Upper St. Clair second in state swimming
Having lost only one swimmer from last year’s state championship club, La Salle College was the team to beat at the PIAA finals held last week at Bucknell Univeristy. While Upper St. Clair failed to pull off the upset, the Panthers moved up a spot in the team standings and managed to take home a trophy in the boys’ Class AAA competition. They finished runner-up to La Salle, 302-221.
“We knew La Salle College would be tough to beat,” USC coach David Schraven said of the champions, who had beaten the Panthers by 90 points in the 2014 finals. “While we went into the meet trying for the win, we also knew that a runner-up trophy would be a tremendous accomplishment. We achieved that.”
Plus, the Panthers outdistanced rival North Allegheny. The Tigers, who won the WPIAL title over USC, finished third in the state, picking up 183 points.
“I’m very pleased with our performance at the PIAA championships,” said Schraven. Noting how intense and competitive the WPIAL is, he added, “Sometimes, it’s hard to refocus after that meet but I feel we did that very successfully.”
From the start, USC focused. The Panthers shattered the record of 1:30.26 set in 2014 by La Salle College in the first race. They claimed the gold in the 200-yard medley relay. The foursome featured Ryan Dudzinski, Kevin Liu, Fynn Minuth and Braedon Wong.
USC, however, finished runner-up to La Salle College in the freestyle relays. The 200 unit of Dudzinski, Tomos Williams, Patrick Lersch and Liu lost the gold by a .29. In the 400 free, USC clocked a 3:03.04 but that was three seconds off the winning pace set by La Salle. Dudzinski, Lersch, Minuth and Braedon Wong comprised the final relay.
While Dudzinski was the lone solo champion (see related story), the USC men excelled in their premier events.
Individually, Minuth collected two silver medals. In the 200 IM, he finished runner-up to Michael Thomas, a Cal recruit who earned Swimmer of the Meet laurels after defending his backstroke title. In the 500 free, Minuth finished second to Sam Magnan, a Virginia recruit who was runner-up at that distance last year. Minuth’s times were 1:48.32 in the IM and 4:26.53 in the 500 free.
“Fynn had a fantastic season and an outstanding state meet,” Schraven said. “In both events, Fynn had the greatest improvement in the field of any swimmer in his races.”
Schraven predicts future success for Minuth, who will swim at the University of South Carolina. “They really ‘lucked out’ in getting a great swimmer who is going to have an outstanding college career,” Schraven said.
Seniors Jake Johnsen, Lersch and Martin Bacik finished their careers with Top 16 performances at states. Johnsen won his consolation heat and finished ninth overall (50.32) in the 100-yard butterfly. Lersch placed 13th in the 100 free and Bacik was 16th in the backstroke.
The future of USC swimming, however, is in good hands as Wong and Liu took on the mantle of leadership after strong showings at the state meet. Both are juniors.
Liu finished runner-up to Thomas in the backstroke. While Thomas clocked in at 46.19, Liu posted a 49.57 time. Liu was the WPIAL champion.
“(Kevin) was hoping to swim a little faster but since Michael Thomas is a senior, he will be the favorite in the 100 back heading into next year,” Schraven predicted. “Kevin has really turned the corner this year in terms of his work ethic and with his size and ability I think he’s really going to turn some heads with his performances next year.”
Schraven, likewise, was “extremely” pleased with Wong. He finished fourth in the butterfly (50.08). He secured sixth place in the backstroke (50.36).
“Though we are losing a fantastic senior class of boys’ swimmers, we also have a great class of eighth-graders moving up and with accomplished leadership from Kevin and Braedon, our team will remain a force to be reckoned with next year,” Schraven concluded.
USC’s young swimmers, however, have their work cut out for them because this year’s team set nine school records. The Panthers lowered the records in all three relays and all the freestyle events except the 200. The 100 back record also still remains.