Deer Lakes’ Morrison medals at PIAA Class AA swimming championships

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, March 13, 2019 | 11:14 PM

LEWISBURG — Adam Morrison swam in the consolation finals of the 200-yard freestyle at last year’s PIAA Class AA championships and finished 15th.

The Deer Lakes junior wanted more, and results during the season, including his runner-up finish in 1 minute, 42.52 seconds in the event at WPIALs, indicated he could meet his goals.

While his 200 free preliminary time (1:44.14) Wednesday was higher than he wanted, he rallied to post a 1:43.9 in the finals and secure sixth place.

“I think I raced the best I could’ve,” he said. “We’re kind of in an awkward time of the season where we haven’t really tapered much for this meet coming off WPIALs. I did my best, and I’m happy with my medal compared to last year. It’s a big improvement.”

WPIAL champion Andrew Pierre, a senior from Mars, led the District 7 contingent in the 200 free. He placed fourth (1:42.58).

Luke Mikesell, a junior from Clearfield, set a PIAA record in the 200 free, as he swam to a winning time of 1:38.31. Shady Side Academy graduate Trevor Scheid set the previous record of 1:38.35 in 2008.

Morrison returns Thursday in the 500 free and hopes to lower his WPIAL-winning time of 4:40.05. He is seeded third behind Mikesell (4:29.43) and Marian Catholic senior Danny Berlitz (4:30.41).

“I think getting a medal the first day sets things up pretty well for (the 500),” Morrison said. “I just want to keep my place the best I can and go faster. I know I can go faster.”

The Freeport girls 200 medley relay of freshman Alexis Schrecongost, senior Ariana Clark, sophomore Madison Moretti and senior Isabella Parks exited the preliminary swims 14th (1:53.22) and qualified for the consolation finals.

The Yellowjackets quartet returned for the evening session, knocked more than a second off their prelim time and moved up a spot to 13th.

Earlier, Knoch senior Kristin Jerich, diving at states for the second year in a row, bettered her seed and finished 10th with 318.10 points.

She also made the finals at last year’s PIAA meet, where she placed 11th.

Jerich was part of a WPIAL contingent that captured five of the top 10 spots. WPIAL champion Anna Vogt, a senior from Ringgold, led the way with her first state championship (421.10).

Also returning for the consolation finals Wednesday was Deer Lakes junior Noah Loper, who lowered his preliminary time in the 200 IM and took 11th (1:59.88).

Knoch junior Braden Zukowski added a 13th-place finish in the 200 IM, and senior teammate Matt Cummings placed 14th (2:00.89).

The Knights boys 200 medley relay of Cummings, Zukowski and sophomores Zachary Wilson and Michael Phillips finished 12th in 1:41.75.

Later, Zukowski, Cummings and Wilson teamed with freshman Caden Traggiai to take 15th in the 200 free relay (1:31.96).

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Deer Lakes, Freeport, Highlands, Knoch