Belle Vernon’s Shahan edges 100 freestyle rival to highlight WPIAL Class AA meet
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Friday, February 28, 2020 | 8:24 PM
Belle Vernon’s Ian Shahan hugs Indiana’s Kevin Zheng after Shahan won the boys 100 freestyle during the 2020 AA WPIAL Swimming and Diving Championship at Trees Pool on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020.
Winners in the boys’ AA 100 yard freestyle: Ian Shahan of Belle Vernon in first place, Conner McBeth of Neshannock in second place, Cooper Groll of Northgate in third place, Nathan Cleary of Keystone Oaks High School in fourth place, Stefan Stratimirovic of Shady Side Academy in fifth place, Kevin Zheng of Indiana High School in sixth place, Dan Tanaskovic of Central Valley in seventh place, and Sam West of Belle Vernon in eighth place, on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020 at Joe C. Trees Pool at the University of Pittsburgh.
Laurel Highlands’ Kole Friel takes a moment before competing in the boys 100 breaststroke during the 2020 AA WPIAL Swimming and Diving Championship at Trees Pool on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020.
Thomas Jefferson’s Luke Pletz competes in the boys 100 backstroke during the 2020 AA WPIAL Swimming and Diving Championship at Trees Pool on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020.
Indiana’s Cole Thome reacts after winning the boys 100 breaststroke during the 2020 AA WPIAL Swimming and Diving Championship at Trees Pool on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020.
Carlynton’s Carson Gaitens competes in the boys 100 backstroke during the 2020 AA WPIAL Swimming and Diving Championship at Trees Pool on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020.
Elizabeth Forward swimmers and coaches jump in the pool after winning the 2020 AA Girls WPIAL Swimming Championship at Trees Pool on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020.
Thomas Jefferson’s Mackenzie Meyers competes in the girls 100 backstroke during the 2020 AA WPIAL Swimming and Diving Championship at Trees Pool on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020.
Quaker Valley’s Isabel Huang competes in the girls 100 backstroke during the 2020 AA WPIAL Swimming and Diving Championship at Trees Pool on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020.
Montour’s Alex May competes in the boys 100 backstroke during the 2020 AA WPIAL Swimming and Diving Championship at Trees Pool on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020.
Thomas Jefferson’s Mackenzie Meyers competes in the girls 100 backstroke during the 2020 AA WPIAL Swimming and Diving Championship at Trees Pool on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020.
Montour’s Alex May competes in the boys 100 backstroke during the 2020 AA WPIAL Swimming and Diving Championship at Trees Pool on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020.
Thomas Jefferson’s Mackenzie Meyers competes in the girls 100 backstroke during the 2020 AA WPIAL Swimming and Diving Championship at Trees Pool on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020.
Blackhawk’s Gabby Phillips competes in the girls 100 backstroke during the 2020 AA WPIAL Swimming and Diving Championship at Trees Pool on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020.
Quaker Valley’s Sophie Besterman competes in the girls 100 backstroke during the 2020 AA WPIAL Swimming and Diving Championship at Trees Pool on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020.
Chartiers Valley’s Erik Tagg competes in the boys 500 freestyle during the 2020 AA WPIAL Swimming and Diving Championship at Trees Pool on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020.
Carlynton’s Natali Lutsiv competes in the girls 100 backstroke during the 2020 AA WPIAL Swimming and Diving Championship at Trees Pool on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020.
Indiana’s Kyle Thome competes in the boys 500 freestyle during the 2020 AA WPIAL Swimming and Diving Championship at Trees Pool on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020.
Winchester Thurston’s Maeve Kelley competes in the girls 500 freestyle during the 2020 AA WPIAL Swimming and Diving Championship at Trees Pool on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020.
Quaker Valley’s Amanda Kerrish competes in the girls 500 freestyle during the 2020 AA WPIAL Swimming and Diving Championship at Trees Pool on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020.
Chartiers Valley’s Grace Janas competes in the girls 500 freestyle during the 2020 AA WPIAL Swimming and Diving Championship at Trees Pool on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020.
Thomas Jefferson’s Hallie Findlan competes in the girls 100 freestyle during the 2020 AA WPIAL Swimming and Diving Championship at Trees Pool on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020.
Swimmers compete in the boys 100 backstroke during the 2020 AA WPIAL Swimming and Diving Championship at Trees Pool on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020.
Thomas Jefferson’s Hallie Findlan hugs assistant coach Brian Peters after winning the girls 100 freestyle during the 2020 AA WPIAL Swimming and Diving Championship at Trees Pool on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020.
