New champs crowned as Kiski Area, Indiana take WPIAL Class 2A team titles

By: Ted Sarneso
Friday, March 1, 2024 | 8:43 PM

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There was no repeat champion in the WPIAL Class 2A swimming championships Friday afternoon at Pitt’s Trees Pool.

The girls WPIAL Class 2A swimming championship came down to the last event of the day. Leading by two points over second-place Quaker Valley and 10 points over third-place Mt. Pleasant, Kiski Area just needed to hold on to third place in the 400 free relay to secure a victory.

The Cavaliers ended up grabbing gold with a time of 3:35.29, taking home the girls title with 218 points.

“I knew we just had to finish third or better and we would be champions,” said senior Abby King. “We were backed up by a lot of team spirit, the boys were cheering hard for us. It was amazing to witness and be a part of.”

“They’re winners. They’re competitors. They’re sisters and wonderful young ladies,” said Kiski Area coach Ryan Berberich. “Each one of their personalities helped form the girls team puzzle and allowed us to come away with this title. I couldn’t be prouder.”

Last year’s girls champions, Mt. Pleasant, finished second with 200 points and Indiana came in third with 183.

“Girls never won a WPIAL swimming title, the boys won one last year, which was their first as well, and to come back and win with the girls is truly amazing,” said Berberich.

“My staff and I told the kids it was going to be a long season filled with highs and lows and that they needed to trust us, but more importantly trust each other, and love one another. They did and they kept working hard,” Berberich added.

Northgate came in second in the 400 free relay with a time of 3:36.78. Mt. Pleasant, which was seventh when junior Lily King got in the water and awed everyone with a 47-second 100, finished in third place with a time of 3:38.06.

Lily King began Day 2 of the WPIAL Class 2A swim championships at Trees Pool the same way she started Day 1: by besting her own WPIAL record.

King posted a time of 48.21 in the girls 100 free, eclipsing her time from last year (48.85) by three-tenths of a second and setting a Trees Pool record. The previous record was 48.49 set in 2010.

“It means a lot to set the pool record,” King said. “I can remember coming here as a 12-and-under swimmer and seeing the records and thinking it would be cool for me to get one of them.”

“I always get excited when I break a record,” King added. “But it’s never about me. I’m always thinking of ways to help the team win.”

King is hoping she can shave even more time off at states.

“I’m focused on every aspect of my events,” she said. “I’m thinking about every stroke, every turn, and how I come off the walls. I’d like to think I can cut more time once my taper kicks in and I think I can still improve.”

Elise Nardozzi of Northgate came in a distant second at 49.98 and Katie Jackovic of South Park was third with a 51.36.

One other highlight from the girls 100 free was when Woodland Hills freshman Cameron Peretti, who was seeded 12th, swam a 53.47 to jump all the way to fifth. She leap-frogged Sydney Anderson of Indiana (53.82), Kasey Schrecongost of Freeport (53.91) and Hopewell’s Lindsey Brown (55.10).

In the girls 500 free, Shady Side Academy freshman Ava Jochims took gold with a 4:56.04, besting last year’s champion and second-place finisher Eliza Miller of Kiski Area, who swam a 5:00.47, shaving nearly nine seconds off her time from last year. Quaker Valley junior Maragret Getty was third (5:19.48).

Kiersten O’Connor of Mt. Pleasant took first in the girls 100 back with a time of 55.37 and Hampton sophomore Lainey Sheets took second with a 55.82.

“I’m a little upset,” Sheets said. “I wanted to go a little faster, but I dropped time, so I can’t be too hard on myself. I’d like to get to a 54 second for states. I didn’t do a full taper for this event, so it’s possible.”

Giona Lavorini of Knoch swam a 1:01.90 in the girls 100 breast to take the gold medal. Indiana junior Peyton Scott came in second with a time of 1:02.03 and King from Kiski placed third with a 1:05.72.

On the boys side of the natatorium, Indiana took home the team title with a score of 302. Northgate was second with 199.5 points and Mt. Pleasant finished third with 192.5.

“It has been a dream ride,” said Indiana coach Sarah Brown. “It’s going to be really hard to top this experience at states, but I’m looking forward to trying.”

“We haven’t started to taper yet, so starting the rest process to see what magic will happen will be crazy,” Brown added.

Indiana’s Preston Kessler put on a dominant performance once again.

Kessler started the day becoming three-time WPIAL champion in the boys 100 free and set a WPIAL record in the process with a time of 44.45.

Logan Voytish of Uniontown placed second with a 47.23 and Isaac Stoeckle was third at 47.87.

In the boys 100 breast, Indiana’s Alex Bauer added another gold medal and broke another WPIAL record with a 55.08. Mt. Pleasant’s Joseph Gardner, who set the record last year (55.81), came in second with a 55.27.

“It feels pretty great,” said Bauer. “Whenever Joe and I swim in the same event, it’s always a great race. He’s so good. I didn’t think I would win.”

Shady Side Academy junior Soren Cooper took first in the boys 500 free with a time of 4:35.98. Kiski Area’s Justin Tucker placed second with a 4:39.46.

North Catholic’s Luke Lamb set a WPIAL record in the boys 100 back with a time of 48.68. Lamb bested second-place finisher Joseph Roth’s record time (49.40) set last year. Roth placed second in this year’s event with a 49.41.

“I’ve been working for this all season and for the hard work to pay off, it feels amazing,” said Lamb. “Joe’s amazing in everything he does and it’s great to race against him. It’s great to get the win and I wanted that record bad.”

Bauer and teammates Kessler, Rey Nunez and Joshua Reed took home the gold in the boys 400 free relay with a WPIAL record 3:06.36.

Latrobe’s quartet of Charlie Thomson, Chris Heese, Heinrich van der Westhuizen and Patrick Cratty finished second with a 3:13.11.

Northgate’s team of seniors Zachary Schuster, Sam Kohler and Isaac Stoeckle and sophomore Sam Cavanaugh finished third at 3:14.42.

Tags: Indiana, Mt. Pleasant