They stood on the bleachers, hands extended with two fingers pointing every which way.
The Lancaster Catholic boys' swimming team was celebrating its runner-up finish to Hershey at the conclusion of Saturday's District Three Class AA Swimming Championships.
"It's been a miracle season. It really has," said Catholic senior John Hughes, after his team scored 242 points and finished a distant second to the dominant Trojans (617). "I never thought we would get this [second place as a team]. Words just can't describe this."
In almost any other year, the Crusaders would have been right in the thick of the chase for the team title. This, though, is no ordinary Hershey team. The Trojan boys set two more district records to go along with the three they set Friday at Cumberland Valley High School. The girls' title, meanwhile, went to Muhlenberg (361.5). Lampeter-Strasburg (102.5) was 10th and Lancaster Catholic (46) finished 13th.
"There's not many teams in the country that can beat them, definitely not in the state — Class AAA or Class AA," LC coach Matt DePietro said of Hershey. "Congratulations to them. Hopefully, some day, we'll be like that."
While Catholic couldn't keep pace with Hershey in the team race, the Crusaders did add five more medals to their haul, including a third-place finish from Jacob Robinson (49.75), Adam Mathias (51.41), Everett Albert (50.74) and Stuart Cubbison (48.94) with a school-record time of 3:20.84 in the 400-yard free relay.
Hughes (1:01.06) took fourth with another school record in the 100 breaststroke and Robinson (54.05) set the team mark with his fourth-place finish in the 100 back.
"John [Hughes] had an unbelievable meet, so did Jacob [Robinson]," DePietro said. "Actually, everybody kicked in. That's why it's so evident in the relays." The Crusaders broke school records in the 200 medley and 200 free relays Friday.
Not to be outdone by her male counterparts, Catholic's Elizabeth Davis placed eighth in the 500 free in 5:20.91, a drop of over nine seconds from her previous best.
Also securing medals were Donegal senior Derek Nelson, who took third in the 100 breaststroke in 1:00.64. Nelson couldn't quite match his performance from last year, when he won the district title in that event.
Annville-Cleona's Travis Bohn took the bronze in the 100 backstroke in 53.80, while A-C's Andrea May was third in the 100 breaststroke in 1:11.11.
The top two finishers qualified for the PIAA Championshp Meet to be held March 19-20 at Bucknell University.
Notes: Hershey's David Nolan set a district record with a 44.35 in the 100 freestyle, breaking the record of York Suburban's Kevin Marsteller in 2009. ... Hershey's boys' 400 free relay won in 3:06.42, breaking its own record of 3:10.31 from 2009.