Penn Hills middle school swim team reaching new heights

By: Josh Rizzo
Sunday, October 26, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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Mark Spinola was happy to say every swimmer who competed at the middle school championships saw a significant drop in their times. The Penn Hills middle school swim coach is pleased the program is trending in the right direction.

“The team has come a long way,” said Spinola, who has coached at Penn Hills for three seasons. “This is the biggest team I’ve had since I’ve been coaching. They consistently come to practice, they work hard and have great team spirit.”

Willie Rice saw the largest drop among all of Penn Hills’ athletes in the event in the 200 freestyle. He dropped 20 seconds off his time and placed fourth with a time of 2 minutes, 23.50 seconds.

Rice also finished in seventh place in the 50 backstroke. The championship meet was held at Derry.

“He was thrilled,” Spinola said. “We were thrilled for him because he was so excited about what he had done. He hadn’t gone that fast all season.”

Alexander Scott also earned a spot on the podium in two events.

Scott placed eighth in the 50 butterfly and ninth in the 100 free.

Spinola said the middle school team has a schedule that features between eight and 10 dual meets. There is a relay meet they are able to attend, but Spinola said the team hasn’t been big enough to compete in it in the past.

Spinola said this is the first time since he has been at Penn Hills where the Indians were able to have an all-girls and all-boys relay teams.

“We’ve tried to make it a pleasant experience for the kids,” Spinola said. “They know they get good training. We’ve had a lot of kids bring their friends along. We work closely with the high school coach.”

Other Penn Hills swimmers who competed at the championship meet included Sirius Chavers, Trevell Wells, Adrianna Hoolahan, Angie Davis, Jalina Franklin, Summer Dougherty and Bailee Glover.

All-section honors

Penn Hills goalkeeper Jadon Robbins was named to the all-section team. Chase Delahanty also was chosen for all-section honors, while Hamilton Anyang was selected as an honorable mention.

Dust off your gear

Penn Hills is having an alumni game for the boys and girls basketball program Nov. 20 as part of a winter sports showcase. The game will be from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m at the high school.

Tags: Penn Hills