NA, Upper St. Clair set record pace in WPIAL swimming
North Allegheny and Upper St. Clair set a record pace during the first day of action in the WPIAL Class AAA swimming championships held at the University of Pittsburgh’s Trees Pool.
The Tigers topped the team standings in both the boys’ and girls’ competition. USC is in second position and Mt. Lebanon follows in third place.
The NA girls hold a whopping lead over the competition with 318 points. With five races remaining, the Lady Panthers have 133.5 points and the Lebo ladies own a 120 score. The Tigers set records in the 200-yard medley and freestyle relays and won three of the four individual races, the 50 and 200 free and 100 butterfly.
Heading into the second day of competition, which is scheduled for Feb. 21, the NA boys held a 15-point lead over USC, 230-215. Lebo was third with 151 points.
Ryan Dudzinski headlined the competition, grabbing three gold medals. The USC senior lowered his WPIAL record (48.13) by winning the fly in 47.93. He owns the state record of 47.44. The Stanford recruit also steered the Panthers’ 200 medley and free relays to new standards of 1:30.32 and 1:23.28 respectively. He is also the record-holder in the 100 backstroke event, which he races on the second day of competition.
Kevin Liu, Jake Johnsen and Braedon Wong joined forces with Dudzinski in the medley while Patrick Lersch, Tomos Williams and Fynn Minuth combined with Dudzinski in the free relay.
Individually, Minuth grabbed the gold in the 200 individual medley. The senior finished first in 1:49.83, a shade off the record of 1:49.13 set by Zachary Buerger of NA in 2014. His brother, Ole, earned eighth place while Liu finished fourth.
In the 50 free, Williams and Lersch took third and fourth respectively. In the fly, Johnsen, Wong and Martin Bacik collected third, sixth and ninth places.
Meanwhile, the Lady Panthers finished runner-up to NA in the medley and free relays. NA broke its own record with a 1:42.56 time in the medley. In the free relay, the Tigers set a record pace, winning in 1:33.76.
Maeve Lersch, Maddie Yoos, Carly Olsakovsky and Lindsey Choate comprised USC’s second-place medley unit that posted a 1:44.43 time. Victoria Shaffer, Abby Matheny, Carolyn Novak and Choate combined in the free relay. Their second-place time was 1:35.31.
Individually, Shaffer and Yoos took fifth and eighth in the IM. Choate secured sixth place while Olsakovsky placed ninth in the 50 free. Carolyn Novak was 14th. Abby Matheny and Emily Yoos finished seventh and 16th in the 200 free. Meg Haggerty added 14th in the fly.
“It was a good first day,” said USC head coach Dave Shraven. “I was pleased. I was especially happy with the relays. Both boys’ and girls’ were awesome. We knew the boys would be special but I am especially pleased with the girls. They didn’t just set school records. They crushed it. And the thing that I like about relays is how they are a team thing and the kids are really driven to do well in them.”
USC was not the only local club to do well on the first day of competition. Lebo, Peters Township, Canon-McMillan, Bethel Park and Chartiers Valley experienced success as well.
Top showings by event included for the boys:
• Medley relay
Andrei Mihailescu, Brian Ramsey, Noah Wechter and Jackson Kish of Lebo, third.
Stephen Hopta, John Martin, Sebastian Yocca and Mitchell Golias from PT, sixth.
Vinny Tavoletti, Nick Friday, Keith Powell and Steven Sell of BP, ninth
• 200 free
Drew Damich, third; and Brody Schmidt, eighth from CV.
Jack Rick of Lebo, 10th
David Stoddar, 14th of Lebo
Stephen Hopta, 16th
• 200 IM
Brian Ramsey from Lebo sixth
Jack Lanphear of Lebo, 10th
Michael Kehm of PT, 12th
• 50 free
Jackson Kish of Lebo and Turner Gill of Canon-Mac tied for ninth place
Nick Friday of BP, 11th
• 100 fly
Andre Mihailescu of Lebo, second in 49.51
Noah Wechter of Lebo, fifth
Vinny Tavoletti of BP, seventh
Martin Bacik of USC, ninth.
Sebastian Yocca of PT, 16th
• 200 free relay
Jackson Kish, Sam Trozenski, Jake Bumgarner and Jack Rice from Lebo finished fourth.
Michael Kehm, Mitchell Golias, Joe Dunleavy and Sebastian Yocca from PT, fifth.
Brody Schmidt, Roody D’Agaro, Joshua Rosato and Drew Damich from CV seventh.
Cody Stewart, Sran Herman, Jacob Viviano, Turner Gill of CM, 13th.
Top showings by event for the girls included:
• 200 medley relay
PT girls sixth: Olivia Yocca, Loeva Palu-Benson, Hannah Greguric, Julia Corton
Lebo ninth: Emma Graham, Angela Gyurina, Veronica Bogdanski, Alison Shapiro
CM 14th: Brittany Byer, Emily Georgetti, Samantha Orlowski, Maria Montuoro
• 200 free
After NA went 1-2-4, Hannah Bumgarner of Lebo finished fifth.
Rebecca Yonek of BP, eighth
Brittany Byer, CM, ninth
Emma Buerger of Lebo, 11th
• 50 free
Kathryn Nicholson of Lebo finished second, sandwiched between to NA swimmers, who took first and third. Nicholson swam a 23.67, .41 off the winning pace set by Jacquelyn Du.
Angela Gyurina of Lebo finished fourth.
Alison Shapiro of Lebo placed 10th.
• 100 fly
Miranda Marcucci of CV placed eighth
Loeva Palu-Benson from PT took ninth place
• 200 free relay
Lebo took third with Angela Gyurina, Kathryn Nicholson, Hannah Bumgarner and Emma Buerger. The Blue Devils were a shade behind USC with a 1:35.59 time.
PT was ninth. Julia Corton, Olivia Yocca, Makayla Caso and Hannah Greguric.
BP 16th. Rebecca Yonek, Russell Emily, Candice Chalus and Krista Wycinsky.