WPIAL swimming
Wagner sets school mark in freestyle
PITTSBURGH – Connellsville junior Kendra Wagner not only won her heat, but also set a school record with a time of 1:55:41 in the Class AAA girls 200-yard freestyle Thursday afternoon on the first day of the two-day WPIAL Class AAA/AA Swimming Championships at the University of Pittsburgh’s Trees Pool.
“This was the best race I ever ran, and it really set a good vibe for me,” Wagner said. “I felt good and stayed strong the whole race.”
She knocked six seconds off her seed time in breaking the record previously set by Marie Nedley in 2006; much to the delight of head coach Ashley Yelinek.
“Kendra ran a great race,” Yelinek said. “It was great to see her break the school record and this set a good tone for the upcoming events later today and tomorrow.”
Wagner also anchored the 200-yard freestyle relay squad of sophomores Kaitlyn Nedrow, Leah Lilley, and Sierra Emert. They finished with a time of 1:47.06 for 22nd place. They swam over a second faster than their seed time of 1:48.41.
The Laurel Highlands girls also swam in the 200 freestyle relay, and the team of juniors Haley Dascenzo, Elizabeth Reilly, and Brook Mansberry, and senior Casey Dascenzo, posted a 1:45.73 which was almost four seconds faster than their seed time.
Laurel Highlands boys swam a 1:33.29 in the 200 freestyle relay for 16th place. The team of seniors Chris Kostelnik, Kevin Bane and juniors Seth Abraham and Lee Knoyer finished over three seconds faster than their seed time.
In the 200 medley relay, Knoyer, Bane, Justin Kostelnik, and Abraham dropped two seconds off their seed time by finishing in 1:44.29.
“I think we dropped times in all our events today, so that’s always good,” Laurel Highlands head coach Bill McCombie said. “I was happy with our effort today and we’re looking forward to all the events tomorrow.”
In the boys individual events, freshman Lucas Thomas completed the 100 butterfly in 56.93 seconds. Kostelnik, a sophomore swam a 2:00.23 for 13th place, and Bane finished the 200 IM in 2:11.45. Abraham finished the 50 freestyle in 22.71 seconds for 17th place.
In girls individual events, junior Haley Dascenzo placed 10th in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:55.46.
The Connellsville boys also competed in the 200 medley relay. The team of seniors John Payerchin, Nick Cicio, and Mark Tringhese, and junior Danny Kozel finished in 1:48.61. Tringhese also swam in the 50 freestyle and finished in 23.06 seconds.
In the Class AA morning session, Southmoreland sophomore Rachel Barzcyk placed ninth with a time of 2:01.61 in the girls 200 freestyle. She trimmed a full second off her seed time and missed a medal by seven one-hundreths of a second.
In the boys 200 freestyle, Belle Vernon juniors Tom Crawford swam a 1:54.61 and trimmed a second-and-a-half off his seed time for 14th place, and Brandon Luda finished in 30th place with a time of 2:01.57.
The 200 medley team of Luda, junior Scott Verner, sophomore Alex Yawney, and Matt Bronakowski, was disqualified for a false start. Bronakowski also competed in the 100 butterfly and posted a 1:02.20 for 31st place.
The Uniontown girls 200 medley relay team of Shawna Guthrie, Sarah Novak, Lauren Van Nosdeln and Kayla Goodwin finished with a time of 2:06.89 for 20th place, and the boys team of Greg Lerch, Bryce Markwardt, Torin Kelly and Chris Smith finished with a time of 1:53.46 for 19th place.
In the boys 200 freestyle relay, Belle Vernon’s Verner, Yawney, Luda and Crawford did much better by placing 13th with a time of 1:37.06.
Yawney also swam in the 200 IM with a time of 2:17.26 for 26th place while trimming over two second off his seed time, and Verner competed in the 50 freestyle, posting a time of 23.98 seconds to tie for 25th place.
The Belle Vernon girls team of juniors Mollee Tunney and Rebecca Wardle, freshman Gibby Kohr, and senior Mary Wardle finished 14th with a time of 1:49.04 in the 200 freestyle relay.
Wardle also competed in the 50 freestyle and posted a time of 26.10 seconds for 17th place. In the same event, Uniontown’s van Nosdeln finished in 26.40 seconds for 20th place.
In the 200 freestyle relay, the Uniontown boys team of senior Lerch, James Rabon, Smith and Kelly swam a 1:40.78 for 23rd place.
Lerch also competed in the 100 butterfly, posting a 1:00.02 for 21st place.
The meet will conclude this afternoon at Trees Hall with the 100 freestyle, the 500 freestyle, 100 backstroke, 100 breaststroke, and the 400 freestyle relay. Class AA competes in the morning session with Class AAA finishing in the afternoon.