Shoop brings Riverview back to WPIAL swimming championships

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, March 6, 2018 | 4:36 PM

It had been 17 years since a swimmer from Riverview competed at the WPIAL championships.

But freshman Beth Shoop was determined to bring the Raiders gold and black back to Pitt's Trees Pool.

Shoop, one of several independent competitors at last Thursday and Friday's championships, swam the 200- and 500-yard freestyle events.

She finished 11th in the 500 with a time of 5 minutes, 40.34 seconds, cutting more than seven seconds off her seed time.

In the 200, she took 15th and shaved more than two seconds to record a time of 2:07.03.

Shoop is a member of the Fox Chapel Killer Whales club team, and she reached her qualifying times at Fox Chapel's high school home meets.

“It was so exciting,” Shoop said of her WPIAL experience.

“I swam as an independent, but I had so many of my (Fox Chapel club) teammates cheering me on. I had that feeling of being part of a team.”

The last Riverview swimmer at WPIALs was Brian Blackwell. His final WPIAL meet was 2001, and as a senior, he captured the WPIAL Class AA championship in the 200 individual medley (2:02.94).

Blackwell also was third in the boys 100 breaststroke (1:03.79).

He took third in the 200 IM and fourth in the 100 free at WPIALs as a junior and went on to take sixth in the 200 IM at states.

Blackwell kicked off his WPIAL performances his freshman year by taking fourth in the 200 free.

Michael Love is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at mlove@tribweb.com or via Twitter@Mlove_Trib

Tags: Riverview