Penn Hills relay team excited for WPIAL meet after hitting qualifying standard

By: Josh Rizzo
Sunday, January 14, 2024 | 11:01 AM

There will be no need to rush the Penn Hills boys 200 freestyle relay team around the Pittsburgh area to compete in different last-chance meets to secure a qualifying time this year. The Indians already have earned their spot in the WPIAL Class 3A championships.

With another year of experience under their belts, the 200 freestyle relay team of Clarke Leonard, Anthony Sipple, Anthony Collins and Luke Hoolahan was able to punch its ticket to the WPIAL championships again this season.

“I had high expectations for us,” Sipple said. “Considering we got stronger and faster, we expected to hit the time within the first couple of meets. It was definitely a good moment.”

With plenty of time left before the end of the season, the relay team will be able to focus on improving its seed time. There also is another opportunity for Penn Hills.

The Indians only sent their 200 freestyle relay team to WPIALs last season. Collins pointed out that there is room for more athletes to earn a spot at WPIALs.

“We’re all just looking to drop time,” said Collins, who also plays volleyball and soccer and competes for the Rosedale Rockets swim team in the summer. “We have a couple of swimmers that are close to getting more qualifying times this year. We are close in the medley relay, Lauren Sipple is close in the 100 breaststroke, and Clarke Leonard is close in the 100 backstroke. We want to send more people to WPIALs.”

All four relay team members have been looking for areas to improve. For Sipple, he’s focused on being precise with his strokes. Sipple, who focuses on baseball and starts training for swimming not long before the beginning of the season, wants to be more technical.

“I feel like it’s just technique,” Sipple said. “Every one of us has something we could work on to do better in practice.”

Collins said he enjoys doing the 200 freestyle because the race is over fast. To get better in practice, Collins said he is willing to practice in other events to help diversify his skills.

“We’re practicing hard every day,” Collins said. “We just want to decrease our time. We usually practice something we aren’t comfortable with to get that time.”

Tags: Penn Hills