PIAA Class AA Day 2: WPIAL swimmers set for championship finals

By: Michael Love
Thursday, March 14, 2019 | 1:01 PM

A group of WPIAL swimmers punched tickets to the PIAA Class AA Day 2 championship finals set for Thursday evening at Bucknell University.

Karen Siddoway, a senior from Northgate-Avonworth, will attempt to win her second individual state title as she is the top seed for the finals in the 100-yard freestyle (51.41 seconds).

Mt. Pleasant junior Heather Gardner, second Wednesday in the 50 free, returns for the championship finals in the 100 breaststroke. She is seeded fourth (1:03.91).

Kaelyn McClain, a junior from Elizabeth Forward, is seeded seventh in the 500 free (5:13.26).

The Northgate-Avonworth 400 free relay of Siddoway, juniors Isabella Salerno and Kaylee Madey, and freshman Anna Neiss came away from the preliminaries seeded sixth (3:37.07).

Belle Vernon’s Ian Shahan, who captured the boys 100 butterfly state title Wednesday, is positioned first in the boys 100 free with a prelim time of 45.80, while Neshannock’s Connor McBeth, runner-up in the 50 free, is seeded fourth in the 100 free (46.40).

Three from the WPIAL will swim in the finals of the boys 500 free. Deer Lakes’ Adam Morrison is seeded third (4:42.84), Mars’ Andrew Pierre is the fourth seed (4:46.13), and Deer Lakes’ Noah Loper is seeded eighth (4:46.91).

Geibel Catholic’s Cole Dorobish is the fifth seed for 100 backstroke (53.21).

In the boys 100 breaststroke, Belle Vernon’s Robert Spekis locked down the No. 2 seed (57.98) for the finals, while Greensburg Salem’s William Crites is seeded fifth (59.27).

The Indiana (Kyle Thome, Isaac Griffith, Kevin Zheng, Cole Thome) and Shady Side Academy (Nicholas Lauer, Sean Kelley, Adrian Beckford, Stefan Stratimirovic) 400 free relays are seeded sixth and seventh, respectively.

The Class AA girls finals begin at 6:25 p.m., while the boys will compete starting at 8:50.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Avonworth, Belle Vernon, Deer Lakes, Geibel, Greensburg Salem, Indiana, Mars, Neshannock, Northgate, Shady Side Academy