WPIAL swimmers in good position after Class 2A preliminary swims at PIAA meet

By: Michael Love
Friday, March 15, 2024 | 1:22 PM

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WPIAL Class 2A swimmers took the baton from their Class 3A counterparts Friday morning at the PIAA swimming and diving championships at Bucknell University.

Several of them over the six boys and six girls preliminary events punched their tickets to the evening’s championship finals heats with shots at state titles.

Mt. Pleasant junior David Mutter leads the pack as the top seed (47.58) in the 100 butterfly. His preliminary time set a new state record.

Hampton junior Chris Belch (50.47) is seeded third, and Northgate senior Zach Schuster (51.00) is the fifth seed.

The Mt. Pleasant boys 200 medley relay of Logan Snively, Joseph Gardner, Mutter, and Gunner Probst set the pace with a prelim time of 1:34.51 and is the top seed for the championship heat.

Northgate and Hampton will challenge the Vikings quartet as the No. 3 and No. 5 seeds.

Indiana junior Preston Kessler is the top seed for the finals of the 200 free (1:40.05), while Shady Side Academy junior Soren Cooper (1:42.95) checks in as the No. 4 seed, and Latrobe junior Patrick Cratty is seeded sixth (1:44.94).

The 200 individual medley final will have Indiana senior Alex Bauer (1:52.10) seeded third, Mt. Pleasant junior Joseph Gardner (1:53.13) seeded fourth, Kiski Area junior Justin Tucker (1:53.67) seeded fifth, and Northgate sophomore Sam Cavanaugh (1:57.00) seeded sixth.

North Catholic junior Luke Lamb (20.74) and Riverside senior Joseph Roth (21.22) are the second and third seeds in the 50 free.

Indiana’s 200 free relay of Bauer, Kessler, Joey Margita and Rey Nunez is the No. 1 seed (1:25.89), while Riverside (1:28.45) is seeded third, Latrobe (1:28.89) is sixth, and Mt. Pleasant (1:29.02) is seventh.

Girls

The Mt. Pleasant 200 medley relay of Kiersten O’Connor, Kaylie Korpiel, Maddie Barrick, and Lily King are the No. 2 seed (1:48.18) for this evening’s championship heat.

The WPIAL is well represented in the event, as Kiski Area is the third seed (1:49.01), Freeport is fourth (1:49.17), Indiana is sixth (1:50.66), and Hampton is seventh (1:50.72).

King was tops in the 200 free (1:47.99), more than a second clear of the field, including No. 2 seed Elise Nardozzi (1:49.14), a senior from Northgate.

Half of the championship-heat entries for the 200 IM are from the WPIAL. Shady Side Academy freshman Ava Jochims is the No. 2 seed (2:04.02). Hampton sophomore Lainey Sheets is seeded third (2:04.98), Freeport junior Kira Schrecongost is sixth (2:07.31), and Knoch junior Giona Lavorini is eighth (2:08.35).

Mt. Pleasant junior Kiersten O’Connor is the top seed for the finals of the 50 free with a time of 23.72 in the preliminaries. Woodland Hills freshman Cameron Peretti is the second seed (23.97), Thomas Jefferson junior Genevieve Cody is seeded third (23.99), and Quaker Valley senior Emily Connors is sixth (24.21).

South Park senior Katie Jackovic (55.87), Schrecongost (56.05), Indiana junior Peyton Scott (57.80) and Connors, (58.12), are the second, third, fifth and sixth seeds for the finals of the 100 fly.

Bedford senior phenom Leah Schackley is the top seed for the event with a time of 52.20.

Northgate’s 200 free relay of Nardozzi, Kendall McKelvey, Rachel Buzzard, and Amelia Hardiman is the third seed (1:40.07) for the championship finals, while Thomas Jefferson is seeded eighth (1:40.88).

Schedule

The boys consolation and championship finals involving the top 16 from each preliminary event will begin at 4:30 p.m. and will be broadcast live on the Pennsylvania Cable Network.

PCN then will have live coverage of the girls consolation and championships heats starting at 6:50.

Before swimming awards and medals are handed out, the Class 2A boys divers will decide their championship meet on PCN. In action from the WPIAL are Indiana junior Matthew Blystone, South Park sophomore Grant Newel, West Allegheny senior Caleb Gnoth, Indiana sophomore Austin Schawl, Northgate senior Ryan Hartle, Blackhawk senior Brecken Finkbeiner, Derry junior Jacob Hauser, and Connellsville sophomore William Gillott.

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.