Latrobe’s Jackson, Hempfield’s Mayo earn medals at PIAA swimming championships

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, March 14, 2018 | 9:54 PM

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LEWISBURG — Latrobe senior Rylee Jackson hoped to go faster in her 50-yard freestyle championship-finals swim Wednesday at the PIAA Class AAA swimming championships.

She posted a time of 23.64 seconds in the morning prelims.

Jackson didn't lower her prelim time in the finals — she swam a 23.86 — but she did find herself as one of the eight medalists with a seventh-place finish.

“The 50 definitely is a hard event to get the same time or go even lower,” Jackson said. “I am just happy to make it here, make the finals and make it on the podium.”

All of the 50 free finalists were chasing defending champion and PIAA record holder Olivia Livingston, a sophomore from Gateway.

Livingston won her second straight gold medal in the event and tied her state record with a time of 22.73.

Jackson said she has momentum going into her 100 freestyle swim Thursday. She is the 10th seed.

Hempfield junior Gavin Mayo had a busy day Wednesday. He swam five times — twice in the 50 freestyle and 200 free relay and once with the 200 medley relay.

His return swim in the 50 free netted him a fourth-place medal in 20.81. He lowered his preliminary time by 0.27 seconds.

“That's where I was seeded coming in (to states), so I'm definitely happy with that,” Mayo said. “The time was good after all of those 50s.”

Mayo returns in the 100 free Thursday, and said he's looking forward to moving up the ranks from his 21st seed.

“I don't have any events before or after, so I will be nice and rested,” he said. “I want to go out there in the prelims and try to make it back in at least the consolation final (ninth through 16th after the preliminaries).”

Mayo also teamed with junior Todd Wilson, freshman Brian Wilson and senior Adam Toth on the 200 free relay that placed 13th (1:26.94).

The Hempfield relay arrived at the consolation final as the 14th seed after recording a time of 1:27.38 in its preliminary race.

The Franklin Regional girls 200 free relay of juniors Abigail Ramey and Baylee Horvath and seniors Lily Wang and Michelle Lopes came close to reaching the consolation finals. The team placed 18th in 1:39.56, just 0.39 away from 16th.

The Class AAA preliminary swims Thursday also will include the 500 free, 100 backstroke, 100 breaststroke and 400 free relay. The boys heats will begin at 8 a.m., and the girls will swim at 10:40.

The consolation and championship finals will be 6:05 p.m. for the boys and 8:35 for the girls.

The Class AAA girls diving championships will be at 2:35 p.m.

Michael Love is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at mlove@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Mlove_Trib.

Tags: Franklin Regional, Hempfield Area, Latrobe