Deer Lakes’ Morrison swims to 15th at PIAA championship meet

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, March 16, 2018 | 10:42 PM

As the 14th seed for Thursday's Class AA boys 200-yard freestyle at the PIAA championships at Bucknell, Deer Lakes sophomore Adam Morrison felt confident he could make it back for the evening session in at least the consolation final.

His preliminary swim of 1 minute, 47.58 seconds, while slightly slower than what he produced in taking second at the WPIAL meet (1:46.70), brought him back for a second swim.

In the end, Morrison placed 15th overall in the consolation finals (ninth through 16th) with a time of 1:47.55.

“It wasn't as good as I swam at WPIALs, and it wasn't a (personal best), but I gave it my all, and I am happy with that,” Morrison said. “Just getting 15th, it still feels amazing.”

Morrison swam at states for the first time last year, when he placed 28th in the 500 freestyle.

“It was easier this year, because I came in knowing what to do, where to go and how I needed to prepare myself to swim,” Morrison said. “I also knew my competition pretty well having seen how fast a lot of them went last year. I was amazed at how fast my heat was. Even 13th and 14th went pretty fast.”

He is the 11th seed in the 500 freestyle Saturday.

“I feel so ready for tomorrow, not only in the 500 but with the 400 (free) relay, too,” Morrison said, “I think I can make it to the (championship) finals in the 500.”

Lancers sophomore Renee Robson also made her return to states Thursday, and she took 26th in the 50 free in a time of 25.06, up from her 24.65 she recorded in placing third at WPIALs.

“We're using that disappointment as fuel for tomorrow,” Deer Lakes coach Tori Maze said.

“Renee's a competitor, and she wanted to go faster. She still ended up 26th, so you can't be too upset with that. We'll see what tomorrow brings.”

Robson is in action right out of the gate Saturday morning as she is the 17th seed in the 100 freestyle. The boys prelims begin at 8 a.m., while the girls start at 10:45 a.m.

Sophomore Noah Loper made his PIAA debut in the 200 individual medley, and he clocked a time of 2:03.77, which put him in 22nd overall. He bumped up four spots from the 26th seed coming in.

“We were happy Noah was able to swim the 200 IM,” Maze said. “You always want to get to states in as many events as you can. He still kept a very consistent time at a 2:03 throughout the day. For him to stay on par with where he was at, I'm happy.”

Loper is back in action Saturday in the 500 free, and he is hoping for another time drop like the one he produced at WPIALs to finish second.

He is the sixth seed with a time of 4:48.26.

Loper and Morrison will team up with senior Alex Sharkins and freshman Max Hilliard for the 400 free relay that is seeded 18th (3:21.67). The quartet set a new school record in placing seventh at WPIALs.

Michael Love is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at mlove@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Mlove_Trib.

Tags: Deer Lakes