Canon-McMillan swimmers look to make waves at WPIAL finals
While North Allegheny is again expected to dominate the WPIAL swimming championships being held Feb. 27-28 at University of Pittsburgh, there will be a contingent from Canon-McMillan looking to make waves in Trees Pool.
“We had a super (regular) season, so our teams are looking forward to a strong finish,” said C-M coach Paul Riesmeyer.
The Tigers are looking for their 12th straight girls title in a row, but the Big Macs will be represented by Abby Mele. She is seeded in the 100-yard butterfly and breaststroke events. The senior earned a spot on the podium last year when she secured seventh in the fly and eighth in the breast.
“We are looking forward to her performance,” said Riesmeyer. “We expect Abby to improve in both events.”
This winter, Mele shattered the school record in the 200 medley relay with a time of 2:11.44.
The Big Macs boys swimming team qualified all three relays as well as four individuals for the district championships.
The 200-medley and 200-free relays consist of Max Orlowski, Cole Orlowski, Logan Stewart and Chad Isbell. Stewart, Isbell, Zach Boni and Parry Barnhart are on the 400-free team.
“Our boys relays are very strong again this year,” Riesmeyer said. “We are excited to see how those races go and see them strive for the state level.”
Individually, Max Orlowski is seeded in the 100 free and backstroke races. He finished seventh in last year’s championships.
“We look for him to improve upon that state-qualifying performance,” Riesmeyer said of Orlowski’s performance in the backstroke.
In addition to Orlowski, Stewart is qualified for the 50 and 100 free. Cole Orlowski is entered in the fly and breast while Nick Pirollo will compete in three individual events: the 50, 100 and 200 free races.