Mt. Pleasant swimming star Lily King repeats as TribLive Westmoreland girls athlete of the year

By: Paul Schofield
Saturday, June 29, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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Lily King got her first taste of the Olympic experience last week and she’s anxious to take her swimming to another level.

The Mt. Pleasant junior recently competed in the United States Swimming Olympic Team Trials on June 15-23 in Indianapolis and returned home with personal records in the 50- and 100-meter freestyle events.

No Olympics this time around for King, but she now has the confidence and knowhow of what it takes to become an Olympian. She can try again in four years.

“I haven’t thought that far ahead,” King said. “Hopefully I’ll get another opportunity.”

King has committed to swim at North Carolina State.

King, who won two individual PIAA gold medals and a third on a relay team, is the 2024 TribLive Westmoreland girls athlete of the year for the second consecutive season.

Others considered for the award include Norwin senior Bailey Snowberger, Derry junior Sophia Mazzoni and Southmoreland senior Amarah McCutcheon.

“It was definitely an amazing experience,” King said of competing at the Olympic trials. “It was great to be among all the great swimmers and learn from so many great people.

“I had a lot of fun. Having been part of it should sure help me. I just soaked up the experience of competing against the best.”

King’s PR in the 50 freestyle came after she swam a 25.31 in the preliminaries.

She was pleased with that time, so she entered a time trial between the preliminaries and semifinals and improved her time to a 25.19. The fastest time by any swimmer was a 24.47.

“In the 50, a half-second in a large margin,’ King said. “It’s something I’ll continue to work towards.”

King also swam a personal record of 55.14 in the 100 freestyle.

At the PIAA meet this season, she won the 100 and 200 freestyle races and anchored the winning 200 medley relay.

“It was very exciting to win a team state title again,” King said. “We had a lot of young girls on the team and everyone felt we could win. Everyone did their job and swam their best.”

King has had an amazing high school career. She’s won 10 PIAA gold medals (six individuals and four relays) and owns numerous state and school records.

King said she’ll compete in some big meets this summer. She’ll also spend time painting, reading fiction and hanging with friends. She’s been reading “The Hunger Games.”

She just painted a sign for her mother’s classroom at James A. Metzgar Elementary School in the Greensburg Salem School District.

One thing she learned from watching the best compete was their focus and mental game.

“The mental part of the sport is huge,” King said. “One thing that I’ve improved on is my confidence and staying focused. I also have to continue to work on getting stronger in and out of the pool.”

King said Indianapolis was amazing and how they converted a football stadium into an Olympic size pool was impressive.

Now she wants to continue to work towards another Olympic opportunity.

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