Plum swimmers add WPIAL cut times as competition heats up

By: Michael Love
Sunday, January 14, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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The WPIAL performance lists for individual swimmers, relays and divers were released for the first time Jan. 9, and it was a welcomed sight for Plum competitors. It gave them a chance to see where they ranked in several events in Class 3A (girls) and Class 2A (boys) after the first group of meets through the opening week of the New Year.

“I like it, and the kids like it,” Plum coach Shawn Haupt said. “Swimming is very visible. I always tell people that times don’t lie. They give you a good representation of your work. In some cases, it gives kids a little confidence boost and helps them to feel pretty good about where they are at this point. For some others, it might serve as a kick in the butt. It helps them see that they need to get going to improve their seed for WPIALs.

“You always dwell on yourself and want more from yourself, but they also see that the top swimmers in the WPIAL are in the same boat. Everyone is not at their top times. It’s just the way it is in early January. But they know from past experiences that it is going to get so much faster by the time WPIALs rolls around.”

All of the performances listed are WPIAL qualifying times for the league championships, which start with the diving meets on Feb. 23 and 24 and continue with the swimming finals at Pitt’s Trees Pool on Feb. 29 and March 1.

“We’ve seen a lot of improvements from a lot of individuals,” Haupt said.

“Most of the top swimmers have been getting their goals as far as WPIAL cuts. They are establishing themselves. We don’t expect them to be getting top times just yet, but they’re close. There are others who are close to WPIAL cuts, and we’ve seen them make a lot of strides since the start of the season.”

Plum was to swim against Baldwin last Thursday. Haupt said his swimmers will be tested in the coming weeks with meets against Shaler, Mars, Penn Hills, Gateway and North Allegheny.

Plum opened the new year Jan. 4 against Fox Chapel, and sophomore Brooke Price recorded her third WPIAL cut with a successful swim of 2:19.19 in the 200 IM.

Price already had qualified in the 500 free and the 100 backstroke. She swam to 17th in the 100 back at WPIALs last year.

“Brooke is no surprise with what she is accomplishing,” Haupt said.

“She is one of the hardest workers on this team. She is getting exactly what she deserves. She made just one (individual) cut last year (100 back), and she already has three this year. I wouldn’t be surprised to see one or two more from her over the next couple of weeks. Last year, she didn’t have options with just the one cut. Now she can decide which two she wants to swim. That is a nice feeling and a nice position to be in for a swimmer.”

Junior Giuliana Riciutti, a WPIAL individual medalist last year in the 200 free, owns five individual cuts through the meet with Fox Chapel, and Haupt said she has her sights set on a couple more over the next month’s worth of meets.

“The 100 breaststroke might be out of reach for her, and she knows that,” Haupt said.

“She got all but one last year, and she expects to do that again.”

Haupt said Ricciuti was scheduled to swim the 500 against Baldwin, and he expected her to get that cut at that meet.

Also recording WPIAL individual cuts for the Plum girls prior to the meet with Baldwin are sophomore Delaney Hunsinger in the 200 IM, senior Amelia Faust and sophomore Dominique Massie in the 50 free, and junior Kaileigh Smith in the 100 breast.

All three Plum girls relays have qualified, including the 200 free relay which set a school record last year at WPIALs with a time of 1:39.25.

“We’re coming off the hardest stretch of practices all year, and I think we really benefited from it,” Faust said.

“All of our bodies are really tired now, but I know we are going to bounce back really nicely and will be ready to finish strong for WPIALs. We’ve seen a ton of time drops at recent meets. That’s what we want to see.”

Haupt said while the boys team members haven’t hit qualifying times prior to the Baldwin meet, he has seen times drops and improvement.

“A lot of them are tired and are swimming tired,” Haupt said.

“I think that I am most likely going to have to rest them to give them shots at making WPIALs. But we have a couple who are really close. (Junior) Maddox (Sciullo) has been inching down to right around his personal best in the 100 breast.

“I am not sure if all of the 50 frees will be there individually, but if they are all firing on all cylinders on a given day, they have a good shot at getting the 200 free relay cut. I think there can be some good things happening over the next month.”

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.

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