Upper St. Clair takes home two team trophies
Loeva Palu-Benson of Peters Township surfaces for air during the 100-yard butterfly event at the WPIAL Class AAA championships. The junior placed ninth in the event.
Kevin Liu, Ryan Dudzinski and Jake Johnsen celebrate the record they broke with Braedon Wong (in water) during the 200-yard medley relay at the WPIAL championships. The Upper St. Clair foursome won the race in 1:30.32. They shattered the record of 1:31.77 set last year by a different USC unit led by Dudzinski.
North Allegheny walked away with two trophies during the WPIAL Class AAA swimming championships held Feb. 20-21 at the University of Pittsburgh’s Trees Pool. So did Upper St. Clair.
While the Tigers won their seventh straight team title for girls’ swimming and fourth in a row for the boys, the Panthers claimed runner-up honors in both divisions. The NA girls won the team title with a whopping 536.5 points. USC secured second with a 240.5 score and Mt. Lebanon took third with 180 points. The NA boys, who have won nine of the past 10 crowns, racked up 411 points. USC followed in second with 358 and Lebo was third with 270.
“We took care of business and did what we set out to do. Going home with two trophies was one of our primary goals for the season,” said USC head coach Dave Shraven. “To have both teams finish in the top two is something we’ve never accomplished before.
“It’s very satisfying and a testament to all the hard work we put into this season. However, as I told the kids, we’re not done yet. The biggest meet is still in front of us. (On Sunday) we could rest and enjoy what we accomplished. (On Monday), it was back to work.”
The top three finishers in each event automatically qualified for the PIAA championships set for March 11-14 at Bucknell University. After the rest of the districts complete their finals, at-large bids will go out to the swimmers with the top times.
At present, Schraven expects between 7-9 boys and 3-6 girls to compete in the state finals next month. “We definitely have some swimmers on the bubble, who did times that would have made states last year, so it all depends on how fast the other districts are.”
District 7, which comprises the WPIAL, was so fast, seven records fell. Ryan Dudzinski was responsible for three of them. (See related story.)
The USC boys won all three relays, two in record time, and three individual events with Dudzinski (butterfly), Fynn Minuth (IM) and Kevin Liu (backstroke). Liu also finished fourth in the IM and Minuth was second in the 500 free. Other top five showings for the USC boys included: Patrick Lersch (fourth in the 50 and 100 free); Braedon Wong (second, 100 back), Tomos Williams (third, 50 free) and Jake Johnsen (third, 100 fly).
Victoria Shaffer led the Lady Panthers. Individually, she finished fourth in the 100 free and fifth in the 200 IM. The senior also led the free relay teams to second places. Abby Matheny, Carolyn Novak and Lindsey Choate comprised the 200 free unit. Carly Olsakovsky, Novak and Matheny headlined the 400 grouping. The medley relay unit of Maeve Lersch, Maddie Yoos, Carly Olsakovsky and Choate also finished runner-up as NA swept all the girls’ relays. Individually, Yoos finished fourth in the breast.
Noting that all three girls’ relays and the boys’ medley and 200 free relays broke school records Schraven said that he was pleased with the team’s effort. “I’m especially happy with the relays. They were awesome. The thing I like about them is that they are a team thing. (Those swimmers) were driven to be their best. We knew the boys would be special but I am especially pleased with the girls. They crushed it.”
In her lead-off leg in the 200 free relay, Shaffer shattered the school record. Shraven said, “I believe that is the first time a girl at USC has gone under 24.”
Yoos (breast), Minuth (200 IM and 500 free) and Dudzinski (lead-off leg of 200 free relay) also broke school records.
Meanwhile, Lebo submitted top five showings in both the boys’ and girls’ competition.
Among the top females included: Kathryn Nicholson, who scored second in the 50 free and fifth in the 100 free; Angela Gyurina, who finished fourth in the 50 free; and Hannah Bumgarner, who was fifth in the 200 free.
Lebo finished third in both the 200 and 400 free relays in the girls’ competition behind NA and USC. The Lebo boys were third in the 400 free and fourth in the 200 free relays.
Individually in the top five for the boys were: Jack Rice (fifth, 100 free); Andriei Mihailescu (second, 100 fly and fourth, 100 back); Noah Wechter (fifth, 100 fly), Brian Ramsey (second, 100 breast) and Jack Lanphers (third, 100 breast).
For Peters Township, Loueva Palu-Benson recorded the top marks. The junior finished fifth in the 100-yard backstroke and ninth in the butterfly. She also guided the 200-yard medley relay team of Olivia Yocca, Hannah Greguric and Julia Corton to a sixth-place showing. The 200 free relay of Corton, Yocca, Makayla Caso and Greguric scored ninth.
The Peters boys placed all three of their relays in the Top 10. The medley unit of Stephen Hopta, John Martin, Sebastian Yocca and Mitchell Golias secured sixth place. The 200 free relay team finished fifth. The foursome featured Michael Kehm, Golias, Joe Dunleavy and Yocca. That group also registered eighth place in the 400 free relay.
Individually, Kehm took 12th in the 200 IM and 15th in the 100 back. Yocca followed in 16th position in the 100 fly. Hopta collected 10th in the 100 back and 16th in the 200 free.
After dominating at the AA level with gold-medal performances, Drew Damich moved up to Class AAA and contributed a strong showing for Chartiers Valley. The senior took third in the 500-yard freestyle. He finished fourth in the 200 free, an event in which Brian Lovasik from North Hills set a new WPIAL record with a 1:38.89. He also helped the 400 free relay to a top five finish.
Rebecca Yonek from Bethel Park completed the area’s top five showings. She finished fifth in the 500-yard freestyle.