North Allegheny was motivated, determined to regain PIAA boys swimming title
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Saturday, March 22, 2025 | 11:01 AM
North Allegheny won the boys team title at the PIAA Class 3A swimming championships on March 15.
From top, North Allegheny’s Gus Miller (third), Mars’ Luke Lamb (first) and North Allegheny’s Danny Lesinski (second), the top three finishers in the 100 backstroke, start the race at the PIAA Class 3A swimming championships on March 15.
Mt. Lebanon’s Malcolm Thompson (fourth), North Allegheny’s Ethan Maravich (third) and Upper St. Clair’s Carter Wells (sixth) medaled in diving at the PIAA Class 3A swimming championships on March 15.
North Allegheny’s Grant Regule, Gus Miller, Mason Shantz and Zach Totin won the 200 free relay at the PIAA Class 3A swimming championships on March 14.
North Allegheny senior Gus Miller’s alarm sounded long before sunrise, at 4:45 a.m., numerous days this winter.
Around the district, other NA swimmers also rose early on dark, frigid mornings with their alerts and buzzers serving as a call to action.
There was work to do.
“We had to be on the (pool) deck at 5:30,” Miller said, “or even earlier.”
Those twice-a-week early-morning practices, combined with the motivation of last year’s third-place finish at states, helped pave the way to the Tigers’ 2025 PIAA Class 3A swimming championship.
The NA boys scored 215 points on March 14-15 at Bucknell to bring home the program’s first state title since winning three in a row from 2017-19. LaSalle College was second with 162.
“We put in a ton of work,” NA coach Patrick Wenzel said. “I couldn’t be prouder of them.”
It was a steady climb to the top for the Tigers, who had placed a distant 10th two years ago before improving to third last season. Knowing they were returning almost every top swimmer, the Tigers dove into the offseason, determined to win PIAA gold this winter.
“That is what made us work so hard, for sure,” said junior Danny Lesinski, who placed second in the 100 back and third in the 200 IM. “It was a big goal for us as a team to come back and show what we had.”
Conditioning started in April and team-wide workouts began in late October. The Tigers were leaving nothing to chance. They went 10-0 in dual meets before rolling to the WPIAL Class 3A title.
“Honestly, I think this is why we did so well,” said Miller, who won the 100 butterfly at states with a school-record time of 48.67 seconds. “Usually, not that many people are there (in October). But a lot of the team really showed up, and I think that’s what made the difference.”
In fourth place after three PIAA events, the NA boys took the lead for good when Loyola (Md.)-bound senior Grant Regule placed fifth in the 50 free and Miller, a West Chester recruit, took third in the next event, the 100 fly, breaking a six-year-old school record (48.69).
A wire-to-wire gold medal in the 200 freestyle relay behind the quartet of Regule, Miller, junior Mason Shantz and junior Zachary Totin gave the Tigers a 21-point lead heading into Day 2.
“I felt really good after Day 1,” Wenzel said. “Our boys did their job.”
Junior diver Ethan Maravich, the WPIAL champion, placed third to earn points, and when Lesinski and Miller finished 2-3 in the 100 back, the Tigers had clinched the seventh PIAA team title in program history.
For good measure, the quartet of Lesinski, Totin, junior Dylan Seiford and Regule took silver in the meet’s final event, the 400 free relay, to set off a celebration.
“It was great,” Lesinski said. “All of our hard work from the season came through in that meet and we were all just really happy.”
The two-time defending PIAA champion NA girls came up short in their bid to three-peat, placing fourth with 171 points.
Junior Claire Bacu, the two-time WPIAL 500 freestyle champion, finished second in the 200 free and the 500 free to lead the Tigers, who two weeks earlier had won their 17th consecutive WPIAL team title. Other PIAA medalists were sophomore Julia Tengowski (fourth, 500 free), senior Juliet Hood (third, diving), WPIAL champion junior Maggie Lapina (seventh, diving) and the 200 free relay (fifth), 400 free relay (fifth) and the WPIAL champion 200 medley relay (seventh) teams.
Junior Dani Hinkson, coming off her second consecutive WPIAL 200 IM title, placed 10th in the event at states.
The NA girls should be back in contention next season. Of the 10 swimmers who competed at the PIAA meet, only one, freestyler Julianne Weaver, is a senior.
“I had that conversation on the pool deck with them,” Wenzel said. “It matters what they decide to do now.”
The boys graduate three seniors — Miller, Regule and freestyler Nicholas Klein. In the meantime, the PIAA championship trophy is making its rounds among the swimmers. The precious hardware will end up in the school’s trophy case at some point.
“(Coach Wenzel) told us the last time they won, the school didn’t get the trophy back until the fall,” Miller said. “We are definitely going to hold on to it for as long as we can.”
Tags: North Allegheny
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