Mt. Lebanon attempts to topple the Tigers
Nobody doubts that North Allegheny will once again find itself atop the team standings after the WPIAL Class AAA swimming championships conclude March 4 at the University of Pittsburgh’s Trees Pool. The Tigers have captured nine of the past 10 trophies for boys and seven straight for the girls.
“One hundred percent,” answered Mt. Lebanon skipper Tom Donati when asked about the odds on the Tigers walking away with the trophy. “NA will win the title again. NA is a good step above everybody else. Two or three steps above,” he said. Donati added that even if his Blue Devils joined forces with Upper St. Clair, which interrupted NA’s run in 2011, the teams’ combined efforts would not be enough to topple the Tigers. Additionally, as far as Donati is concerned, the Panthers are the squad favored to take the runner-up trophy, again finishing second to NA.
“Our goal,” said Donati of the Blue Devils’ objectives for the meet, which starts at 10 a.m. March 3, “is to hang out with the big dogs.”
Under Donati, the Blue Devils have. They finished third in both the boys’ and girls’ team standings last year while USC finished second to NA. Until USC is dethroned, then, as far as Donati is concerned, the Panthers are the team favored to take the runner-up trophy again, even though Lebo beat them in a dual meet this season.
“We are in the same position we were in last year,” said Donati, who expects Penn Hills and Hempfield to field strong teams, too. “We want to be a Top 5 team. Hopefully place higher than that,” he added.
Individually, Lebo has high expectations for placing a few swimmers on the top of the podium, particularly since they have tops seeds in several events.
Brian Ramsey and Jack Lanphear are 1-2 in the 100-yard breaststroke with seed times of 55.66 and 56.66. Donati anticipates a WPIAL record will be broken in the race. Expectations are high for the duo in the IM, too, as Lanphear (1:55.42) ranks second behind USC’s Kevin Liu (1:54.80). Ramsey enters with a 1:56.72.
“Brian and Jack along with Franklin Regional’s Tyler Stevenson and NA’s Gage Halle should be swimming for the gold as well as the WPIAL record in the breaststroke,” Donati predicted.
Jack Rice could emerge as a champion in the 50-yard freestyle. The junior is also expected to be standing on the podium somewhere in the 100 free, says Donati. He is seeded third in the event.
Regarding Rice’s “surprise” entry in the 50, Donati said, “Jack has natural speed. We are hoping putting him in that race will be a positive for him and the team.
“It’s a guessing game,” explained Donati of picking a line-up for the finals. “That’s why we, as coaches, are all crabby and stressed, when we are trying to figure out what to do. Kevin (McLaughlin) and I tried to do what was best for our team. But, we think Jack has a chance to hang gold around his neck in the 50 free.”
On the female side, Angie Gyurina has that opportunity in the 50 free. The senior is seeded first with a 23.79 time. Gyurina, who will also compete in the 100 breast, recently broke the pool record at Lebo in the free during a dual meet win against USC. She placed third in the race at last year’s district finals.
Trinity is another Lebo lady to watch in the meet. The freshman is seeded first (57.09) in the 100-yard butterfly and backstroke (58.20). “Her underwaters are great,” Donati said of Ward’s skills and added regarding her mental attitude, “she doesn’t like to lose. She’s swimming to win. She’s that kind of kid.”
Because AAA swims during the morning session and participants will be fresh, having not had to attend classes, Donati predicts “the meet is going to be special.”
“We are looking to post best times,” he said. “We are looking for significant drops.”
Because the girls will have benefited from the showing of Emma D’Orazio, Kalliope Bicket and Sydney Donati during the WPIAL diving championships, the Lebo ladies hope to close the gap in the team standings. “It will be a little closer but although the NA girls are not what their boys are, they still do it year in and year out,” Donati said. “Our divers really help us by scoring meet points for us. They carried us against USC,” he added noting Lebo’s sweep, going 1-2-3 in the dual meet.