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Mt. Lebanon swimmer celebrates with gold medal

By Eleanor Bailey almanac Sports Editor ebailey@thealmanac.Net 4 min read
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On the eve of her 16th birthday, Sylvia Roy of Mt. Lebanon celebrated the milestone with a golden performance during the PIAA Class 3A swimming championships held at Bucknell University.

The sophomore won the 100-yard backstroke race on March 18. She clocked a 53.28 and edged State College’s Jade Castro by five tenths of a second.

Roy’s sister, Vivian, finished tied for fifth place in the event with a 56.61 mark. Vivian also added 10th in the 100 freestyle.

For Roy, it was a personal best time in her signature swim. And, unlike last year, when she was top-ranked as a freshman but finished fifth, Roy held up under the weight of again being seed No. 1.

“Last year, she had that deer in the headlights look but we worked on things,” said Lebo coach Tom Donati. “The pressure on Sylvia is unreal. She’s always been first in all her events but she showed what kind of a competitor she truly is.”

Roy won the preliminary heats by .02 second ahead of Castro, a senior. Despite some fatigue, she then swam a near perfect race in the finals.

“Sylvia’s a worker,” said Donati, “There were things she had to work on last year and she worked on those weaknesses and got better. She had better walls and underwater swims. She also got off the blocks well. She committed to improving and she did.

“Sylvia is a talented swimmer but a hard worker,” he added. “She’s just tough and swam great.”

Roy, who has already qualified for the 2024 Olympic Trials to be held next July in Indianapolis, also medaled in the 50 freestyle race. Roy secured the silver medal, finishing runner-up to Alexa Fulton of Downington. Both earned National Federation honor roll times. Roy clocked a 22.93, which was .25 off the pace set by Fulton.

The Roy sisters served as bookends on Lebo’s 200 medley relay team, which placed second behind State College.

Marley Reese, who was 15th in the breaststroke, and Adrienne Hagins also comprised the silver-medal relay. The unit clocked a 1:43.33, which qualified for a spot on the National Federation’s honor roll. State College finished in 1:42.99.

In the 200 free relay, the Roy sisters, Hagins and Reese took third in 1:35.92 time. Hatboro-Horsham and State College finished 1-2.

Upper St. Clair’s unit of Kaitlyn Connors, Blaire Gillespie, Amanda Aidar and Kendell Drew placed 12th in the 200 free relay. The same foursome also finished fifth in the medley relay.

Individually, Connors was fifth in the 100 free while Aidar placed 11th in the 100 butterfly.

North Allegheny won the girls team title with 194 points. It was the Tigers’ second championship in three years and eighth in school history.

Lebo managed fifth in the team standings with a 125.5 score.

“Sylvia and the girls, particularly in the relays, were amazing,” Donati said. “Gold is always fun but for us to finish fifth was awesome.”

In other girls competition, South Fayette swimmers Maddie Berg and Zoe Poe placed eighth and ninth in the 500 free. Poe, who won the consolations heat with a 4:58.63 time, also was 14th in the 200 free.

On the boys side, Andrei Tudorascu of Mt. Lebanon earned eighth in the 100 fly with a 50.87 time. He helped Lebo’s medley relay team win its B final with a 1:34.84 time. Ryan Frank, Jacob Burton and Chase Dustevich joined Tudorascu on the relay.

USC finished behind the Blue Devils in second in the B final. Ben Whiteford, Liam Tomb, Nazar Zoukovski and White Burns made up the Panthers’ medley relay.

Bethel Park’s 200 free relay team of Luke Kallaur, Trent Powell, Nathan Stutzman and Lenny DeMartino finished 15th.

Lebo’s 400 free team, which won the WPIAL title, finished 11th at the state finals. Tudorascu, William Stilley, Burton and Dustevich made up the foursome.

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