WPIAL swimmers dominate field on 1st day of PIAA Class 2A meet

By: Michael Love
Saturday, March 16, 2024 | 12:06 AM

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Indiana’s Preston Kessler knows nothing but PIAA championships in the Class 2A boys 200-yard freestyle.

The junior freestyle specialist won his third state title Friday evening with a time of 1 minute, 38.57 seconds.

While it wasn’t his best time in the event – he swam a 1:38.26 at WPIALs – he said he was pleased to be back at the top of the medal podium.

“It’s the same great feeling every year,” said Kessler, who also will go for his third PIAA title in the 100 free Saturday. “It’s like, ‘Oh, man, I did that!’ As swimmers, we work all year, and to see it pay off, it’s always rewarding, no matter what it is or how little or how big it is.”

Kessler knew that he was within reach of the PIAA 200 free record of 1:38.31 set in 2019 by Clearfield’s Luke Mikesell.

“The funny thing was that I was faster than the state-record time at WPIALs, but since it wasn’t at states, it doesn’t count,” he said.

Kessler was one of three from the WPIAL in the 200 free championship heat. Shady Side Academy junior Soren Cooper was third (1:40.84), and Latrobe junior Patrick Cratty took seventh (1:44.15).

Kessler’s 200 free performance was just one of a banner day of performances Friday from WPIAL swimmers.

The WPIAL claimed all six boys state titles and three of the six on the girls side. Mt. Pleasant brought home six of the nine.

Kessler put a relay gold medal around his neck as he teamed with Joey Margita, Rey Nunez and Alex Bauer to capture the 200 free relay in a time of 1:25.38.

North Catholic junior Luke Lamb raced to a winning time of 20.44 in the 50 free.

Older brother John placed ninth in the 50 last year as a senior.

Luke last year swam two individual events on Day 2, placing fifth in the 100 backstroke and 13th in the 100 free.

“It is my first time winning a state title. It feels insane,” Lamb said. “I’ve been working for this all year.

“WPIALs is a big meet, but coming here is amazing. Knowing that I am going out there with a chance to be the best in the state, it’s awesome.”

Mt. Pleasant junior David Mutter set a state record in the preliminaries of the 100 butterfly Friday morning with a time of 47.58 seconds.

The record of 48.01 was set in 2015 by Brent Benedict from Corry in District 10.

Mutter came back in the evening and won the state title. He shaved off another five hundredths to 47.52.

Last year, Mutter finished runner-up to Southmoreland graduate Henry Miller.

“I had a quick stroke to the wall at the end. It was a rough finish, but it was a good swim overall, and it’s a state record,” Mutter said.

“It’s a great, great feeling that I have the record for all of (Class 2A) in the state of Pennsylvania. I’ve only been beaten by one Triple-A kid this year. He had a great swim with a 45.7. That is crazy fast.”

Jacob Johnson, a senior from Springfield in District 1, set the Class 3A 100 fly state record Wednesday morning.

The Mt. Pleasant boys 200 medley relay of Mutter, Logan Snively, Joseph Gardner and Gunner Probst started things off by winning PIAA gold in a time of 1:32.57.

The quartet cut nearly two seconds from its prelim time. It came in as the No. 1 seed after swimming to 1:34.15 at WPIALs.

Probst, a sophomore, is a newcomer to the relay as Mutter, Snively and Gardner were a part of last year’s team, which placed third at Bucknell.

“My confidence in these guys was at an all-time high,” said Snively, who swam the relay’s leadoff leg. “We have some really great guys, Joseph in the breaststroke, David in the fly and Gunner the freestyler. We worked so hard all year for this, since the summer. We put in thousands and thousands of yards. I had no doubt in my mind that they were going to bring it home and get the win.”

Gardner added to the medal haul with a win in the 200 IM. He cut more than four seconds from his prelim time and came from the No. 4 seed to finish in 1:49.01.

“I felt good in warm-ups, so I expected something awesome,” Gardner said. “After that relay, and after winning with my guys, I knew I had to come out and put it all on the line towards this individual event. I wanted to score as many points as I could for the team. I knew where I had to work on my race with each stroke. It’s awesome to know I was able to swim so much faster in the finals.”

With the three state titles leading the way, Mt. Pleasant is a close second to Indiana in the boys team standings. The Little Indians are in first with 105 points, one more than the Vikings.

When it was the girls turn to take to the pool, the winning continued for Mt. Pleasant.

The Vikings claimed three titles, starting with the 200 medley relay of juniors Kiersten O’Connor, Kaylie Korpiel, Maddie Barrick and Lily King.

The relay won in a time of 1:46.78 and led a contingent of five WPIAL teams in the championship heat.

O’Connor also was on last year’s gold-medal winning 200 medley relay with graduates Sara Jo Gardner, McKenna Mizikar and Reegan Brown.

King had a quick turnaround for the finals of the 200 free. She went in as the No. 1 seed.

She repeated as the event’s champion with a personal-best time of 1:45.51 as the WPIAL went 1-2-3. Northgate senior Elise Nardozzi was second, and Kiski Area senior Eliza Miller was third.

King also got closer to the 200 free state record of 1:44.73 held since 2017 by West York’s Courtney Harnish.

Harnish went on to swim at the University of Georgia.

“I will say the (state record) was in the back of my mind,” King said. “But at the same time, I was trying to just focus on myself and go in with the mindset of swimming as fast as I can. I am always happy with a best time.”

King returns to the pool Saturday in the 100 free, where she is the defending champion. King won last year with a state-record 48.93, which also was a new Bucknell pool record.

O’Connor capped the state-title haul for both Mt. Pleasant and the WPIAL with a win in the 50 free.

Third in the state in the event last year, O’Connor came back with the goal of standing at the top of the medals podium.

After a time of 23.48 in the finals heat, O’Connor was right where she wanted to be.

“There’s not a lot of thoughts and strategy going on in a quick race like that,” she said.

“I just go out and swim as fast as I can. It was an amazing feeling to get the title. I’ve been working up to this for like three years now. To be able to swim this event here and be a state champion is amazing.”

O’Connor dropped 24 hundredths of a second from her prelim time.

She returns Saturday as the No. 3 seed in the 100 backstroke (55.37). The top seed is defending champion Leah Shackley from Bedford, who comes in with a top time of 50.43.

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.