Freeport’s Kira Schrecongost, other A-K Valley swimmers face best, score medals at PIAA meet

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, March 15, 2023 | 10:04 PM

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Freeport sophomore Kira Schrecongost and South Park junior Katie Jackovic know the power of Bedford junior Leah Shackley.

Schrecongost placed third in the girls Class 2A 100-yard butterfly with a time of 56.16 seconds Wednesday at the PIAA swimming championships at Bucknell.

Jackovic was second in a time of 55.51.

But both were innocent bystanders as Shackley crushed the PIAA record with a time of 51.93. The previous PIAA record was 53.50 set 11 years ago.

Shackley also surpassed the Bucknell Pool record of 52.99 recorded by Hershey standout Katie Nolan in 2009.

“I felt I swam much better than I did at states last year,” said Schrecongost, who swam a personal best of 55.76 at WPIALs to take second to Jackovic. “I definitely learned from that. I was pretty tired after all my events this morning, but I am really happy with how I did tonight.

“Leah is probably one of the fastest girls I know personally. She deserves that. She works really hard for that. It was nice to know I came somewhat close to her.”

Schrecongost also was sixth in the 200 individual medley (2:07.31) and swam to 16th in the consolation finals of the 200 medley relay (1:53.87) with junior Caitlyn Brennan and sophomores Danielle Parke and Isabella Barton.

Kiski Area junior Eliza Miller, runner-up the Mapletown senior Ella Menear in the 200 IM at WPIALs on March 2, placed fifth in her PIAA finals swim Wednesday with a time of 2:06.57. She was seeded third coming in.

Miller hopes for good things Thursday as she is the fourth seed for the 500 free (5:09.17) after capturing the WPIAL title at Pitt’s Trees Pool.

The Kiski Area girls 200 medley relay of Miller, sophomores Paige Kunkle and Amara Sterlitz and junior Abigail King earned an eighth-place medal in a time of 1:50.97.

Knoch sophomore Giona Lavorini gave the Alle-Kiski Valley a third medalist in the 200 IM as she took eighth overall (2:07.33).

She returns Thursday as the fourth seed in the 100 breaststroke (1:03.96).

On the boys side, the Kiski Area boys 200 free relay of sophomores Riley Yute and Justin Tucker, and seniors Parker Sterlitz and Levi Hansen placed fourth overall with a time of 1:27.37.

District 3’s Bishop McDevitt was first with a state-record time of 1:24.30, but the next three were WPIALs teams, led by Indiana in second and Riverside in the third.

“I think we did extremely well,” Sterlitz said. “The 400 free relay is more of our thing, but to get fourth in the 200 free relay was pretty cool. We’re all pretty excited about that. Now, we’re looking forward to the 400 tomorrow.”

The 200 free relay also came in seeded fourth.

The Cavaliers 400 free relay is the top seed after setting a WPIAL record (3:10.23) and winning the title March 3 at Pitt.

Sterlitz added a seventh-place medal in the 200 free (1:41.71). He will challenge for a gold medal Thursday in the 500 free, and the WPIAL champ in the event is the top seed (4:32.20).

“Everyone really swam well in the (200 free) final, and I give them all a ton of credit,” Sterlitz said. “I would’ve liked to have done a little bit better, personally, but I just wasn’t feeling it. I look forward to coming in for the 500 and hopefully see some better results.”

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.