Chartiers Valley swimming aims high with largest roster in a decade

By: Ted Sarneso
Sunday, December 8, 2024 | 11:01 AM

Last year, the Chartiers Valley girls swim team fell just short of its goal of winning back-to-back section titles, suffering a single section loss to Montour.

Even though it was disappointing, coach Morgan Soulia said the failure to reach that goal did not diminish what the team accomplished during the season.

“We lost a small class from the previous year and were coming off the high of winning the section the year before,” said Soulia. “We had some girls make WPIAL cuts, which was great for them, and of course what Dawson Lee did. We had a lot of fun.”

Dawson Lee was the surprise standout for the Colts, having joined the team in late October last year after sending an email stating his interest in swimming. He qualified for WPIALs in every individual event.

Lee swam a 57.56 at states in the 100-yard backstroke. In the WPIAL finals, he posted a 22.69 in the 50-yard freestyle, good for 13th place, and a 55.98 in the 100 back, which put him on the podium at seventh place.

“He really came out of nowhere last season,” said Soulia. “I fully expect him to return to WPIALs this year. He made it to states last year and there’s hope he can make it back there again. It was just really awesome to see him integrate with the boys team.”

Lee will be the pace setter for a boys squad that has more than doubled its numbers from last season.

“Last year we had seven boys, and this year we have 18,” said Soulia. “It’s absolutely fantastic.”

Other returning swimmers on the boys team include seniors Kenny McFerron and Shane Frederick, who have shown remarkable improvement from a year ago, Soulia said.

“We’re seeing times from them that we didn’t see at this point last year,” the coach said. “The entire boys team is motivated this year to make WPIAL cuts. They feel they’re strong enough, and if they put the hard work and time in, they can accomplish their goal.”

The boys will look to rebound from last year when they went 4-8 overall and 2-3 in Section 1-2A. They will look to try to match the girls team for wins, as both squads have set their sights on section titles.

The Colts roster has seen a boost this year, and most of it comes from the 16 freshmen who joined the team, giving Chartiers Valley a total of 34 swimmers.

“We have the biggest swim roster that Chartiers Valley has seen in over a decade,” Soulia said. “With our boys team being so big this year, they really want to make WPIALs. We also want to get as many WPIAL qualifiers as we can. We’d also like to get all our relays to qualify as well.”

The girls team is out to grab another section championship, and despite losses from last year’s roster, there’s still enough talent to reach the top of the mountain.

Ashley Thiel, Maddie Hansen and Grace Sothergill, three-fourths of the 400-yard freestyle relay from last year that put up a 4:02.76 at WPIALs, have graduated. Thiel is swimming at Saint Vincent and Hansen is participating in club swimming at Oklahoma State.

Other losses include Grace Giles, Anisha Pai and Rhianon Molnar, who is playing Division I soccer at Cleveland State.

The only remaining member of that 400 relay is junior Jaylynn Welch, who did very well individually at WPIALs.

She posted a 26.63 in the 50-yard free and swam a 1:11.50 in the 100-yard breaststroke.

Welch and Kelsie Thiel, who swam on the team’s 200-yard medley relay, are the only two returning WPIAL qualifiers on the girls team. That doesn’t mean the cupboard is bare.

Sophomore Sydney Broniak, senior Natalie Coats and freshman Jena Osborne have shown Soulia quite a lot at the beginning of this year.

“Sydney has dropped 30 seconds in her 500 free already,” said Soulia. “Natalie has already seen drops in her best times, and Jena has come into the year already making WPIAL cuts.”

Asked if she sees Osborne breaking any record this year with her already posting times good enough to qualify for WPIALs, Soulia said:

“In the next four years, I would hope she could break some records. Our school records are pretty fast times because we had a hot stint of really good swimmers under coach John Nemeth, so I don’t know if she’ll break any records this year, but she could eventually.”

Osborne swims the butterfly, backstroke and some distance freestyle.

Other girls who will make contributions include a pair of freestyle sprinters in freshmen Paitynn Wright and Aleena Welch, Jaylynn’s sister.

New to the team this year is a diving program. Aleena Welch and fellow freshman Olivia Kennedy will be the only pair diving for the Colts.

“Both of them are new to diving in the last year,” Soulia said. “They were interested in diving being offered, and they decided to join. We’re very excited about the addition of diving this year.”

With the only hurdle, Montour, leaving the section this year, the girls team could best their 8-5 overall mark and 5-1 section record to claim another title.

“Montour was our extra challenging team, and with them out, it gives us a positive outlook,” said Soulia. “I don’t know what South Park looks like, so I can’t say if they’ll be an easy opponent to face or not.

“We have a small section. I think that compared to some of the other Class 2A sections, we are smaller and not as strong as they are, but our section typically has some kids that can race really well against other swimmers in the class.”

Tags: Chartiers Valley