Mt. Pleasant swim star Lily King to attend national select camp

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, September 21, 2022 | 8:08 PM

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Fast-rising Mt. Pleasant sophomore swimmer Lily King will train with other future Olympic hopefuls next month and learn more about how to manage her budding career.

An elite junior competitor, King was one of just 51 girls in the 14/15-year-old age range nationally to get an invite to the USA Swimming National Select Camp on Oct. 6-9 in Colorado.

King will train and study at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

“I am very excited and honored about this amazing experience,” King said. “I know I am going to learn a lot and benefit from it.”

While competing at the Futures Championships over the summer, King’s 50- and 100-yard freestyle times were dropped into USA Swimming’s SWIMS database. From there, the camp selection committee could choose swimmers and extend them invites.

King, who will attend the camp with her high school coach, Sandy Felice, won PIAA Class 2A gold medals in the 50 and 100 freestyles last season and with the 400-yard freestyle relay.

The then-freshman set a state record in the 50 free (22.66 seconds).

That came after she won WPIAL gold in the 50 free, 100 free and 400 and 200 free relays.

Mt. Pleasant won the WPIAL 2A team title.

“I just want to keep improving on everything and post better times,” said King, who swims for the Mt. Pleasant Aqua Club. “You can always improve.”

The 6-foot King said she has not changed her practice routine with the camp only two weeks out.

“I am in the pool practicing every day for two to two-and-a-half hours,” she said, “and I lift (weights) three days a week.”

The camp also will educate swimmers about issues such as post-race recovery, the mental side of the sport, nutrition and other areas.

Olympic medalists from the Tokyo 2020 games such as Katie Ledecky, Bobby Finke, Lilly King (a different one) and Michael Andrew were select camp invitees as they rose to national fame.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Mt. Pleasant