Team winners in boys’ AA 400 yard freestyle relay: Indiana High School in first, Northgate High School in second, Belle Vernon Area High School in third, Riverside High School in fourth, North Catholic High School in fifth, Montour High School in sixth, Mt. Pleasant High School in seventh, and South Park, at bottom, in eighth place, on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020 at Joe C. Trees Pool at the University of Pittsburgh.
Winners in the girls’ AA team 400 yard freestyle relay: Elizabeth Forward in first place, Laurel Highlands in second, Mt. Pleasant Area High School in third place, Quaker Valley in fourth, Indiana High School in fifth, Freeport in sixth, Blackhawk in seventh place and North Catholic High School in eighth, on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020 at Joe C. Trees Pool at the University of Pittsburgh.
Girls’ championship winners in AA of Elizabeth Forward High School pose with coaching staff and trophy on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020 at Joe C. Trees Pool at the University of Pittsburgh.
Boys’ championship winners in AA of Northgate High School pose with coaching staff and trophy on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020 at Joe C. Trees Pool at the University of Pittsburgh.
Boys’ championship winners in AA of Indiana High School pose with coaching staff and trophy on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020 at Joe C. Trees Pool at the University of Pittsburgh.
Winners in the boys’ AA 100 yard breaststroke: Cole Thome of Indiana in first place, Braden Zukowski of Knoch in second place, Henry Miller of Southmoreland in third place, Josiah Shaffer of Riverside in fourth place, Kole Friel of Laurel Highlands in fifth place, Jake Buhite of Derry in sixth place, Sasuga Nakayama of South Park in seventh place, and Gavin Guern of Elizabeth Forward in eighth, on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020 at Joe C. Trees Pool at the University of Pittsburgh.
Winners in the boys’ AA 100 yard backstroke: Alex May of Montour in first place, Matthew Purcell of Northgate in second place, Zachary Wilson of Knoch in third, Jackson Kress of North Catholic in fourth place, Matthew Littleton of North Catholic in fifth place, Andrew Noll of Ringgold in sixth place, Mason Beauregard of Seton-La Salle in seventh place, and John Lamb of North Catholic in eighth place, on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020 at Joe C. Trees Pool at the University of Pittsburgh.
Winners in the girls’ AA 100 yard backstroke: Isabel Huang of Quaker Valley School District in first place, Ella Menear of Mapletown High School in second place, Elizabeth Thomas of Laurel Highlands in third place, Parker Fanella of Indiana High School in fourth place, SaraJo Gardner of Mt. Pleasant High School in fifth place, Brittney Carmazzi of North Catholic in sixth place, Emma Kunzmann of North Catholic in seventh, and Sarah Doncevic of Ambridge in eighth place, on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020 at Joe C. Trees Pool at the University of Pittsburgh.
Winners in the girls’ AA 100 yard freestyle: Hallie Findlan of Thomas Jefferson in first place, Ella Ciez of Laurel Highlands in second place, Hopewell’s Gabrielle Webster in third place, Ashlee Toth of Elizabeth Forward in fourth place, Anna Neiss of Northgate High School in fifth place, Brooke Welling of Freeport in sixth place, Halle Wagner of Quaker Valley in seventh, and Sophia Trevenen of Montour in eighth, on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020 at Joe C. Trees Pool at the University of Pittsburgh.
Winners in the girls’ AA 500 yard freestyle: Maeve Kelley of Winchester Thurston in first place, Kaelyn McClain of Elizabeth Forward in second place, Hailey Yurkovich of Elizabeth Forward in third place, Natalie Glessner of Elizabeth Forward in fourth place, Ainsley Bissett of North Catholic in fifth place, Payton O’Toole of Burrell in sixth place, and Stephanie Somlo of The Ellis School in eighth place, on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020 at Joe C. Trees Pool at the University of Pittsburgh.
Winners in the girls AA individual medley: Isabel Huang of Quaker Valley in first place, Maria Mrosko of Laurel Highlands in second place, Ella Menear of Mapletown High School in third place, Elizabeth Thomas of Laurel Highlands in fourth place, Stephanie Somlo of the Ellis School in fifth place, Hailey Yurkovich of Elizabeth Forward in sixth place, Natalie Glessner of Elizabeth Forward in seventh place, Delaney Patterson of Belle Vernon Area High School in eighth place, on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020 at Joe C. Trees Pool at University of Pittsburgh.
Belle Vernon’s Ian Shahan competes in the boys 100 freestyle during the 2020 AA WPIAL Swimming and Diving Championship at Trees Pool on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020.
Both Belle Vernon’s Ian Shahan and Neshannock’s Conner McBeth surpassed Shahan’s 100-yard freestyle WPIAL record from last year when the rivals swam neck-and-neck through Friday’s race at the WPIAL Class AA swimming championships at Pitt’s Trees Pool.
