Above is a file photo of Panama/Maple Grove/Chautauqua Lake’s RJ Helt taking first in the 200-yard freestyle at the Section VI Class C Swimming & Diving Championships in Clarence and qualifying for the state meet which starts this morning at Ithaca College. OBSERVER File Photo by Christian Storms

The biggest meet of their lives.

That’s what Gannon Moore, RJ Helt and David Marshall will be a part of when they compete in the NYSPHSAA and NYS Federation boys swimming and diving championships this morning at Ithaca College.

Moore, a Frewsburg/Southwestern junior, is the youngest of the three area swimmers, but his head coach Bruce Johnson brings 44 years of coaching experience with a long list of state-qualified pupils on his resume to get Moore ready for the biggest meet of his career.

While the nerves and pressure are high at a meet of this magnitude, Johnson tries to have his swimmers treat the meet as if it was any other competition.

“We try to relax them and keep them in a normal pattern,” Johnson said. “If he is swimming one event, I would like him to warm up several times. Treat it like he would be swimming his normal program.”

That’s exactly what Gannon will be doing as a qualifier in the 100-yard backstroke. Moore locked his spot in at the meet during the Section VI state qualifier where he continued to better his own school record in the event with a time of 54.32.

While the 100-yard backstroke is the only event Moore qualified for, it’s not the only one he competes in. With that being the case, Johnson plans on having Moore treat it as if he were swimming in any other meet. That means when his usual events come up — even when not competing in them — Moore will take to the warmup pool and keep his body in its normal routine.

“I try to keep him in a general routine that he is used to,” Johnson stated.

Gannon’s goal for the meet is to break the 54-second mark, which he was 0.32 seconds off of a little more than two weeks ago.

“His goal is to break 54 seconds, so anything under that is his goal,” added Johnson. “Every time he swims a little faster he also breaks that school record he holds.”

Coming into the meet, Gannon is seeded at 32nd in the meet and the top 27 swimmers from today will move on to the finals Saturday.

“It’s the biggest meet of his life,” Johnson stated. “He’s had a two-and-a-half week break since sectionals. He feels really good in the water and we’re hoping he’s ready to roll.”

While Moore was the lone Frewsburg/Southwestern swimmer to qualify, both Helt and Marshall will be representing the Panama/Maple Grove/Chautauqua Lake Panthers.

“They’re pretty excited at this point,” stated Panama/Maple Grove/Chautauqua Lake head coach Kelsey Powers. “It’s David’s first time diving at states; they didn’t get to compete last year.”

Marshall is the Section VI representative diver after a strong performance at the state qualifier that has him the 10th-seeded diver in the competition.

“He has done really well at the qualifiers and sectionals,” Powers added about Marshall. “Mentally he is pretty well prepared; he is the only qualifier from the section.”

Despite the strong finish Marshall is having to his season, it has not all been roses for the senior diver.

“He definitely had a few setbacks,” Powers said about Marshall. “At the beginning of the season he hit the board and hit it again later in the season. He had to get stitches, but since then he has made a lot of progress.”

Marshall will look to build off his recent strong performances when the diving competition starts today at 3 p.m.

While his teammate will wrap up the diving competition today, the senior Helt will be competing for a spot in Saturday’s competition just like Frewsburg/Southwestern’s Moore.

Where Moore is just swimming in one event, the Niagara University-committed Helt is competing in both the 100-yard and 200-yard freestyles. Unlike Moore and Marshall, Helt qualified for the state meet during the Class C Section VI finals where he hit the New York state-qualifying time.

“He did swim the 50-yard freestyle and 500-yard freestyle at the state qualifier and placed really well in them,” Powers said about Helt. “He has broken numerous school records in his high school career and the state meet will be a very culminating event for that.”

The state and federation meet will mark the end of Helt’s high school career, but it will not be the last meet for the future Division I swimmer for the Niagara Purple Eagles.

“I would say RJ is one of the most dedicated swimmers I have ever met,” stated Powers. “I have never seen a swimmer work harder in and out of the pool. He definitely puts every ounce of effort in.”

Helt is currently seeded 47th in the 200-yard freestyle and 52nd in the 100-yard freestyle and will need to place in the top 27 for a spot in Saturday’s finals.

“Their goals are to just perform to the best of their abilities,” Powers said of Marshall and Helt.

The trio of Moore, Marshall and Helt will join the other 31 representatives from Section VI in the pool starting this morning with the prelims at 9:30 a.m. and the diving competition will take place at 3 p.m.

“We’ve got a fairly strong team coming out of Section VI, we should do all right,” added Johnson.