Feb 27, 2008 By Dave Stofcheck 5 min read

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PITTSBURGH – Matt Ramey couldn’t catch the rabbit Tuesday, but he did manage to grab a spot high atop the medals podium when all was said and done. The Southmoreland sophomore rallied over the final 50 yards and wound up second in the 200 freestyle, during the first day of the WPIAL Swimming and Diving Championships at the University of Pittsburgh’s Trees Pool.

Shady Side Academy’s Trevor Scheid – one of the WPIAL’s top freestylers in recent years – claimed the gold medal, and earned All-American honors in the process, with a time of 1:39.87.

Scheid’s time broke his own WPIAL record set a year ago by just over two seconds, and he came in a full two seconds under the time needed to qualify for All-American status.

“He is definitely the rabbit,” Ramey said. “He’s so fast … I like to try staying with him to see if it’s even possible.”

With Scheid safely ahead of the pack, Ramey trailed Shady Side Academy’s Frank Brown by three-quarters of a second midway through the race.

With 50 yards to go, Ramey still had to make up 0.65 seconds, which he did over the final two laps.

“If Trevor wouldn’t have been in the race, the outcome might have been a lot different,” Ramey said. “I think he pushed all of us. Near the end, I could see he (Brown) was really close and I knew I had to keep pushing because I really wanted to beat him.”

Another Southmoreland swimmer, freshman Aurelia O’Keefe, made a successful WPIAL debut, as she finished second in the 100 butterfly with a mark of 58.59.

O’Keefe’s time was just 0.28 behind Greensburg Central Catholic’s Andrea Marko.

“I’m very proud of both of them,” said Southmoreland swimming coach Laurel Highlands. “One being a freshman and one being a sophomore … these are outstanding accomplishments.

“Both of them worked hard all season for this.”

Along with their silver medals, Ramey and O’Keefe also earned berths into the PIAA Championships, held in mid-March at Bucknell University.

Belle Vernon’s 200 free relay team of Andre Maldonado, Jay Lewis, Brendan Lacey and Zachary Wardle finished fourth with a time of 1:32.58, and in the process, also earned a trip to Bucknell.

The top four places in Class AA earn automatic bids to the PIAAs, while the top three finishers are guaranteed berths in Class AAA. The PIAA will then set the remainder of the field based on times at district finals.

The Leopards’ 200 free relay team shaved four-plus seconds off its seed time.

“They were amazing,” said Belle Vernon coach Rob Reda. “We had an invite a few weeks back and we swam fast then. We were kind of trying to hit that time and maybe shave a few seconds off.

“It’s nice to see two seniors, a junior and a sophomore make it to states. They worked very hard this year and they deserve all the recognition they can get.”

Lacey, a sophomore, finished fifth in the 200 free even though he wasn’t seeded in the final heat.

“I’m very excited; he did very well,” Reda said. “He worked hard all season long. He was very fast today and he swam a very smart race.

“We were looking at the cheat sheet, and we were hoping for a shot on the podium. He pulled out a great swim. He did very well.”

In other Class AA action:

-Belle Vernon’s girls 200 medley relay team of Courtnee Basista, Megan Russell, Sydney Rusak and Emalee Tunney placed 24th with a mark of 2:06.12.

-Belle Vernon’s Cory Wyke, Adam Hamill, Aaron Mikula and Chris McConnell teamed to finish 16th in the boys 200 medley relay with a time of 1:51.56, while Laurel Highlands’ Joey Saylor, Kevin Bane, Chris Kostelnik and Zach Collins placed 25th in the same event with a mark of 1:57.22.

-Collins placed 20th in the boys 200 free with a time of 1:59.09, while Belle Vernon’s Lewis was 21st with a mark of 1:59.79.

-Maldonado finished 11th in the boys 200 IM with a time of 2:08.70, while the Mustangs’ Bane was 29th with a mark of 2:23.22.

-In the girls 50 freestyle, Belle Vernon’s Mary Wardle was 22nd with a time of 26.77, while in the boys 50 freestyle, Zachary Wardle placed ninth with a mark of 23.01.

-Geibel Catholic freshman Kelsey Zimcosky placed 14th in the girls 100 butterfly with a time of 1:04.03, while Belle Vernon’s Mikula was 16th in the boys 100 butterfly with a time of 58.79. Laurel Highlands’ Chris Kostelnik was 32nd, finishing with a mark of 1:03.19.

-In the girls 200 free relay, Basista, Mary Wardle, Tunney and Ashley Bronakowski placed 21st with a mark of 1:53.36.

-In the boys 200 free relay, Laurel Highlands’ Ben Zuchelkowski, Travis Kimmel, Randy Kitis and Saylor placed 30th with a time of 1:47.78.

In Class AAA action, Connellsville’s Alan Nedley captured sixth place and a trip to the medals stand with a time of 53.05 in the boys 100 butterfly.

-In the girls 200 freestyle relay, Uniontown’s Katie Patek, Abigail Altman, Jessica Dzara and Holly Nedley placed 10th with a time of 1:44.00, while Laurel Highlands’ Casey Dascenzo, Kelly Huston, Alyssa Welch and Angela Nepa were 18th with a mark of 1:46.53.

-In the girls 200 medley relay, Uniontown’s Patek, Dzara, Rebecca Smith and Nedley captured 12th place with a time of 1:57.00.

– In the girls 200 free, LH’s Nepa was 14th with a school-record time of 1:59.34, while Uniontown’s Nedley was 19th with a ma rk of 2:01.28.

– In the boys 50 free, Uniontown’s Keanu Glisan was 22nd with a time of 23.66.

– Uniontown’s Smith was 27th in the girls 100 fly with a mark of 1:04.61.

Action resumes today with the Class AA session beginning at 3 p.m. Today’s Class AAA morning session was postponed until Thursday because of an anticipated winter storm expected to hit the Pittsburgh area.