Franklin Regional, Penn-Trafford swimmers end illustrious careers side by side on PIAA medal stand

By: Michael Love
Thursday, March 14, 2024 | 10:56 PM

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Holden Thomas owned the top seed in the Class 3A boys 100-yard backstroke and had his sights set on big things in the preliminaries Thursday morning on Day 2 of the PIAA swimming championships at Bucknell University’s Kinney Natatorium.

The Franklin Regional senior, the WPIAL champion in the event with a time of 49.08 seconds, slipped to a prelim time of 49.86 and was seeded seventh for the championship heat Thursday evening.

One of Thomas’ goals was to get into the championship heat.

He did that.

Another goal was to go faster in the finals.

He did that, too.

Thomas fell just short of his final goal, a state title, but his all-time best of 48.30 earned him a silver medal and a spot on the second-highest step of the medals podium.

“I was kind of hoping I had scraped into the ‘A’ final,” said Thomas about the standings after the prelim swims.

“I hoped I would come back feeling great, and I did. I always race against myself, no matter what lane I am in or who is next to me. I was a little disappointed that I didn’t get first, but I was glad I got a best time.”

Thomas adds his silver medal to his tie for 10th in the 100 butterfly (50.13) from Wednesday.

Penn-Trafford senior Patton Graziano, Thomas’ Westmoreland County rival and friend, also lowered his time from the prelims and maintained fourth overall (48.80).

“I felt good, and there was nothing I would’ve changed (about the 100 back swim),” said Graziano, who swam two individual events Thursday. He recorded a seventh in the consolation heat (46.63) of the 100 freestyle, good for 15th overall.

“I was really happy,” he said.

Graziano and Thomas, like they did at WPIALs, stood beside each other on the PIAA medals podium. It was the final high school race for both local standouts.

“It was really cool to be up there beside Holden,” Graziano said. “It was really fun that it could end like this at states.”

Norwin junior Tyler Turgeon finished third in his 100 back consolation heat with a time of 50.80, six-tenths faster than his preliminary swim. That landed him in 11th place overall.

On the girls side, Latrobe junior Lauren Bell placed sixth in the consolation final of the 100 free and 14th overall with a time of 52.39 seconds.

Bell then helped the Wildcats girls 400 free relay, including Maggie Elder, Destini Homan and Hannah Carasia, drop time to a 3:37.15 and a 14th-place finish.

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: Franklin Regional, Penn-Trafford