Franklin Regional, Mt. Pleasant swimmers among high seeds for PIAA championship meet

By: Michael Love
Tuesday, March 12, 2024 | 4:02 PM

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Holden Thomas made his PIAA debut three years ago at Cumberland Valley High School in Mechanicsburg, 70 miles from Bucknell, the traditional site of the state swimming and diving championships.

As a freshman in 2021, Thomas was the lead backstroke leg of Franklin Regional’s boys 200-yard medley relay that finished 12th with numerous logistical changes amid the ongoing covid pandemic.

Thomas returned to states as a sophomore and junior at Bucknell. Now, the senior is one of dozens of Westmoreland County swimmers and divers in Class 3A and Class 2A ready to take on the best in the state.

Thomas hopes to go fast when the Class 3A meet begins Wednesday morning, and he seeks to defend his No. 1 seed Thursday in the 100-yard backstroke.

“I knew I was going to be in contention for the top seed, but until the list came out, I wasn’t sure,” said Thomas, who also is the fourth seed for Wednesday’s 100 butterfly. “It was a nice surprise. It kept me focused on my preparation to, hopefully, swim faster at states.”

Thomas won a hotly contested 100 backstroke final heat at WPIALs to earn the title in a time of 49.08 seconds. He edged rival and friend, Penn-Trafford senior Patton Graziano.

Graziano (49.76) is seeded third, and WPIAL bronze medalist Jackson Edwards, a freshman from Bethel Park, is seeded fifth.

Thomas and Graziano were fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 100 back last year.

“The 100 back for 3A is probably one of the deepest events at states,” Thomas said. “I know a lot of those kids, and they are seeded with not their best times, so I am expecting a very competitive race.”

Class 3A swimming and diving will hand off the baton to Class 2A, which will begin Friday and conclude Saturday.

The morning preliminaries in each event each day give way to the championship and consolation finals in the evening. The top 16 advance to the evening session. The top eight from the prelims go for gold. Ninth through 16th compete in a consolation race.

In all, Westmoreland swimmers will have more than 50 preliminary swims over the four days, creating the potential for a number of top-eight finishes.

All eyes will be on swimmers from Mt. Pleasant. After a strong WPIAL meet, several Vikings are in contention for state gold.

To no one’s surprise, Mt. Pleasant junior Lily King is the top seed for the 200 free (1:46.01) and 100 free (48.21).

She hopes to close in on the PIAA record in the 200 free (1:44.73). Last year, King set a Bucknell pool record in the 100 free with a time of 48.93. The time also was a PIAA record by more than half a second.

The Mt. Pleasant girls 200 medley relay kicks off Friday’s action as the No. 1 seed. The WPIAL champs, with King as the anchor, swam to the title at WPIALs in a time of 1:47.23, a half-second faster than runner-up Freeport. The Yellowjackets are seeded second, Indiana is fourth and Hampton sixth.

Vikings junior Kiersten O’Connor is the top seed in the 50 free (23.61) and third in the 100 back at (55.37).

O’Connor thought she had a second gold in the 100 back at WPIALs, but after further review by PIAA referees at the meet and a PIAA rules interpreter, it was ruled that Hampton’s Lainey Sheets had finished ahead of O’Connor but missed the touch pad at the wall.

Sheets (55.30) is seeded second for the 100 back Saturday. Sheets and O’Connor are looking up at Olympic Trials qualifier and state record holder Leah Shackley, a senior from Bedford in District 5.

Shackley is the top seed by 5 seconds over Sheets and O’Connor at 50.43.

The Mt. Pleasant boys are expected to be a serious factor in a number of races, including the leadoff 200 medley relay. The Vikings quartet is the top seed (1:34.15).

Junior Joseph Gardner is seeded second in the 100 breast (55.27). He ascended to the top of the mountain in the event last year, winning with a state-record time of 55.23. The previous state record had stood since 2011.

The time also automatically placed him on the National Federation Honor Roll.

Mt. Pleasant junior David Mutter claimed silver in 100 fly last year, finishing second to Southmoreland grad and Clarion freshman Henry Miller.

Mutter, the WPIAL champion, hopes Friday is his day to shine as he is the top seed (48.30).

Securing a No. 2 seed for states is the Latrobe boys 200 free relay (1:27.70). The Wildcats quartet earned silver at WPIALs, finishing runner-up to new WPIAL record-holder Indiana (1:24.43).

“Four years at states, tons of memories have been made,” Franklin Regional senior Ben Holm said.

Holm will swim the 100 free, 200 free, 20 free relay and 400 free relay in his final PIAA meet.

“Going up there for a couple of days and getting to experience that with all of my friends, it’s the best part of the swim season, in my opinion,” he said.

“I feel my best swims are ahead of me the next couple of days.”

Schedules, heat sheets, and other information about the PIAA swimming and diving championships can be found at the PIAA website.

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: Franklin Regional, Mt. Pleasant, Penn-Trafford