Fillies edge Connellsville, Uniontown in triangular
John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard
The Lady Falcons’ Alyson Urie swims the backstroke leg of the girls 100-yard individual medley to help the Lady Falcons win the race with a time of 2:16.36 during Tuesday’s triangular swimming meet between Connellsville, Laurel Highlands and Uniontown at Connellsville Area High School.
Connellsville's Nicole Wood swims the backstroke leg of the girls 200-yard medley relay during Tuesday's triangular swimming meet between Connellsville, Laurel Highlands and Uniontown at Connellsville Area High School.
Connellsville's Madison Kirk springs from the board in the diving competition Tuesday during a triangular swimming meet between Connellsville, Laurel Highlands and Uniontown at Connellsville Area High School. Kirk finished first with a WPIAL qualifying score of 210.65 points.
John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard
Laurel Highlands’ Lexi Kostelnik takes first place in the girls 200-yard freestyle with a time of 2:00.14 during Tuesday’s triangular swimming meet between Connellsville, Laurel Highlands and Uniontown at Connellsville Area High School.
John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard
Uniontown’s Elizabeth Klingensmith won the girls 100-yard butterfly with the time of 1:01.08 during Tuesday’s triangular swimming meet between Connellsville, Laurel Highlands and Uniontown at Connellsville Area High School.
CONNELLSVILLE — The cacophony raised by the overflowing crowd in Connellsville’s natatorium Tuesday night made it tough to carry on a conversation, but the swimmers in the final meet of 2015 fed off the energy for a highly competitive meet.
The Laurel Highlands girls won the non-section triangular with 94 points, edging the host Lady Falcons, who finished with 86 points. Uniontown closed with 57 points.
The meet featured 20 WPIAL qualifying times, with all three teams sharing in the wealth.
The Fillies’ Lexi Kostelnik was coming off competing in the Pitt Christmas Meet last weekend, but managed to qualify in the 500 freestyle in her first attempt to do so with a time of 5:17.30.
Kostelnik opened the competition with a qualifying time in the 200 medley relay, won by the Fillies in 1:56.77. Gwyneth Hamilton, Kristen Bane and Rachel Roscoe also swam a leg of the relay.
The junior won the 200 freestyle in a qualifying time of 2:00.14 and made it 4-for-4 in first-place finishes in WPIAL qualifying times as the anchor leg to Roscoe, Bane and Hamilton in the 400 freestyle relay in 3:57.05.
“I did the 500 freestyle for the first time and made the qualifying time,” said Kostelnik. “I had about the same time in the 200 freestyle. It was okay. It’s not where I want to be.
“I wanted to make (the WPIAL time) in the 500 (freestyle). I wanted to focus on my turns and my underwater kicking in the 500. I wanted to work long and strong on my strokes.”
Kostelnik enjoyed the energy the unofficial county meet provided.
“It’s good competition. Everyone is racing well,” said Kostelnik. “All the different types of swimmers, there’s more good swimmers here. It’s always good competition. So many people here are my friends.”
Roscoe (50 freestyle, 26.20) and Hamilton (100 backstroke, 1:04.76, WPIAL) also had first-place finishes. Bane (200 IM, 100 breaststroke) and Roscoe (100 freestyle) had WPIAL-qualifying performances.
Connellsville’s Alyson Urie recently signed with California University of Pa. to continue her academic and swimming careers and showed the Vulcans what they’ll be getting with a first-place finish and WPIAL qualifying time in the 200 IM of 2:16.36. She swam the butterfly leg on the 200 medley relay with Nicole Wood, Tatum Detwiler and Carlee Shreve to a second-place finish in a qualifying time of 1:59.25. She was also second in the 100 butterfly in 1:04.11.
Urie commented on the heightened competition the triangular provided.
“There’s a lot more people to race. I know a lot of them. It’s fun racing with friends,” said Urie, adding before the outcome was decided that, “This is the first time we’ve had a really good girls team in a long time so we have a chance to win.”
Madison Kirk won the diving with a qualifying point total of 210.65. Detwiler, a freshman, won the 100 freestyle in a qualifying time of 56.24 seconds, as well as the 100 breaststroke in qualifying time of 1:09.79. Madison Berger, Lexi Koslosky, Ali Beal and Kelsey Primus won the 200 freestyle relay in 1:58.85.
Uniontown junior Rachel VanNosdeln didn’t have a first-place finish, but did have qualifying swims in the 200 medley relay (with Rylee Levander, Alexandra Meadows and Elizabeth Klingensmith) in a time of 2:06.19 and 200 freestyle relay (with Levander, Meadows and Klingensmith) with a time of 4:09.49. She was second in the 50 freestyle and third in the 500.
VanNosdeln said swimming the shortest (50 yards) and longest (500) is a bit unusual.
“They’re off and they’re weird, but it’s okay. I like them both,” explained VanNosdeln.
As for swimming against the county’s teams, VanNosdeln said, “I try hard all the time, but it’s a lot of competition. Tonight was about qualifying. (With the other two teams), it makes it easier to push yourself.”
Klingensmith made the time in the 200 IM with her second-place finish in 2:20.24 and won the 100 butterfly with a qualifying time of 1:01.08. Maeve Carei finished second in diving with a WPIAL qualifying score of 169.95 points.