Leah Wallace sobbed.

Matt Woods just kept shaking his head.

The biggest indicator of Cocalico's newly-won championship, though, was the screams of joy emanating from the room that houses the hot tub, behind a glass door just off the deck at the Ephrata Rec Center swimming pool.

"I can't describe my feeling," Wallace said after the Eagles defeated backyard rival Ephrata 89-78 Thursday to claim the Section Two swimming crown. "I'm so proud of my team. This is unreal; unbelievable."

It was the first team swimming title for Cocalico (6-0 Section Two, 7-2 overall), while Ephrata (4-2, 6-3) finished third behind runner-up Lampeter-Strasburg (5-1, 6-3), which took down Lancaster Catholic 99-71 Thursday to finish second for the second year in a row.

The Cocalico boys (5-1, 6-3) finished second in Section Two with a 112-48 win over Ephrata (1-5, 1-8). The Eagles lost a first-place battle with Conestoga Valley (6-0, 7-2), which also claimed its first section championship in swimming with Tuesday's 102-68 triumph.

"It just feels so great," Woods said of winning the section crown. He added that "without a doubt, it means a little more because it was (Ephrata)."

Woods, who said he'd been working and reworking the lineup for about a month, knew Ephrata was going to give the Eagles a run for their money.

Barry Erb, who is retiring following the season after beginning his Ephrata coaching career in 1978, said his strategy was simple.

"We just put our best girls in their best events, and if we win, we win. If (the Eagles) beat us, they deserve it," Erb said. "They deserved it."

Cocalico got its expected boost from its five big guns — Olivia Evans, Samantha Marino, Tara Rakiewicz, Layne Gable and Sydney Evans — but needed all of its complementary parts to come through.

"It was a matter of performing the way we needed to," said Wallace. "We needed all the little things — good starts and turns, touching hard into the wall, taking those extra places — to add up in our favor to make a victory."

Freshman Sydney Evans won the 500-yard freestyle (5:30.09) and 200 individual medley (2:16.66), while older sister Olivia Evans, a junior, grabbed the win in the 100 backstroke (1:02.56) and took second in the IM (2:17.05) in one of those strategy moves Woods implemented.

"We figured Syd would win, but I needed (Olivia) to take second, so she agreed," Woods said. "It's kind of hard, knowing your younger sister is faster, but Olivia just said 'don't worry. I'll beat her (opponent). I promise.'

"When she got out of the pool, she just came over and said a promise is a promise."

Olivia Evans just nipped Ephrata's Katie Zell (2:17.40), overtaking Zell on the final lap of the freestyle leg.

Woods said that was typical of his girls, whom he said have an intensity about them that he's never before encountered with his swimmers.

"They do whatever I ask of them," he said.

Gable took the 50 free (26.80) and teamed with Marino and both Evanses to win the 400 free relay (3:55.39). Both Evanses, Rakiewicz and Marino won the 200 medley relay.

Ephrata got wins from Kylee Parsons in the 200 free (1:56.49) and 100 free (54.67), Zell in the 100 breaststroke (1:12.06) and Cassidy Reddig in the 100 butterfly (1:17.05) after apparent winner Anja Ferry of Cocalico was disqualified.

Zell, Madison Walmer, Kyra Vlaent and Parsons combined to take the 200 free relay in 1:45.06.

pkauffman@lnpnews.com