2017 WPIAL Boys & Girls Swimming Results From Day One

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, March 2, 2017 | 2:22 PM

The North Allegheny machine just keeps rolling on as both the boys and girls marched out to a solid day-1 lead over their competition in Day One of the WPIAL Swimming championships.

After the Tigers girls got upset in the opening event, the 200 yd. Medley Relay by the Mt. Lebanon Blue Devils, NA’s Lauren McGrath took gold in the 200 yd. Freestyle to take a lead they wouldn’t relinquish the rest of the day. North Allegheny’s Anna Verardi, Kristine Mihm, Ann Juneau and Lauren McGrath also teamed up to win the final event of the morning, the 200 yard Freestyle Relay. There were two WPIAL records that fell on the girl’s side on day-1. Butler frosh Laura Goettler swam a record time of 2:01.78 to win her first WPIAL gold medal. Gateway freshman Olivia Livingston raced to a 22.83 performance to break the WPIAL record in the 50 yd. Freestyle.

The NA boys wasted no time in staking themselves to a points lead as they won the very first event of the day, the 200 yd. Medley Relay behind the swimming of Andrew Zhang, Jerry Chen, Mason Gonzalez and Maxwell Gonzalez. And, for the 2nd year in a row, the Tigers swept the medals in the Boys 200 yd. Freestyle. Eben Krigger took gold, Jack Wright took silver and Rick Mihm took bronze.  North Allegheny’s Mason Gonzalez won gold and set a new WPIAL record in the Boys 50 yd. Freestyle, beating the old record by 0.08.  Upper St. Clair sophomores shined in the Boys 200 yd. IM as Jack Fitzpatrick won gold and Nick Mudry won the silver.  In the final race of the day, the quartet of Jack Wright, Rick Mihm, Eben Krigger and Mason Gonzalez combined to set another WPIAL record in the Boys 200 yd. Freestyle Relay.

BOY 3-A Standings through Day 1:

1. North Allegheny 221
2. Hempfield 152
3. Peters Township 131
4. Upper St. Clair 127
5. Mt. Lebanon 97

GIRLS 3-A Standings through Day 1:

1. North Allegheny 221
2. Mt. Lebanon 175
3. Upper St. Clair 131
4. Franklin Regional 89
5. Penn Trafford 71

BOYS 3-A:

200 Medley Relay
1. North Allegheny 1:33.93
2. Hempfield
3. Peters Township
4. Upper St. Clair
5. Pittsburgh Central Catholic

200 Freestyle
1. Eben Krigger, North Allegheny 1:49.65
2. Jack Wright, North Allegheny 
3. Rick Mihm, North Allegheny 
4. Zack Rulli, Hempfield
5. Stephen Hopka, Peters Township

200 Individual Medley
1. Jack Fitzpatrick, Upper St. Clair 1:52.83
2. Nick Mudry, Upper St. Clair
3. Cole Stinebiser, Hempfield
4. Zane Wilson, Hempfield
5. Maxwell Gonzalez, North Allegheny

50 Freestyle
1. Mason Gonzalez, North Allegheny 20.05**WPIAL RECORD
2. Isaiah Gregory, Penn Hills
3. Mike Kehm, Peters Township
4. Ellis Cannon, Woodland Hills
5. Gavin Mayo, Hempfield

100 Butterfly
1. Kimani Gregory, Penn Hills 50.17
2. Zach Rulli, Hempfield
3. Cody Steward, Canon-McMillan
4. Andrew Zhang, North Allegheny
5. Michael Bushnell, Pittsburgh Central Catholic

200 Freestyle Relay
1. North Allegheny 1:22.93**WPIAL RECORD
2. Peters Township
3. Franklin Regional
4. Hempfield
5. Upper St. Clair

GIRLS 3-A:

200 Medley Relay
1. Mt. Lebanon 1:43.90
2. North Allegheny
3. Upper St. Clair
4. Peters Township
5. Moon

200 Freestyle
1. Lauren McGrath, North Allegheny 1:49.65
2. Kathryn Nicholson, Mt. Lebanon
3. Abby Metheny, Upper St. Clair
4. Sophia Gaguzis, Seneca Valley
5. Olivia Shaffer, Upper St. Clair

200 Individual Medley
1. Laura Goettler, Butler 2:01.78 **WPIAL RECORD
2. Abby Hays, Peters Township
3. Torie Buerger, North Allegheny
4. Kristine Mihm, North Allegheny
5. Lila McGrath, North Allegheny

50 Freestyle
1. Olivia Livingston, Gateway 22.83 ** WPIAL RECORD
2. Jossie Filo, Fox Chapel
3. Maeve Lersch, Upper St. Clair
4. Sophia Donati, Mt. Lebanon
5. Anna Verardi, North Allegheny

100 Butterfly
1. Trinity Ward, Mt. Lebanon 55.08
2. Ann Juneau, North Allegheny
3. Stephanie Sipple, Penn Hills
4. Morgan Birdy, Franklin Regional
5. Cassidy Sweeney, Peters Township

200 Freestyle Relay
1. North Allegheny 1:35.26
2. Upper St. Clair
3. Mt. Lebanon
4. Penn Trafford
5. Seneca Valley

With the first day of action completed in the 2017 WPIAL Class AA swimming championships, both Quaker Valley in boys and Shady Side Academy in girls will need strong showings in Day Two to achieve the three-peat. On Thursday at Trees Pool at the University of Pittsburgh, six events each for the boys and girls were contested, including 200 medley relay, 200 freestyle, 200 individual medley, 50 freestyle, 100 butterfly and 200 freestyle relay.

