4 WPIAL records fall on 1st day of Class 2A swimming championships

By: Bob Orkwis
Thursday, February 27, 2025 | 10:58 PM

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Mt. Pleasant started the Class 2A competition with a WPIAL record in the girls 200 medley relay, and the Vikings’ Lily King and David Mutter and Shady Side Academy’s Ava Jochims also set new marks Thursday at Pitt’s Trees Pool.

Kiersten O’Connor, Lainey Brown, Maddie Barrick and King broke the WPIAL record they set last year in the day’s first relay with a winning time of 1:45.22.

The Mt. Pleasant boys relay also captured first to follow the girls’ hot start.

King and Preston Kessler from Indiana, who are both looking to win eight gold medals in the WPIAL finals, took center stage in the 200 freestyle.

King, who is committed to NC State, broke her own WPIAL record with a time of 1:44.62. That time also set the pool record at Pitt. Franklin Regional’s Scarlett Zolnak finished second.

Kessler did not set a record but beat Shady Side Academy’s Soren Cooper with a time of 1:40.83. The senior now has won four straight gold medals in the 200 freestyle.

Yochims, a sophomore, set a WPIAL record of 2:00.09 in the 200 IM.

The boys’ 200 IM may have been one of the best events of the day.

Sam Cavanaugh from Northgate and Joseph Gardner from Mt. Pleasant both tied for bronze last year. Gardner led for most of the race, but Cavanaugh overtook him on the last leg to win, 1:54.58 to 1:54.88.

O’Connor, a Connecticut commit, won the 50 freestyle for the girls, while Joshua Reed, a sophomore from Indiana, took the boys event with a time of 21.38.

Freeport’s Kira Schrecongost continued her dominance in the 100 butterfly. The senior Duquesne recruit won with a time of 54.85 over last year’s champion Lainey Sheets of Hampton. Schrecongost has now won three gold medals in her four years in the event.

David Mutter from Mt. Pleasant, who is headed to Alabama, set a WPIAL record on the boys side with a time of 48.01.

The 200 freestyle relays capped off the first day.

The team of Wynter Olsen, Nadia Casamassa, Shannon Chalfant and Genevieve Cody from Thomas Jefferson won gold for the girls at 1:37.75.

The Indiana boys capped of a great first day for the Indians with a win. Reed, Matthew Blystone, Joey Margita and Kessler finished first at 1:25.92.

In their final two events tomorrow, Kessler and King have a chance to win eight gold medals. With the champions having automatic bids to the PIAA championships at Bucknell, the duo has a chance to capture 16 gold medals between them at both competitions.

There will be 10 events held tomorrow on the second day of the competition, with eight individual races and the 400 freestyle relays as the final race of the championships.