Canon-McMillan swimmer looks for big finish at states
When Steve Leonardi makes the journey from Lewisburg back to Canonsburg after the PIAA swimming championships this weekend, the Canon-McMillan head coach hopes its with the same enthusiasm he experienced when he journeyed away from the University of Pittsburgh’s Trees Pool. Back on March 2, he celebrated as Cody Stewart claimed a bronze medal and set a personal record in the 100-yard butterfly.
“When a kid says they have never swum better than this my whole life, no one has ever said that that’s not good enough,” he said. “It’s a fun bus to be on for the ride home, when you have kids that have done their best time. When they did better than they have ever done before, then they are better than we have ever been.”
Not since Eric Forrester has Canon-McMillan seen a swimmer like Stewart. Forrester was one of the top swimmers in recent C-M history, earning WPIAL medals in the 100-yard butterfly (fourth) and backstroke (second) in 2011.
This season, Stewart broke Forrester’s school record in the 50 and 200 free. Competing in his second WPIAL meet, Stewart won the bronze medal in the fly with a personal-best 50.35. Penn Hills sophomore Kimani Gregory won the event in 50.17.
“I was seeded fifth,” explained the C-M junior. “I was hoping for a top three finish because we were only separated by hundredths of seconds. It was better than my best swim. So I was happy with everything.”
Leonardi was more than delighted.
“I and the rest of the team are justifiably proud of Cody’s performance,” Leonardi said. “He has reaped the profitable rewards of having the right attitude and the right work ethic.”
Stewart, who also placed sixth in the 50 free, swims year-round with the South Hills YMCA. He says that keeps him in shape and he faces good competition there but the WPIAL championships is the best meet he attends.
“It’s a different atmosphere and a great pool,” he said of Pitt. “That helped my time.”
Stewart anticipates facing Gregory again during the state finals set for March 15-18 at Bucknell University.
“The goal at states is to go for the gold,” Stewart said. “(Gregory) is within my range. I expect it won’t be the last time I face him but really the next goal is always to swim a new best time.”
During the district championships, Stewart was the only C-M swimmer to enjoy personal-best marks. Senior Turner Gill had a Top 12 finish in the 100-yard freestyle. Gill and Stewart combined with sophomores Brant Purcell and Liam Sulc for ninth- and 10th-place showings in the 200- and 400-yard freestyle relays.
On the female side, Abby Mele placed 13th in the breaststroke and scored the Lady Macs’ only points in the meet.
Baker qualifies
Cullin Baker joined Dan Mazur and Emma Simmers as only the third swimmer in Seton-La Salle High School history to qualify for the PIAA championships when he picked up two medals during the WPIAL finals held March 2-3 at Pitt’s Trees Pool. Baker earned a bronze medal in the 50-yard freestyle then secured sixth in the 100 free.
“Since Cullin is still learning a lot about the swimming world, I think he surprised himself when he placed in the top six in both events,” explained SLS skipper Meloni DiPietro-Guthoerl. “He has been training hard and it’s paid off.”
Baker is looking for a bigger payoff at the state meet, being held March 15-18, at Bucknell University. DiPietro-Guthoerl expects to see him drop more time in the 50 free. Baker’s goal is to make finals and place in the Top 16.
“Cullin has the talent, work ethic and mentality to do it,” DiPietro-Guthoerl said. “He has always been a great swimmer to watch so we are all very excited to see what he does at states.”
Big finish for USC
Upper St. Clair looks to make a splash and finish the season on a high note when it participates in the PIAA championships.
Both the girls’ and the boys’ squads finished third overall as teams during the WPIAL finals. The Lady Panthers scored 249 points while the boys racked up a 210 score. North Allegheny and Mt. Lebanon took first and second in the girls’ division while NA and Peters Township secured the top slots in the boys’ team standings.
USC has qualified all six relays, three for boys and three for girls, for the upcoming state competition. Nine girls have also gained state berths in individual events while six boys will also race separately, including Jack Fitzpatrick, who was a WPIAL champion in the 200-yard individual medley.