Through those races, the Laurel Highlands Mustangs hold a 12-point edge on the boys side, ahead of second-place Knoch. Meanwhile, the Quakers, who captured gold in each of the past two years, sit 25 points out of the lead.

Among the girls, the Shady Side Academy Indians used a fast start to hold the lead through the first day, as they boast 145 points. Indiana sits nine points back, while Blackhawk is also within striking distance, with 119 points.

For the boys, Laurel Highlands started the afternoon in impressive fashion, as the quartet of Cameron Lizza, Jonathon Lewis, Brandon Thomas and Jacob Johnson took gold in the 200 medley relay. In the 200 freestyle, Springdale’s senior Kevin Kondrit repeated as champion, winning by nearly four seconds over his closest competitor. Additionally, John Wilson scored the victory in the 200 individual medley, as the Knoch senior recorded a time of 1:56.84, while in the 50 freestyle, Quaker Valley’s Harry Harkins took first. The 100 butterfly included three record-setting efforts, as Zach Baum (Derry Area) took the gold with a time of 50.29, but Sead Niksic (Obama Academy) and Brandon Thomas (Laurel Highlands) also broke the previous WPIAL mark. Finally, Quaker Valley kept its three-peat hopes alive by prevailing in the 200 freestyle relay, as the team of Kevin Bergdoll, Michael Parker, Andres Hubsch and Harry Harkins secured the best time.

On the girls side, Shady Side Academy started its title defense strong, as the Indians unit of Jeanne Lauer, Maya Groff, Ashley Azzarello and Lindsey Grune took first in the 200 medley relay. Maddy Andrews of Quaker Valley repeated as the champ in 200 freestyle, winning by nearly three seconds. Likewise, Bailey Bonnett of Highlands repeated in the 200 individual medley, by an incredible margin of more than seven seconds. Not to be outdone, Ellwood City senior Taylor Petrak also defended her title in the 50 freestyle. Moreover, Payton Rayko of Indiana secured a gold medal in the 100 butterfly. Lastly, Quaker Valley notched first place in the 200 freestyle relay, guided by the quartet of Sophie Besterman, Alyse Ray, Amelia Besterman and Maddy Andrews.

The remaining events for Day Two include the 100 freestyle, 500 freestyle, 100 backstroke, 100 breaststoke and 400 freestyle relay.

Boys AA standings (through Day One)
1. Laurel Highlands 136
2. Knoch 124
3. Quaker Valley 111
4. Elizabeth Forward 83.5
5. Riverside 78

200 Medley Relay
1. Laurel Highlands 1:40.16
2. Knoch
3. Quaker Valley
4. Riverside
5. Northgate

200 Freestyle
1. Kevin Kondrit (Springdale) 1:41.35
2. Andrew Pierre (Mars)
3. Luke Ulizzi (Carlynton)
4. Andrew Kohle (South Park)
5. David Ewing (South Fayette)

200 Individual Medley
1. John Wilson (Knoch) 1:56.84
2. EJ Eppinger (Winchester-Thurston)
3. Collin Hurley (Springdale)
4. Ian Schirra (Aquinas Academy)
5. Noah Jamison (Obama Academy)

50 Freestyle
1. Harry Harkins (Quaker Valley) 21.33
2. Jonathan Sharp (Uniontown)
3. Cullin Baker (Seton-LaSalle)
4. Derek Ekas (Knoch)
5. Jacob Johnson (Laurel Highlands)

100 Butterfly
1. Zach Baum (Derry) 50.29 * WPIAL record
2. Sead Niksic (Obama Academy)
3. Brandon Thomas (Laurel Highlands)
4. Dean Kralic (Riverside)
5. Matt Karenbauer (Knoch)

200 Freestyle Relay
1. Quaker Valley 1:29.84
2. Knoch
3. Elizabeth Forward
4. Laurel Highlands
5. Shady Side Academy

Girls AA standings (through Day One)
1. Shady Side Academy 145
2. Indiana 136
3. Blackhawk 119
4. Quaker Valley 93
5. Derry Area 90

200 Medley Relay
1. Shady Side Acadmemy 1:48:02 *WPIAL record
2. Indiana
3. Northgate
4. Blackhawk
5. Highlands

200 Freestyle
1. Maddy Andrews (Quaker Valley) 1:50:71
2. Karen Siddoway (Northgate)
3. Erica King (Riverside)
4. Allison Brownlee (Derry Area)
5. Payton Rayko (Indiana)

200 Individual Medley
1. Bailey Bonnett (Highlands) 2:01.09
2. Lindsay Grune (Shady Side Academy)
3. Brooke Carmazzi (Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic)
4. Amelia Besterman (Quaker Valley)
5. Brooke Zukowski (Knoch)

50 Freestyle
1. Taylor Petrak (Ellwood City) 23.43
2. Heather Gardner (Mt. Pleasant)
3. Mikayla Bisignani (Greensburg Central Catholic)
4. Renee Robson (Deer Lakes)
5. Skye Fogle (Blackhawk)

100 Butterfly
1. Payton Rayko (Indiana) 58:30
2. Danielle Jellison (Derry Area)
3. Meredith Cummings (Shady Side Academy)
4. Ashley Azzarello (Shady Side Academy)
5. Skye Fogle (Blackhawk)

200 Freestyle Relay
1. Quaker Valley 1:39.24
2. Shady Side Academy
3. Derry Area
4. Highlands
5. Blackhawk