North Allegheny leads WPIAL Class 3A swimming after Day 1; Mt. Lebanon’s Sylvia Roy sets record in 4-peat

By: Bob Orkwis
Thursday, February 27, 2025 | 3:12 PM

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The North Allegheny girls, winners of 16 straight WPIAL swimming titles, and the two-time defending champion NA boys are the leading the pack in the Class 3A championships after the first day of competition at Pitt’s Trees Pool.

The girls have 250 points, while the boys are at 233.5 points.

The North Allegheny girls 200-yard medley relay started off the competition strongly. The team of Dani Hinkson, Tori Tieppo, Eva Ogden and Madden Woycheck had a winning time of 1 minute, 45.40 seconds.

“There’s definitely a lot of nervousness being the first swimmer in the water,” Hinkson said. “But the meet is usually based off the first relay, so it’s important confidence-wise to start off well.”

North Allegheny’s boys team placed second behind Upper St. Clair on the boys’ side.

Fox Chapel senior Sarah Pasquella repeated as the gold medalist in the girls 200 freestyle with Claire Bacu from North Allegheny finishing second.

Central Catholic’s McLellan Clark snagged the gold medal in the boys 200 freestyle in 1:39.17, with Upper St. Clair junior Nazar Zoukovski, who swam the anchor leg on the winning 200 medley relay team, earning silver.

Clark previously claimed a bronze and a silver in that event. The Tennessee bound senior is also the defending champion in the 500 freestyle.

“I train a lot more for the 500,” Clark said of the differences between the races. “Being a specialist, I don’t train too much for the 200. I’ll also be in the 400 freestyle relay, but the 500 is something that I’m really excited about.”

Hinkson, a junior, returned to the water and defended her title in the 200 IM.

“It feels awesome,” Hinkson said. “It feels like every practice really paid off. Even if I didn’t drop time, being up there (on the podium) and getting my picture taken is an awesome feeling.”

Hinkson won gold this year with a time of 2:07.72.

Owen Howell, a senior from Fox Chapel, was also a repeat winner in the 200 IM with a winning time of 1:51.40.

The only WPIAL record that was set on the first day in Class 3A was courtesy of Mt. Lebanon’s Sylvia Roy in the 50 freestyle.

The Virginia recruit set the record at 22.57 and completed a four-year golden sweep in the event.

Luke Lamb won back-to-back gold medals in the boys 50 free. The senior won last year in 2A for North Catholic, but because of a co-op with Mars, he took gold this year in 3A with a time of 20.43.

Norwin’s Amber Klingensmith captured gold in the 100 butterfly for the girls at 56.34, with North Allegheny’s Gus Miller winning for the boys in 49.71.

North Allegheny finished the day strong with a silver and a gold in the 200 freestyle relays. The girls were second behind Fox Chapel at 1:35.35, while the quartet of Grant Regule, Miller, Mason Shantz and Zachary Totin won for the NA boys with a time of 1:23.01.

On the boys’ side, Upper St. Clair (158), Fox Chapel (133.5), Mt. Lebanon (128) and Bethel Park (99) sit in second through fifth place, respectively.

Central Catholic is sixth at 87 points, and Clark was happy with his team’s performance after the first day.

“It’s exciting because a lot of us swim club together, so we have a nice tight bond,” he said. “We all swam pretty well today, so it’s awesome to see everyone do so well.”

For the girls, Fox Chapel (174), Pine-Richland (125), Mt. Lebanon (93) and Seneca Valley (90) all trail North Allegheny.

“(The team championship) is something that we strive for,” Hinkson said. “It’s just so awesome that we’ve had this history for so long. We’re all very happy with what we have accomplished so far.”

Tags: Bethel Park, Central Catholic, Fox Chapel, Mars, Mt. lebanon, North Allegheny, Norwin, Pine-Richland, Seneca Valley, Upper St. Clair