Plum swimmers perform well at PIAA meet

By: Michael Love
Saturday, March 27, 2021 | 10:01 AM

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One moved up, and one moved down.

Both were good things when talking about senior Logan Minick and junior Sam Schohn’s swims representing Plum at the PIAA Class AA championships March 19 at Cumberland Valley High School.

Minick, seeded 13th in the 500-yard freestyle, moved up two spots to 11th overall.

Schohn lowered his time in the 100 breaststroke to a personal best and held his 11th-seed position.

“They both swam really well against the best in the state,” Plum coach Shawn Haupt said.

“With it being their first states, they didn’t let the nerves get to them. They swam with confidence.”

Minick was the first to swim, and he touched the wall for the final time in 4:53.88, slightly elevated from his school-record time of 4:53.63 in taking fifth at WPIALs on March 6 at Upper St. Clair.

Indiana’s Kyle Thome brought home a state title for the WPIAL in the 500 with a time of 4:40.22, and Laurel Highlands’ Kole Friel also medaled in sixth.

“Logan mirrored his swim from (WPIALs), which we would ask for at this point in the season, and he went from 13th (seed) to 11th,” Haupt said. “I couldn’t be more proud of that swim for him.”

The 500 record had stood for 29 years. The previous record of 4:54.38 was recorded by Jim Rumbaugh during the 1992 season.

About a half hour after Minick’s swim in the 500, Schohn took to the pool and finished his 100 breaststroke in 1:01.09.

He was seeded fifth after recording a 1:01.17 at WPIALs.

The WPIAL was strong overall in the Class AA boys 100 breast as Hampton’s Richie Donato, Southmoreland’s Henry Miller and Indiana’s Isaac Griffith finished second, third and fourth, respectively.

Hampton’s Ethan Apaliski also medaled in eighth.

“We wanted to see that 1:00, something below 1:01, but he’s just .09 away,” Haupt said.

“In swimming, you’ll take a best time any time. He’s going to come back and continue working hard. He’ll be back at states next year pushing for a medal for sure.”

Minick and Schohn’s times at WPIALs earned them at-large bids to swim at states.

As only the WPIAL champion in each event secured an automatic berth, both had to wait about 40 hours to find out if their times were good enough for one of their event’s six at-large invitations.

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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