Mt. Pleasant coach expects tight competition at county swim championship

By: Paul Schofield
Thursday, January 25, 2024 | 6:52 PM

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As Mt. Pleasant swimming coach Sandy Felice prepares her team for the annual Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association meet Friday and Saturday at Derry, she told them to be prepared for a battle.

Among the top swimmers entered are the Vikings’ Lily King, Kiersten O’Connor and Joseph Gardner.

“I expect Kiski Area to be strong on the girls side and Franklin Regional on the boys,” Felice said. “I’m hoping we’re in the mix for the team title.”

King, a junior, is entered to the 50 free and 200 free. She is a PIAA record holder and four-time PIAA individual champion.

O’Connor is scheduled to compete in the 100 free and 100 backstroke. King and O’Connor will be on a couple of relay teams, although Felice said she hasn’t decided which ones.

“The girls had our section winning streak snapped by Derry,” Felice said. “We graduated a lot of seniors, and we’re a smaller team this year. We’re not as deep. The boys are undefeated in section and did drop a nonsection match against Franklin Regional.”

King has the top time in the WPIAL in the 50 (23.44 seconds). O’Connor follows with a 24.4. King has qualified for the Olympic Trials in the 50 free but just missed qualifying in the 100 free by .02 seconds.

“She has another shot at qualifying after the state meet,” Felice said. “She is close to qualifying.”

The Olympic Trials are in June.

Other girls Felice expects to do well include junior Maddie Barrick (butterfly), Gabby Kinneer (backstroke), Kaylie Korpiel (breaststroke and 50 free) as well as divers Ella Paul and Rayne Wisneski.

On the boys side, Felice said the medley relay team of Gardner, Logan Snively, David Mutter and Seth Painter should perform well.

Gardner, a returning PIAA champion, competes in the breaststroke and 200 IM.

Snively competes in the butterfly and backstroke, Mutter the 200 and 500 free and Painter in the 100 back and 100 free.

“Many of the boys are seeded high,” Felice said. “I’m excited to see how well they do. Hopefully we’ll be in the running for the team title.”

Other boys Felice is excited about include Gunner Probst (sprints), Quinn Heinnickel (breaststroke and 50 free), Joseph Christofano (200 IM) and freshmen Ben Marsh (500 free) and Lucas Poole (200 free).

The top divers according to the WPIAL’s latest rankings are Derry’s Chaeli Keenan, Ella Sylvis and Jake Hauser.

Kiski Area senior Eliza Miller has the top times in the 100 free, 200 free and 500 free. She is third behind King and O’Connor in the 50 free.

O’Connor is ranked No. 1 in the backstroke, Latrobe’s Lauren Bell has strong times in the 50 free and Greensburg Salem’s Allison Stinnett has one of the top times in the 100 breaststroke.

Kiski Area’s Riley Yuhe has one of the top boys times in the 50 free and 100 free. He is behind Gardner in the 50 free.

Franklin Regional’s Holden Thomas and Penn-Trafford’s Patton Graziano have solid times in the 50 free. Graziano has one of the top 100 free and 100 backstroke times, and Franklin Regional’s Benjamin Holm is among the favorites in the 100 free. Thomas has the third-fastest time in Class 3A in the 100 butterfly.

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

Tags: Mt. Pleasant