Mt. Pleasant’s Lily King earns 3rd straight TribLive Westmoreland County girls athlete of the year honor

By: Paul Schofield
Saturday, June 28, 2025 | 4:39 PM

What was Mt. Pleasant senior Lily King’s most memorable moment during her senior year?

Well, it had nothing to do with her individual accomplishments in the pool.

It was when the Mt. Pleasant boys and girls swim teams, together, won PIAA Class 2A titles for the first time in school history.

“We knew we had a chance at doing it,” King said. “We worked so hard as a group to do it, and we were rewarded. It was such an unreal experience. We had happy tears.”

For the third consecutive year, King has been named the TribLive Westmoreland Girls Athlete of the Year. She beat out a group that included two other PIAA champions: Derry senior Sophia Mazzoni (track and field) and Penn-Trafford senior Cam Ponko (softball).

King broke her own records in winning PIAA and WPIAL individual gold in the 100 and 200 freestyle. She set the state record in the 50 freestyle as a freshman.

She also was the anchor in two relays (200 medley and 400 freestyle) that finished second in the state and first in the WPIAL.

She also was named Swimmer of the Meet at the PIAA championships.

After the high school season, King competed at the U.S. nationals and made the finals in the 100 freestyle, which earned her a spot on the junior world team that will compete in Romania on Aug. 19-24. She also will compete on the 400 freestyle relay team.

“I was proud of my times at nationals,” King said. “It was great to make the team.”

King, a criminology major, already has enrolled at N.C. State, where she is working out with her Wolfpack teammates and taking an English class.

“I had a great senior season,” King said. “I accomplished all my goals. Now I am looking forward to college and making new friends.

“It has been fun. I have been pretty busy with class and practice. I have not been able to discover Raleigh too much.”

King competed at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials and returned home with personal records in the 50 and 100 freestyle events.

“It was definitely an amazing experience,” King said. “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 help me. I just soaked up the experience of competing against the best.”

Before her senior season, King traveled to Australia to compete in the Junior Pan Pacific Championships in August.

King was one of 20 girls selected to represent the U.S. in the event in Canberra. She got a chance to compete against swimmers from Canada, Japan, Singapore, Fiji, Samoa, Micronesia and New Zealand.

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