Mt. Pleasant girls repeat as PIAA Class 2A team swimming champions

By: Michael Love
Saturday, March 16, 2024 | 10:13 PM

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The Mt. Pleasant girls 400-yard freestyle relay of Lainey Brown, Maddie Barrick, Riley Shinsky and Lily King took fifth (3 minutes, 36.90 seconds) in the championship heat Friday night at Kinney Natatorium at Bucknell University.

The 28 points the relay earned capped another strong day for the Lady Vikings and also capped the team’s second straight PIAA Class 2A team championship.

With all the points earned from their consolation- and championship-heat finishes Friday and Saturday, Mt. Pleasant was on top with 164 points, 19 more than runner-up Cathedral Prep.

“I am beyond words proud of all of them,” coach Sandy Felice said as her voice cracked with emotion. “They worked so hard. We had a couple of new girls have great races. With that last relay, we knew we had to get what we were seeded, fifth place, and we did it with a great time.”

Mt. Pleasant captured four state championships over the two days of competition: junior King in the 200 free and 100 free, Kiersten O’Connor in the 50 free and the 200 medley relay of O’Connor, King, Kaylie Korpiel and Maddie Barrick.

King kicked off Saturday’s action with another state championship in the 100 free. She came in with the state record of 48.93, which also was the Bucknell pool record.

She set a mark of 48.48 in the preliminaries and then went faster in the finals to the tune of 48.38.

“This was a nice gauge on how much I’ve improved from last season,” said King, an N.C. State verbal commit.

“It was a great feeling to be able to lower my state time twice.”

King bested a field populated heavily by WPIAL swimmers. Six of the eight in the championship heat were from the WPIAL.

“It’s always special to be able to race against some amazing swimmers,” King said.

“They give me such a push. I know I have to be at my best against them.”

Northgate’s Elise Nardozzi finished runner-up in the 100 free with a time of 49.66.

O’Connor came back Saturday and earned points in the 100 backstroke. She took third overall with a time of 55.39, more than a half second faster than her time in the preliminaries.

The finals of the girls 100 breaststroke was a fast field populated by a trio of WPIAL swimmers.

Greensburg Salem sophomore Allison Stinnett was right there in the mix as the fourth seed after a preliminary swim of 1:05.85.

She went faster in the finals by a half second to finish fourth with a time of 1:05.34.

Stinnett added her fourth-place medal in the 100 breast to the 22nd-place finish in the 50 free from Friday.

Gardner wins swimmer of meet

With his two individual state championships, including a state-record triumph in the 100 breaststroke Saturday, Mt. Pleasant junior Joseph Gardner was selected the PIAA Class 2A boys swimmer of the meet.

Gardner also helped the Vikings 200 medley relay win a state title Friday and the 200 free relay, with Logan Snively, Seth Painter and David Mutter, place third (3:10.09) on Saturday.

“I kind of forgot that it was a thing,” Gardner said about the award.

“But I remembered that (Southmoreland grad) Henry (Miller) won it last year. If I could get two (individual) gold medals and break my record, I thought I could be in it for swimmer of the meet. That was pretty cool.”

Gardner’s time in the 100 breast — 54.28 — was nearly two seconds faster than the rest of the field and surpassed the 55.23 set last year in winning the event.

“I felt pretty good during prelims,” he said. “My breaststroke felt on. I was very close to my best time. I am pretty happy with how I swam.”

As fast as Gardner was in the 100 breast Saturday, he was faster at the Pitt Christmas meet in December with an all-time best of 54.13.

Gardner said he recovered well from a broken foot suffered three weeks ago.

“I wasn’t able to do a breaststroke kick for a week,” he said.

“But all glory to God for getting me to the point that I was able to swim very well. My coaches and teammates have been so encouraging. I am absolutely blessed to have them on my side. No matter what adversity I’ve faced, they’ve always been there to support me and cheer me on.”

Snively added points for the Vikings with a seventh in the 100 back (52.68).

Mt. Pleasant hoped to bring a state team title home. A WPIAL Class 2A boys team hadn’t won a PIAA championship since Quaker Valley in 2015.

The Vikings and Indiana battled throughout the two days. In the end, the Indians won 184 to 168.

“Shout out to Indiana. They have a great team,” Gardner said.

“We came in knowing it was going to be close with who each of us had. It was a good competition all year. We saw each other at their invitational, at WPIALs and here at states. I am super proud of how each of us performed as individuals and in the relays. We came here and did what we were supposed to do. It was only a one-point difference after the first day. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to win it. But second place isn’t too bad.”

The Latrobe boys team had four swims Saturday with three in consolation heats and the 400 free relay in the championship finals.

The Wildcats relay of Patrick Cratty, Chris Heese, Jace Pedicone and Charlie Thomson placed sixth overall with a time of 3:14.55.

Heese, seeded second in the 100 breast consolation final, held his place and finished 10th overall with a time of 58.78.

Cratty (13th, 47.95) and Thomson (16th, 48.64) both swam the consolation heat of the 100 free.

The Wildcats relay of Patrick Cratty, Chris Heese, Jace Pedicone and Charlie Thomson placed sixth overall with a time of 3:14.55.

Heese, seeded second in the 100 breast consolation final, held his place and finished 10th overall with a time of 58.78.

Cratty (13th, 47.95) and Thomson (16th, 48.64) both swam the consolation heat of the 100 free.

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: Mt. Pleasant