Indiana teams, Preston Kessler star on Day 2 of WPIAL Class 2A swimming championships

By: Bob Orkwis
Friday, February 28, 2025 | 7:24 PM

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Heading into the final event of the WPIAL Class 2A swimming championships Friday, the Indiana boys knew they were going to be crowned the team champions.

The only question for that team was would Preston Kessler win another gold medal as part of the 400-yard freestyle relay?

The task was more daunting for the Indiana girls, who were tasked with holding off a hard-charging Mt. Pleasant team for the team title.

The Little Indians came through with a sixth-place finish in the relay, while Mt. Pleasant won, but that finish was enough to give Indiana both team championships. The girls edged Mt. Pleasant by 2.5 points, 240.5 to 238, at Pitt’s Trees Pool.

“I’m still processing it right now,” Indiana coach Sarah Brown said. “It came down to the final relay (400 freestyle) for the girls. They knew what they had going in. I told the girls we were ahead, but don’t let that make you rest. They went out and did it.”

Brown shared a story about the girls from the bus ride home Thursday after Day 1 of competition.

“Did you think coming out of Day 1 you’d be in first place? They had no idea,” she said. “My girls are hard workers, and they are so humble. We took a team effort all the way down to 16th place to get it done.”

The Indiana boys team tallied 322.5 points, which included two more gold medals for Kessler.

The senior standout won the 200 freestyle and was part of the winning 200 free relay team Thursday. On the second day, Kessler won gold in the 100 freestyle (44.91 seconds) and team gold in the final event, the 400 freestyle relay.

“Our whole boys team is absolutely phenomenal,” Brown said. “But Preston is really something special to watch. I’m going to miss him. I’m going to miss all my seniors, but oh my goodness, am I going to miss him.”

Brown noted that this is her fourth season as head coach, so the seniors have been with her through the YMCA program and all four years in high school.

“They have a special place in my heart,” she said.

Kessler and Mt. Pleasant’s Lily King both finished their WPIAL careers with eight total individual medals. King also won the last event in spectacular fashion, coming from behind to win the 400 freestyle relay for the Vikings.

King started the day with a gold medal and a WPIAL record in the 100 freestyle (47.65).

Both swimmers now have a chance for the sweet 16, eight individual gold medals, and eight state gold medals. Both have six state gold medals on their resumes.

Shady Side Academy sophomore Ava Jochims, who won the 200 IM and set a WPIAL record Thursday, picked up her second gold medal in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:54.22.

Mt. Pleasant’s David Mutter won the boys 500 freestyle, while his teammate Kiersten O’Connor picked up another gold medal in the 100 backstroke.

Chris Belch, a senior from Hampton, won the 100 backstroke for the boys in 50.90.

In the 100 breaststroke, Knoch’s Giona Lavarini, picked up another medal, this time a gold for the Pitt recruit in 1:03.03.

Joseph Gardner from Mt. Pleasant, another Pitt recruit, won the boys race in 55:77.

Freeport’s Isaac Burton, a sophomore, qualified for two PARA Class 1 PIAA events in two days, the 50 and 100 freestyles.

The team championship for the Indiana boys gives them back-to-back titles. The championship is the first for the Indiana girls.

Brown pointed to the team’s depth as a big part of the success.

“The boys, we obviously have some superstars,” she said. “But we really don’t for the girls. We have a team effort that goes through our team. I can put four girls in every single event and score points.”

Both Mt. Pleasant teams finished in second place. Franklin Regional, Freeport and Hampton finished third through fifth for the girls. Hampton was third on the boys’ side, with Shady Side Academy and Northgate rounding out the top five.

Next up for many of the competitors are the PIAA championships March 12-15 at Bucknell.

“We’ll celebrate tonight, but Monday’s it starts again,” Brown said about the PIAA meet. “We will figure out who’s going to be on the state team, rework some of the relays if we have too, and get to work. We do a lot of work. We have so much fun, but we do a lot of work.”

Only the champions from the two-day competition receive an automatic bid to the state meet. The remaining swimmers from the WPIAL will be chosen at large this weekend based on time.