Penn Hills swimmers, relays earn WPIAL qualifying cuts

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, January 17, 2019 | 8:00 PM

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The Penn Hills swim team has one goal — have as many swimmers as possible qualify for the WPIAL Class AAA championships, set for Feb. 28-March 1 at Pitt.

Three swimmers and two relay teams have qualified thus far this season. Seniors Kimani Gregory and Glenn Hanna, as well as junior Colleen Hoolahan have met qualifying marks to participate.

“They’ve all worked real hard, and they’re all ahead of where they were at this point last year. We’re moving in the right direction, but we need to work on a few things. We hope to get a couple more faster times as the season winds down,” coach Cheryl Ciorra said.

Gregory, a North Carolina State commit, has qualified again in the 100-yard butterfly and 100 freestyle.

Last season, Gregory finished second in the butterfly at the PIAA championships in 48.03 seconds, just behind Conestoga’s Brendan Burns (47.04).

In the 100 freestyle, Gregory finished third in 43.76. North Allegheny teammates Mason Gonzalez and Jack Wright finished first and second in 43.03 and 43.56, respectively.

At WPIALs, Gregory defended his butterfly title by winning in 48.25. Gregory set a WPIAL record in the 100 freestyle with a time of 44.09.

Gregory also has qualified in the 200 freestyle, 200 individual medley, 50 freestyle and 100 backstroke.

“Considering how small our team is, we’ve held our own. We’ve got good strong swimmers, but we just don’t have enough of them,” Ciorra said.

“We are trying to keep the team together and keep reminding them even though we are a small team, we can still be strong.”

Hanna has qualified in the 50 and 100 freestyle. Last season, Hanna finished 12th in the 50 freestyle in 22.00 and was 18th in the 100 freestyle in 48.56.

Hoolahan has qualified in the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke. Last season, Hoolahan finished 19th in the 100 breaststroke in 1:09.86.

“They worked really hard over the Christmas break, especially Colleen. She put in a lot of time and effort into it, and she hasn’t really missed a beat. She has worked harder than she has the previous two years,” Ciorra said.

The boys team has qualified in the 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay. Both relay teams include Gregory, Hanna, sophomore Michael Lintelman and senior Tommy Natalia.

Ciorra hopes to have a couple other swimmers qualify for the WPIAL meet, including Michael Lintelman (500 free, 100 breast) and senior Emma Lintelman (200 IM, 100 fly, 500 free).

“We need to stay focused and continue to keep working hard,” Ciorra said. “You don’t want to lose focus once you meet your cuts because you still have big meets coming up that you can continue to move forward with that time. They know what to expect, but you have to keep reminding them.”

Andrew John is a freelance writer.

Tags: Penn Hills