact us right away.”

Cummings said his best events are the 200 breast, 100 butterfly and 200 individual medley.

His goals in college are lofty ones — including qualifying for the Olympic swimming trials in 2016.

“Ultimately, that’s the point I want to reach ... just give myself a shot,” he said.

Bucknell swimmers have gotten there in the past.

“We’ve already got a couple of swimmers qualified for the 2016 trials,” Schinnerer said. “Our goals include getting kids to that level as well as being one of the top teams in our league.”

Bucknell competes in the Patriot League. The Naval Academy has dominated the men’s swimming circuit in that conference since joining the league in 2004.

Navy has won the league every year since, losing only one conference meet — to Bucknell last season.

“We’ve finished second or third in the conference, but no one’s been able to reel (Navy) in yet,” Schinnerer said.

Cummings hopes to be part of the team that eventually does so. Bucknell has only four seniors on this year’s squad.

“It’s the right school for me,” Cummings said. “Now it’s time to build for success.”

In and out of the water.