Only one could end up with his name in the record books and a gold medal around his neck.
Shahan out-touched Cooper at the finish, winning with a time of 44.68 seconds. Cooper clocked a runner-up time of 45.08.
“I love racing Conner,” Shahan said. “Me and him, we push each other so much.”
Shahan’s 2019 WPIAL-winning time in the event was 45.48.
The title is Shahan’s fifth WPIAL individual crown. He won the 100 backstroke in 2017 and added the 100 butterfly title Thursday to the one he won in the event last year.
“This is a good staging ground for states,” said Shahan, who hopes to claim his second-straight PIAA 100 free title. “I have a good base for where I need to go. I didn’t shave down for this meet, and I had a light taper, so I know I can go a lot faster. That’s the plan.”
McBeth, the 100 free champion as a freshman in 2018, also was runner-up to Shahan last year.
As Shahan and McBeth began Friday’s Class AA session with a bang, the Indiana boys capped it with a similar dynamic impact as senior Cole Thome won the 100 breaststroke in a time of 59.31 and the Indians 400 free relay of Cole Thome, junior Kyle Thome, junior Isaac Griffith and senior Kevin Zheng set a WPIAL record (3:11.91).
Indiana claimed its second consecutive boys team title with 236 team points to 213 for runner-up Northgate.
“This is so amazing to see,” Indiana coach Garet Weston said. “These guys worked so hard this year with the goal to defend the title. All the effort they put in certainly paid off.”
The Elizabeth Forward girls 400 free relay of senior Kaelyn McClain, juniors Natalie Glessner and Marleigh Bennett and sophomore Hailey Yurkovich capped the girls Class AA meet by edging Laurel Highlands for the title by eight hundredths of a second.
The Warriors quartet won with a time of 3:37.57, and that victory finalized their point total of 265 for the first WPIAL team title in program history.
“The boys won it many years ago (1993-96), and the girls wanted the banner on the wall in the pool just like the boys had,” EF coach Shawna Boden said. “These girls came in knowing they had a chance, and they didn’t disappoint.”
Mt. Pleasant finished second with 194 points, and 40 of those came from two WPIAL titles by senior Heather Gardner. On Friday, Gardner won her third straight title in the 100 breast and sixth WPIAL individual crown overall with a time of 1:04.87, more than a second faster than runner-up Rachel Blackburn from Highlands.
“It’s so awesome. It’s an honor,” said Gardner, a Liberty recruit who won her third 50 free gold medal in a row Thursday. “I’ve worked so hard to earn all those medals. I’m just really, really proud of myself to finish like that.”
Quaker Valley’s Isabel Huang is a perfect 4 for 4 in individual events at the WPIAL championships.
The sophomore successfully defended her title in the 100 backstroke Friday in a time of 57.00 seconds. She also won her second straight 200 IM title on Thursday.
“I’m so excited and happy,” she said. “It makes me really happy to know I’ve been able to stay so consistent.
“I hope I’m not peaking right now and that I peak at states. I have another chance to get faster.”
Also winning a second straight WPIAL title Friday was Deer Lakes senior Adam Morrison, who edged Indiana junior Kyle Thome at the finish.
“It feels so good to be on the top of the podium again, and I couldn’t have done it without Kyle pushing me like that,” said Morrison, who won with a time of 4:41.14. “It was a little disappointing with him getting me (Thursday) in the 200 (free), but I used it as motivation for today.”
A new champion was crowned in the girls 100 free. Thomas Jefferson junior Hallie Findlan, 14th as a freshman and third last year, stepped to the plate and delivered her first WPIAL individual title. She bested the field in a time of 53.12 seconds.
“I have no words, honestly,” said Findlan, second Thursday to Gardner in the 50 free. “I owe it all to my coaches, the support of my teammates and friends, and also all my competitors in the pool. We all did awesome today.”
Winchester Thurston freshman Maeve Kelley claimed her second WPIAL Class AA title Friday as she triumphed in the 500 free with a time of 5:06.20. She also won the 200 free, and the two titles are Winchester Thurston’s first-ever WPIAL swim championships.
Montour junior Alex May won the boys 100 back for the first time after taking sixth in the event as a freshman and tying for third last year. He touched the wall in a time of 53.26.
Only the champion in each individual and relay event at WPIALs earns an automatic berth to states. The PIAA plans to release the at-large time qualifier lists at noon Sunday at piaa.org.
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: Belle Vernon, Deer Lakes, Elizabeth Forward, Indiana, Montour, Mt. Pleasant, Neshannock, Northgate, Quaker Valley, Thomas Jefferson, Winchester Thurston
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