Mt. Pleasant enters PIAA swimming event on a roll

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, March 9, 2022 | 7:05 PM

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The Mt. Pleasant girls swim team captured five WPIAL championships and had numerous other medal-winning and point-producing performances last Thursday and Friday at Pitt’s Trees Pool.

It all added up to the program’s first WPIAL Class 2A title.

Now, they will join dozens of other swimmers from throughout the Westmoreland and Alle-Kiski Valley regions at the PIAA championships, set for March 16-19 at Bucknell.

The event heat sheets for the PIAA championship were finalized and released Wednesday morning at piaa.org.

The Mt. Pleasant girls 400-yard freestyle relay of juniors Reegan Brown, Trinity Graft and SaraJo Gardner and freshman Lily King broke a 20-year-old WPIAL record with a time of 3 minutes, 32.12 seconds. The relay is the No. 1 seed for states.

“It was so exciting to know that we were able to do that and now be able to go to states and, hopefully, do just as good, if not better,” Gardner said.

“It’s one of a number of exciting things to look forward to. We just have to keep working hard to be ready to go fast.”

After making some adjustments, the PIAA released the initial automatic and time qualifiers Sunday afternoon.

Some individuals and relays were relaxed knowing they had either automatically secured a spot by winning their event at their respective district meets or swum a time that was surely among the top performances in the state.

Others had a more stressful couple of days waiting to find out if their times fell within the top 32 for each individual or relay event.

On the initial WPIAL lists, alternates were set for each event to prepare for the possibility that an already-qualified individual or relay above them would scratch out of that event, allowing them to have new life.

Penn-Trafford sophomore Conner Alexander found himself an alternate for the 100 free and 100 backstroke.

But Wednesday morning, he found out he bumped up into the top 32 in the 100 free and will swim individually at WPIALs for the first time. He is seeded 30th.

Alexander, who swam in two relays at states last year, placed 10th in the 100 free at WPIALs with a time of 47.55.

“I was really hoping that would happen for Conner, but you never know,” Penn-Trafford coach Dave Babik said.

“When I got the news, I was really excited. I ran down from my room to the lunch room to find him and tell him the good news. (Fellow sophomore) Patton (Graziano) is thrilled also because these two have been training together the whole season. They can continue to train together and swim in a same event at states.”

Belle Vernon junior Jake Wessel also moved up from the alternate line into the field for the boys Class 2A 100 breaststroke. He is the 31st seed.

The Fox Chapel girls 200 medley relay of seniors Ariana Pasquella and Rei Sperry and juniors Talia Bugel and Sophie Shao are the No. 1 seed in girls Class 3A after they swam to a school record and WPIAL title last Thursday in a time of 1:43.90.

The relay leads the Foxes girls squad in several events at states. Shao is going for a PIAA three-peat in the 100 butterfly, and she is seeded second (53.85) overall to Annie Jia, a freshman from Hatboro-Horsham in District 1. Jia owns the top time of 53.12.

Shao also is seeded second in the 200 individual medley (2:02.51) after winning that event at WPIALs for the first time.

“I was so proud,” Shao said of the girls’ performances at WPIALs, which led to a runner-up finish in the team standings. “We improved so much as a whole team. I am going to be really sad when these seniors leave. We’re honestly just family.”

Individually, King will represent Mt. Pleasant as the top seed in the Class 2A girls 50 free and 100 free. She set WPIAL records in both at Pitt, a 22.74 in the 50 and a 50.03 in the 100.

In all, Westmoreland and AK Valley swimmers own top-three seeds in 10 events.

Kiski Area sophomore Eliza Miller is a first-time PIAA qualifier and will swim the 100 breast, where she is seeded fifth overall, and the 200 IM.

“I know I have some things I can work on for states,” Miller said. “I am excited to swim against some new people. I know it will be great competition. I just want to go in and swim my best and see where I can place.”

Class 3A will kick everything off next Wednesday and Thursday before passing the baton for the Class 2A meet Friday and Saturday.

State diving will be contested each day between the swimming prelims and finals.

The PIAA championships return to Bucknell after a one-year covid move to Cumberland Valley High School.

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: Belle Vernon, Fox Chapel, Kiski Area, Mt. Pleasant, Penn-Trafford