USC swimmers look to celebrate more success at WPIALs
Upper St. Clair captured a Section 4 championship in swimming after defeating arch-rival Mt. Lebanon on Feb. 14 in the final dual meet of the regular season. The Lady Panthers won, 102-84, while the boys posted a 98-88 victory.
“It’s always an exciting meet between friendly rivals that bring out the best in each other,” said USC head coach David Schraven, “but it has a touch of sadness because it’s the last home meet for our seniors.”
The Panthers boast seven senior girls and eight boys. The boys posted a 9-1 overall record, with the lone loss being to North Allegheny. The girls finished 7-3 overall with losses coming against the Tigers, Seneca Valley and Fox Chapel. Both teams were undefeated in the section with 6-0 slates.
NA is expected to run away with the team championship when the WPIAL hosts its swimming championships Feb. 29 to March 1 at the University of Pittsburgh’s Trees Pool. The Lady Tigers have won a league-high 29 titles, 15 of them in a row, while the boys have 16 total, including last year’s crown.
“We have swum all the best teams,” Schraven said. “Lebo and USC are very competitive and will be neck and neck at WPIALs. I’d say top five for both, but nobody is going to touch NA.”
Individually, Kaitlyn Connors and Amanda Adair have been virtually invincible.
Connors has won an event at the WPIAL championships in each of her four years, including back-to-back 100-yard freestyle titles as a sophomore and a junior. A Duquesne recruit, she completed the WPIAL sweep, qualifying for each individual event, when she set a pool record in winning the 500 free in a meet at Peters Township earlier this month.
“Kaitlyn’s a competitor,” Schraven said. “She has all the physical tools. She’s confident and doesn’t like to lose. That’s a potent combination.”
Adair has dominated the IM and 100-yard butterfly during her career and also has completed the WPIAL sweep this winter, achieving all the cut times. Last year at the WPIAL finals, the Virginia Tech recruit swam all four of her events on the first day of the competition.
“Amanda swims a challenging double. It’s hard do that,” Schraven said. “We are hoping to get all three of our relays to qualify for states so we are hoping to figure out how to do that.
“Amanda is really dedicated. A hard worker,” Schraven added. She and Kaitlyn are always at practice and working hard. She’s serious but has a sunny personality and knows when to bring the fun to practice.
“Amanda and Kaitlyn have had great careers. Hopefully they finish strong and can go on to have successful college careers.”
Schraven also looks for standout showings from five more female qualifiers at the WPIAL meet.
Kendell Drew has been a two-tie PIAA qualifier in the backstroke and she has continued to excel this winter, owning a Top 7 time in the WPIAL.
Freja Kile is a long-distance freestyler, who will compete at Grove City College next fall, Clara Schenschack is another freestyle specialist while Evie Sullivan, who hopes to study engineering at Virginia Tech or Michigan, qualified for the breaststroke race for the second year in a row.
Despite a heavy workload, which includes cheerleading for USC’s athletic teams, Sophia Montoya is a middle-distance freestyler, excelling in the 200 and 500 distances.
“All of our seniors have provided great leadership and have set good examples for their teammates,” Schraven said. “We are looking forward to watching them finish their careers on a positive note. It has been great to watch their development. They have all been working hard.”
Among the senior male swimmers at USC are: Whit Burns, a sprint freestyler and breaststroker, Max Shipley, who made WPIAL cuts in all free events and the fly; Matthew Fibbi, a distance freestyler; Boshi Dong, who qualified for the WPIAL championships for the first time in the 500; Luke Bishop; Luis Quiroga-Castaneda and Pavel Schabanow, who has been a four-year WPIAL qualifier.
“Our boys are very solid. We have a couple that have an opportunity to score points at WPIALs and do well at states,” Schraven said.
Schraven has been particularly pleased with Fibbi, who has weathered illness, Dong, Bishop, Quiroga-Castaneda and Schabanow.
“Matt has had a challenging year but has come around. We hope he can finish on a positive note. Boshi is a super nice kid and great student. When he qualified for the first, everybody was happy for him. We hope he enjoys the ride. Luke is like having a coach on the team because he’s an encyclopedia, a math whiz, who can write algorithms and help us with lineups and opponents. Luis and Pavel are hard-working kids with great attitudes and who have come around at the right time.”
Carter Richie is USC’s other male competitor. A senior, he came out this year and dove for the Panthers, chalking up team points in dual meets.
USC hired a new diving coach and Todd Hillman has had an immediate impact as six Panthers qualified for the WPIAL championships to be held Feb. 24 at North Allegheny High School. The girls’ competition begins at 9:30 a.m. The boys dive at 1:30 p.m.
“Todd has done a nice job with the program. He’s started a year-round program and he’s hoping to start a youth program as well,” Schraven said.
Sophomores Delaney Burnette and Bella Meyer, a competitive cheerleader, along with freshman Livia Tranquilli, an accomplished gymnast, have earned spots in the WPIAL championships on the female side.
In addition to Richie, Kobe Yuyi and Carter Wells are USC’s male diving qualifiers. Yuyi is a junior and Wells is a freshman.
Schraven looks for a few more of his swimmers to make a splash at the individual championships.
Sophomores Nazar Zoukovski and Ben Whiteford both were PIAA qualifiers last year. Zoukovski swam the IM and free last year. He completed the WPIAL sweep but has yet to determine his events.
“Nazar can swim everything,” Schraven said. “He could make states in all events.”
Whiteford competes in the fly and back and is also a strong sprint freestyler. At 6-feet-6, he’s just growing into his body and getting stronger and faster every day, says Schraven. “He has a promising future,” he added.
Junior Griffin Tomsheck swims the breast and IM while Liam Tomb excels in the IM, fly and breast. Both have made dramatic drops in times and have great chances of qualifying for states, says Schraven.
On the girls’ side junior Maren Davis and sophomore Lauren Mittleider should contribute to USC’s scoring at WPIALs. Davis is a versatile swimmer that can compete in the IM and fly while Mittleider is distance freestyler.
“Like every year, we look to be big factors at WPIALs and states,” Schraven said of the Panthers.