Westmoreland County Coaches Association Swimming & Diving Championships preview

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Thursday, January 26, 2023 | 5:16 PM

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Westmoreland County Coaches Association Swimming & Diving Championships

Friday and Saturday at Derry

Diving: 5 p.m. Friday

Swimming: 10 a.m. Saturday

Teams: Belle Vernon, Burrell, Derry, Franklin Regional, Greater Latrobe, Greensburg Salem, Hempfield, Kiski Area, Kiski School, Ligonier Valley, Mt. Pleasant, Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Southmoreland

Scouting report: Buy a ticket and settle in to watch Lily King. The Mt. Pleasant sophomore set four two individual meet records, and helped two relays set another pair, on the way to four event wins and a Class 2A team title last year. King broke marks in the 50-yard freestyle (23.17 seconds), 100 freestyle (50.78), and the 200 medley relay (1:48.56) and 400 free relay (3:34.69) also found their way into the record book.

King qualified for the 2024 Olympic Trials in the 50-meter freestyle.

In all, 10 county meet records fell last year.

Joe Gardner of Mt. Pleasant won the 100-yard breaststroke in a record time of 57.84.

Amanda McFaden of Franklin Regional won the 200 and 400 freestyles.

Franklin Regional won the girls’ 3A team title.

Franklin Regional and Hempfield tied for the boys’ 3A team championship.

The Hempfield 200 medley relay team of Jacob Dzurica, Liam Randolph, Cooper Hunter and Dominic Falcon set a record in 1:36.76. Randolph, Hunter and Falcon were joined by Ryan Murtha to capture gold in the 200 free relay, coming in with a record 1:27.33. Falcon also won individual titles in the 50 and 100 free.

The 400 relay team from Franklin Regional also was victorious, in 3:13.72. The team consisted of Owen Holm, Benjamin Holm, Thomas Holden and Aiden Bunker. Bunker is a Villanova commit. He also is the top seed in the 200 IM. The Panthers’ 200 medley relay is seeded first.

Patton Graziano of Penn-Trafford won the 100 backstroke in a record time of 51.49, while Clarion commit Henry Miller, of Southmoreland, won the 100 butterfly (51.43). Miller is seeded No. 1 in the 100 fly.

Hempfield’s Dom Falcon is No. 1 in the 100 free and 50 free. Eliza Miller of Kiski Area is the top seed in the 100 breast and 500 free.

Latrobe senior Hannah Polosky returns to defend the 1-meter diving title. She posted a score of 446.40 last year.

There will be a new boys diving champion with the graduation of two-time winner Nick Roddy of Ligonier Valley.

Lauren Bell of Latrobe is seeded first in the 100 butterfly and 50 free.

Past results and records here.

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

Tags: Derry Area, Franklin Regional, Hempfield, Kiski Area, Latrobe, Norwin