Mt. Lebanon enjoys super swim at states

As Mt. Lebanon challenged for a trophy during the PIAA Class AAA swimming and diving championships, it was difficult to tell who was more enthusiastic; the athletes at Bucknell University or the Blue Devil fans watching the live feed at the high school on television.
“That was so amazing seeing all those kids cheering back home,” said Lebo skipper Tom Donati. “That certainly made us all so appreciative. This program is rolling. Lebo’s back,” he added enthusiastically.
Certainly Lebo’s finish among the Top 5 teams is a strong indication that the Blue Devils are making waves. The Lebo ladies took third overall and the guys finished fourth in the team standings with 146 and 138.5 points respectively. Powerhouses North Penn (243) and La Salle College (252) won the team titles.
“Top four in the states. Wow,” said Donati. “I don’t know when that has ever happened (at Lebo). It was a great effort and the girls were actually in it.”
After day one of the competition, the Lebo ladies were, indeed, within reach. They trailed by 11 points. “But, we knew it would be a tough second day. We had our work cut out for us. North Penn just had more power than we did,” Donati said.
Nevertheless, the Lebo ladies excelled. All three of the Blue Devils’ relays placed and Donati had no finer feeling than distributing medals to the third-place medley and 400 free relays. His daughter, Sophia, swam legs on those bronze-medal units.
“How awesome,” Donati said. “I got to hug my daughter. What a proud day for dad.”
Donati was proudest of how the Lebo ladies came together. While they headed into the state championships as the District 7 winners, they were without freestyle specialist Maggie Baker. She was supposed to compete in the 200- and 500-yard free races but two minutes before her event, while stretching, she caught her toe on a storage bin. The toe was nearly severed. Instead of swimming in the WPIAL championships, the qualifier for states, she was rushed to a nearby hospital.
“After that we came together as a team. These girls are so resilient,” Donati said. “They set goals. They fought hard all season and overcame adversity. They wanted to contend for a trophy (at states) and did. They had the highest finish out of any District 7 team. That is quite an accomplishment.”
A top three finish in all the relays was an achievement as well. The 400 free unit of Trinity Ward, Donati, Alison Shapiro and Hannah Bumgarner, lowered its own school record for the event. “They had an awesome swim,” Donati said. “Relays are always big and these girls were ready to rock ‘n roll.”
Lebo shook up the field from the start. The Blue Devils took third in the first race, the 200-yard medley relay with Angie Gyurina on the anchor leg. Emma Graham, Ward and Donati joined the senior. Shapiro, Bumgarner, Emma Buerger and Gyurina ended the first day of competition, duplicating the showing in the 200 free relay.
The four are all seniors destined to continue swimming in college: Gyurina at Northeastern; Bumgarner at Pitt; Shapiro at Johns Hopkins; and Buerger at an Ivy League institution, perhaps Cornell or Penn.
“They are all great students and great girls,” Donati said. “They wanted to go out well and they did. They were impressive at WPIALs and at states. The seniors were a big part of what we did. They were such leaders.”
Individually, Bumgarner medaled with sixth in the 200 free and Gyurina added eighth in the 50 free. Plus, Bumgarner (12th) and Shapiro (14th) reached the consolation finals.
However, the future of Lebo swimming belongs to freshman like Trinity Ward. She secured seventh in the butterfly and 11th in the backstroke. She is the WPIAL champion in the fly.
“While we are going to miss our group of seniors, we are building a foundation with our freshmen,” Donati noted.
Lebo, likewise, is losing productive seniors on the boys’ side. Brian Ramsey heads to Pitt in the fall while Jack Lanphear is leaning toward Texas Christian University. Gabe Nass, who returned from Colorado to swim again for Lebo this year, seeking an appointment to one of the service academies. Jake Bumgarner is looking to swim at Division III programs or study as well at Washington University in St. Louis.
“These guys have a can-do attitude. They are all hard workers. They are the reason why you coach. They are so appreciative of everything you do for them. But these seniors are special and losing them is tough because they have done a lot to get the program rolling,” Donati said.
With Jack Rice, the free relays rolled. The 400 unit, which also featured Jackson Kish, Nass and Ramsey, finished fourth. The 200 foursome, which also included Kish, Bumbarner and Sam Rozenski, finished fifth. Individually, Bumgarner, Rick and Nass all finished in the Top 15 in the state in the 50 free race.
Ramsey arrived home with the most hardware. After helping the 200 medley relay team of Lanphear, Kish and Nass take ninth place, he secured two silver medals. He placed second behind Hempfield’s Tre Fissella (1:50.78) in the 200 individual medley. In the breaststroke, he avenged his WPIAL loss to Lanphear as the duo placed 2-3. Ramsey posted a 54.94 time while Lanphear placed in 55.29. Both shattered the WPIAL record in going 1-2 at the district meet.
“I’m so excited for both of them,” said Donati. “To look at him, Jack doesn’t seem to have a worry in the world and Brian, if he had another few yards, he would have caught the leader,” Donati said, noting Wyatt Amdor’s 54.82 winning time.
“Jack and Brian are only going to get better and better. They have the experience, size and strength. They have the heart and the drive.”
Donati also predicts great things for Owen Johns. The freshman reached the finals in the diving competition and finished 16th overall. “He scored points for us,” Donati noted. “For a freshman, he is very impressive.”