WPIAL Class 3A swimmers, divers hope to make their marks as PIAA championships begin at Bucknell

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, March 16, 2022 | 8:23 AM

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After a one-year hiatus, the PIAA Class 3A and 2A swimming and diving championships are back at Bucknell University.

Covid logistics moved the meets last year to Cumberland Valley High School. The change in venue didn’t hinder the WPIAL’s ability to make its mark with numerous championships and medal-winning performances.

The Class 3A meet kicks everything off Wednesday and continues Thursday, and the WPIAL again is expected to shine. Class 3A swimmers and divers from the WPIAL brought home 34 medals from last year’s PIAA meet.

The top 16 finishers from each day’s swim preliminaries will advance to that evening’s consolation and championship finals.

The first champions and medalists will be determined in diving Wednesday as the boys competition starts at 12:30 p.m.

The boys swimming finals begin at 4:20, with the girls finals to follow at 6:50.

Champions and medalists will first be awarded Thursday in girls diving at 2:30 p.m. followed by the boys swimming finals at 6:05 and the girls finals at 8:30.

The top eight finishers in diving and in each individual and relay swimming event take home medals.

Preliminary and finals results will be posted each day at PIAA.org.

The Class 3A swim finals both days will be broadcast live on the Pennsylvania Cable Network. The swimming and diving finals also will be live streamed on PCN Select — pcntv.com/swim and pcntv.com/dive.

Fox Chapel junior Sophie Shao hopes to become a three-time PIAA champion in the 100-yard butterfly as she swims the event Wednesday.

She comes in seeded second overall after winning her third WPIAL title March 3 at Pitt’s Trees Pool with a record-setting time of 53.85 seconds.

Annie Jia, a freshman from Hatboro-Horsham in District 1, is the top seed (53.12).

The Upper St. Clair boys 200 medley relay also returns to the PIAA championships as a defending champion. The Panthers quartet of seniors Daniel Wang, Will Perham, Ethan Neal and Ryan Senchyshak are the fifth seed.

The WPIAL is well represented in the event as WPIAL champion Franklin Regional (senior Owen Holm, junior Jason Tosh, junior Aiden Bunker, sophomore Holden Thomas) is the third seed, followed by Seneca Valley in fourth.

North Allegheny junior diver Christina Shi brought home PIAA gold last year, and the three-time WPIAL champion is a favorite to do so again. Latrobe’s Hannah Polosky and Seneca Valley’s Ashley Felitsky, WPIAL silver and bronze medalists, respectively, hope to challenge Shi and the rest of the field on Thursday.

Other Class 3A girls hoping for more after capturing state medals last year are North Allegheny junior distance specialist Lexi Sundgren (200 free, 500 free), Upper St. Clair sophomore Kaitlyn Connors (100 free, 200 free) and Fox Chapel junior Talia Bugel (100 back).

Class 3A boys medalists from 2021 back at states hoping to make an impact include Upper St. Clair senior Ganesh Sivaramakrishnan (100 fly, 100 backstroke), Bethel Park senior Dom Corpassi (100 fly, 100 back), Seneca Valley senior Daniel Simoes (200 individual medley, 100 free), Gateway senior Andrew Holmes (100 free), Seneca Valley junior Haihan Xu (200 IM, 100 breaststroke), Butler senior Ben Borvendeg (50 free, 100 free) and Seneca Valley senior Kevin Donaldson (100 free, 200 free).

Several freshmen and other newcomers also hope to make impacts in their PIAA debuts.

Mt. Lebanon freshman Sylvia Roy, the WPIAL Class 3A champion in both the 50 free and 100 back, will challenge the best in the state in both events at Bucknell. She is seeded fourth in the 50 free and is the top seed in the 100 back.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Bethel Park, Butler, Fox Chapel, Franklin Regional, Gateway, Latrobe, Mt. lebanon, North Allegheny, Seneca Valley, Upper St. Clair