Uniontown’s Johnson adds silver to treasure chest
PITTSBURGH – Still dripping from head to toe, Uniontown’s Kaitlyn Johnson drapes a towel over her diminutive shoulders and snakes through a crowded deck at Trees Pool Thursday. PITTSBURGH – Still dripping from head to toe, Uniontown’s Kaitlyn Johnson drapes a towel over her diminutive shoulders and snakes through a crowded deck at Trees Pool Thursday.
Bouncing off other swimmers at every turn, Johnson has places to go and not a lot of time to get there.
Trees Pool, you see, is a fire marshall’s nightmare. When the place hosts the WPIAL swimming championships each winter, it winds up being packed tighter than a tin of sardines.
After an “Excuse me” here and an “I’m sorry” there, Johnson manages to navigate a sea of bodies, ascend a short flight of stairs and finally arrive at her destination. She could have made this trek in the dark; it has become so familiar over the past four years.
When her name is called, Johnson takes her place on a stepped podium. She is then presented her bounty, a reward for another season of hard work.
A short time later, Johnson finds herself perched atop the winner’s stand again. And she doesn’t know whether to smile or cry.
“I was so happy,” Johnson said, “but I was also sad.”
The Uniontown senior competed in her final two WPIAL individual events Thursday, and as she has done so often over the past four years, finished near the top of the heap.
Johnson ended her WPIAL career exactly the way she began it, by collecting a top-three finish in the 50-yard freestyle in the Class AAA portion of the District 7 championships.
“I really don’t worry about what place I come in, I just try to better my personal bests,” Johnson said, after finishing in second place in the 50 freestyle with a time of 24.28. “And I didn’t want to do any worse than last year.”
Along with the silver medal, Johnson also earned a berth in the PIAA finals, which will be held later this month at Bucknell University.
Bethel Park junior Charlotte Brackett won the 50 free with a mark of 23.98.
After receiving her first medal, Johnson was back on the move. She competed in the 100-yard butterfly, and even though she didn’t swim in the final heat, Johnson wound up in fourth place (59.11), good enough for another over-sized necklace.
The WPIAL championships have been a treasure chest for Johnson. She has won six individual medals and two as part of relay teams over the past four years.
Johnson has had so much success, she’s even lost count.
“I’m not really sure how many it is now,” she said.
As a freshman, Johnson won a bronze medal in the 50 free. She followed that with a silver medal as a sophomore and another bronze as a junior.
During her sophomore year, Johnson was hampered by a nagging shoulder injury but still managed to earn All-State honors after a sixth-place finish at the PIAA finals.
“She has such a good drive and a lot of natural ability,” said Uniontown girls coach Molly Harbst. “With those two things, you can’t help but be successful.
“She came in here today keyed up and ready to go. I really wouldn’t even call it nervous. Everybody is nervous. But she knows how to control it. She takes it and puts it into a good place.”
Johnson’s high school success has reaped other rewards as well. She will continue her academic and athletic careers on scholarship at Clarion University.
In Class AA boys action, Southmoreland freshman Matt Ramey made a splash in his initial appearance at the WPIAL finals, finishing fifth in the 200-yard freestyle.
Ramey’s father, Jim, coaches Connellsville’s swim team, but because of work, missed his son’s medal-winning performance in the morning session.
Still …
“I’m so proud of him,” Jim Ramey said.
Matt Ramey, along with his sister Kaitlyn, makes up Southmoreland’s swim team. The pair do the bulk of their swimming as members of the Allegheny Mountain Swimming team, and qualified for the WPIAL finals earlier this season during a sectional meet between Connellsville and Laurel Highlands.
Back in December, the AMS squad competed in a Christmas meet at Trees Pool, which was, as always, stuffed to the rafters with swimmers, coaches and fans alike.
“I’ve been to a lot of big meets before, so I wasn’t so much in awe when I got here,” Matt Ramey said Thursday. “I had a goal to be standing up there on the (awards) stands.”
Which he was, after posting a time of 1:50.05.
“Being only a freshman, he will go far,” said Matt Ramey’s coach, Laurel Highlands. “It was probably the most nervous I’ve ever seen him. But I think he handled the pressure well.
“I told him to believe in what he’s done in practice and to go out there and have fun.”
Shady Side Academy’s Trevor Scheid won the event and earned All-American honors in the process with a time of 1:41.93.
Also reaching the awards stands Thursday were Jefferson-Morgan’s Erin Barbetta and Belle Vernon’s Stacy Hoffman. The seniors wound up tied for seventh place with a time of 25.39 in the Class AA 50-yard freestyle.
Laurel Highlands’ Dave Johnson finished eighth in the Class AA boys 50-yard freestyle with a time of 22.98 seconds.
“I’m happy with him getting a top-eight finish,” said Laurel Highlands coach Bill McCombie. “Now, we’ll play the waiting game and see if he makes states.”
The WPIAL’s top four places in Class AA, and the top three in Class AAA are guaranteed spots in the state playoffs. Other competing districts also receive a set number of guaranteed berths, with the remaining spots decided based on finals times.
Just missing the medals stand were Connellsville’s Alan and Marie Nedley. Alan Nedley finished ninth in the Class AAA 100-yard butterfly (54.09), while Marie Nedley was 10th in the girls 200-yard freestyle (1:59.06).
“So far, we’ve had a very good meet,” Jim Ramey said. “Alan placed ninth in the fly and had a personal best. Heidi (Halfhill) had her best time in the 50 free.
“Finishes and places take care of themselves. If you beat your time, that’s the marker. That’s the best gauge of how well you’re doing.”
Marie Nedley’s best event comes today in the 500-yard freestyle. Two years ago, she surprised the field and won a gold medal as a freshman, following that up with a silver last year.
The only Fayette County female to ever capture a gold medal at the WPIALs, Marie Nedley comes into this year’s 500 free as the sixth seed.