Teams prepare for WPIAL diving & swimming finals
Editor’s Note: This is the first in a two-part series previewing the district diving and swimming championships. The teams included this week were the ones whose coaches responded to inquiries by The Almanac prior to deadline.
For high school diving and swimming enthusiasts, the next two weekends prove eventful because the WPIAL will be conducting its championships. Class AA diving finals will be held Feb. 26 at Moon while Class AAA will be held Feb. 27 at North Allegheny. The swimming championships will be held March 3-4 at the University of Pittsburgh’s Trees Pool with Class AAA events running from 10 a.m-12:30 p.m. and timed AA races from 3-5:30 p.m. each day.
In girls’ diving, the title is up for grabs as Maria Lohman has graduated. The Chartiers Valley product won four district and three state titles. She now competes for the University of North Carolina. Lohman’s departure leaves the door open for a new champion and Bethel Park divers Brionna Litwin and Maria Capozzi should be in the running. Both seniors, Litwin and Capozzi placed seventh and eighth, respectively, in last year’s finals. Additionally, Anthony Plutt and Sarah Fulton will compete in the diving portion of the competition for the Hawks. They are first-year divers.
“Maria and Brionna have had some great dives recently, so we’re excited to see what they can do at WPIALS,” said Kelly Kutrufis, who has been filling in the coaching responsibilities for her ailing husband, David.
“It’s great that Anthony and Sarah both were able to qualify and will get to experience WPIALS,” Kutrufis said. “We are excited to see what their future holds as BP divers.
Kutrufis added that coach Eric Becker does a great job preparing the Bethel Park divers all year. “So we know they all will be ready to hit the boards on Saturday,” she said enthusiastically.
Although small in numbers, the Hawks will be ready when it comes to the swimming championships.
Individual qualifiers for the boys, who posted a 3-9 record during the dual-meet season, include: Steven Sell and Nick Friday. A junior, Sell will race in the 100- and 200-yard freestyle events while Friday, a senior, will compete in the 50 and 100 free. The pair will join forces with Jake McCormick and Constantine Kallaur, both sophomores, in the free relays.
Among the Lady Hawks to qualify are: Maria Vighetti (backstroke), Krista Wycinsky (200 and 500 free), Aubree Stewart (500 free) Candice Chalus (breaststroke and 200 IM), and Kelsey Love (200 and 500 free). Love, Wycinsky, Chalus and Emily Russell combine in the free relays while Sarah Russell, Becca Doyle, Vighetti and Emily Russell spearhead the medley relay.
“As far as swimming goes, despite being a small team, we have a good combination of experience and youth on this year’s team,” Kutrufis said. “They have all been working hard all year. Now we are starting to clean up the little things and start to rest. We’re expecting everyone to go to Pitt and swim fast.”
At Canon-McMillan, expectations are to advance beyond the district meet. After a successful dual meet season-the boys finished 9-5 overall and the girls posted an 8-6 record-the Big Macs also are prepared to coast to new heights.
“We were very happy with our season,” said Lee Burnsworth. “I am very proud of our athletes and their accomplishments. We hope to get some individuals qualified for the PIAA championships this year,” she added.
The Big Macs have a record number of chances. They had eight individual swimming qualifiers. “That is the most we have had in the past nine years,” boasted Burnsworth. “All six of our relays qualified as well.”
Brittany Byer, Emily Sulc, Ross Barber and Austin Harrity captained Canon-Mac to its success. A PIAA qualifier and ninth-place finisher in the 200 free, Byer hopes to also duplicate that success in the 100 free. Sulc is a first-time qualifier in the breast. Barber and Harrity play pivotal roles on the relays, which will also be comprised of Ryann Stewart, Harley Steele, Courtney Buchanan, Courtney Bayne and Nicholas Pirollo.
While Jena Wybranowski has qualified for the diving, Maria Montouro (50 and 100 free) and Liam Sulc (butterfly) are first-time participants in the championships. Emily Georgetti (200 IM and breast), Turner Gill (50 and 100 free), Cody Stewart (100 fly and free) and Jacob Viviano (100 fly and back) are veteran performers.
In fact, Gill placed ninth in last year’s 50 free and just missed gaining a PIAA berth. He also combined with Barber, Stewart and Liam Sulc and shattered the school record in the 200-yard medley relay. The mark had stood since 1975.
“We are excited for WPIALs,” said Burnsworth. “We hope to place higher this year and get some top eight finishes.”
After a challenging dual meet season against powerhouses such as Upper St. Clair, Mt. Lebanon, Peters Township, Oakland and Central Catholic, Chartiers Valley is prepared to make a splash during the individual championships.
“If you looked at our win-loss record, our season would not stand out as impressive,” said Colts’ skipper John Nemeth, “but those meets give us a ton of competition, which is awesome and really puts in perspective what we are trying to build at CV. We are a young team and our primary goal has been to improve the level of swimming in our district.”
With nine WPIAL qualifiers, the Colts already have demonstrated progress. Last year only six swimmers made the cut.
“We are on the right path and slowly but surely we will get to where we want to be,” said Nemeth, who admitted that he doesn’t always possess the virtue of patience.
Oh but Miranda Marcucci and Roody DaGaro possess the patience required to put in the long hours of training. Their efforts have paid off as they are returning WPIAL qualifiers. Marcucci made the cut in all three free events, the 200 IM, fly, back and medley relay while DaGaro swam qualifying times in the 200 IM, 100 fly and free as well as the medley and free relays.
“Both are hard workers that understand what it takes to be successful in the sport,” Nemeth said. “I’d love to see Miranda move on to PIAAs for her senior year. She deserves it and that’s our end goal. Roody has his work cut out for him when it comes to states, but he’s already gone faster than last year and I’m excited to see what he can do at WPIALS.”
Nemeth is anxious to see Devin Raspanti’s and Michael Grunebach’s results. Both are returning relay swimmers. While Raspanti is individually qualified in the 100 back, Grunebach is also a diver. “He is our first male diver to qualify for WPIALs in quite a while,” Nemeth noted.
James Hicken, Josh Gardner, Rachel Jacobs, Hannah Lindh and Victoria Prado are all first-time WPIAL qualifiers. They will participate in relay action.
“This is awesome,” said Nemeth of their qualifications. “Hannah, Rachel, Victoria, James and Josh will get a taste of what its like to swim in such a big meet and we will build from there.”
Build is the key word in Nemeth’s vocabulary and the blocks are there as the Colts were competitive or won the majority of their meets, which included foes such as Baldwin, South Fayette, Carrick, Bethel Park, Canon-Mac and Trinity.
“Little by little we are getting to where we want to be,” Nemeth said. “Our goal is to have CV swimming compete at a high level with the other programs in the Pittsburgh area. It’s obviously a huge challenge, but we’ve taken huge strides this year and will continue to work hard towards our ultimate goal.”
In Class AA, two Seton-La Salle swimmers reached their goals of qualifying for individual competition. Sophomore Cullin Baker will race in the 50 and 100 free while senior Henry Pearce will compete in the 100 back and 200 IM.
Pearce will lead off the medley relay unit of Tegan Collins, Devin Gilfoyle and Grayson Kisker as well as the 200 free relay group of Gilfoyle, Kisker and Baker. Baker anchors the 400 free relay of Gilfoyle, Kisker and Tom Aumer. Matt Bissert and Joe Farnan, both seniors, are alternates.