Plum swimmers look forward to PIAA championship meet

By: Michael Love
Sunday, March 13, 2022 | 12:01 PM

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Sam Schohn knows all about swimming at the PIAA Class 2A championships.

But last year, the state meet was moved to a high school because of covid logistical issues with Bucknell.

Now, Schohn is ready to test his mettle back at Bucknell on Friday and Saturday as the state championships have returned to a sense of normalcy.

The Plum senior is the fourth overall seed for Saturday’s boys 100-yard breaststroke after taking a strong third-place at WPIALs behind Southmoreland junior Henry Miller and Mt. Pleasant freshman Joseph Gardner.

Miller is the No. 2 seed, while Gardner is seeded third.

“My (100 breast) swim at WPIALs was pretty exciting,” Schohn said.

“I had competition early in the season at the Pitt Christmas Meet, but for most of the season, there wasn’t that one guy who would push me to my limits. But (Miller and Gardner) did. And I was also so close to the (school) record. But it was so nice to push myself and stay with them. I am hoping for big things at states.”

Schohn, who placed 11th in the 100 breast at last year’s state meet at Cumberland Valley High School, is just seven one-hundredths of a second off the school record of 57.91 set by Andy Cherep in 1996.

“That is definitely added motivation for states,” said Schohn, who also will swim at states Friday in the 200 individual medley after placing eighth overall at WPIALs (2:02.77).

Schohn joins a pair of Plum girls — senior Elizabeth Glasspool and freshman Giuliana Ricciuti — at the PIAA championships.

In girls Class 3A, Glasspool will swim the 100 butterfly, and Ricciuti will compete in the 100 backstroke.

The PIAA championships were slated to begin Wednesday with the first day of Class 3A swims.

The Class 3A meet continues Thursday.

Glasspool, a Providence commit, hopes to ride the momentum from her WPIAL swim in the 100 fly. She bettered her own school record and went under 59 seconds in a high school meet for the first time.

Her time of 58.69 at WPIALs placed her ninth overall as she missed a top-eight medal by 17 one-hundredths of a second. But it was good enough to send her to states individually for the first time.

“I didn’t think I got in at all,” Glasspool said about finding out she made states Sunday afternoon, three days after swimming the 100 fly at WPIALs.

“I was just excited for my friends. I wanted to go with them and cheer. I was ninth at WPIALs, so I didn’t think I was going to get in. When Sunday hit, Sam sent me a text congratulating me. I was so surprised but so excited.”

Glasspool will swim the 100 fly as the 25th seed.

“I felt strong (at WPIALs), but I definitely didn’t feel as fast as I went,” Glasspool said.

“So, I was pleasantly surprised to see I was solidly under a 59. It also was my club nationals cut exactly. That was in the back of my mind, but I wasn’t planning on getting it. I didn’t think I was going to get that far under (59 seconds). I was really excited with that.”

Glasspool swam at states previously in 2019 as a member of the 200 medley relay with Delaney White, Devan Taylor and Alexis Smith. The team set the school record that year at WPIALs with a time of 1:48.71.

Ricciuti made the most of her first trip to WPIALs and finished 10th overall in the 100 back with a time of 50.20.

The girls 100 back in WPIAL Class 3A was strong to the point that 11 overall from the meet qualified for the PIAA championships.

“Honestly, I didn’t think I made it as I didn’t get top eight,” Ricciuti said.

“Then I looked at (the qualifier list) and I was like, ‘This can’t be right.’ Everyone started posting about it, and with all of the other district meets being over, I realized it was serious. I am a freshman, and I am all new to this. I was super excited to be able to swim at WPIALs, and it’s awesome to be going to states and swim in a new pool.”

Plum resident and Oakland Catholic senior Morgan Filar swims at states in the girls Class 3A 200 free and 100 back, as well as the 200 free relay and as the anchor of the 400 free relay.

Filar was seventh in the 200 free (1:55.60) and eighth in the 100 back (58.65) at WPIALs.

The Eagles 400 free relay placed fifth, and the 200 free relay took fourth.

She swam in a relay at states as a sophomore, but this will be her first trip to the PIAA meet for an individual event.

“I am going to be pretty busy at states,” Filar said. “I am excited for that. I feel good about improving my times there.”

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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