Broken record: Lady Vikings’ King wins gold with another WPIAL mark
PITTSBURGH – Mount Pleasant’s Lily King chased down her own record Friday after the junior repeated her gold medal in the 100 freestyle at the WPIAL Class AA Swimming & Diving Championship at the University of Pittsburgh’s Trees Pool.
Not only did King slice .37 seconds off the district record she set last year, but her winning time of 48.21 seconds was also a pool record.
“I was very excited about that. It means a lot,” King said of the pool record. “I remember coming here as a 12-and-under swimmer, and seeing the pool records up there and thinking how cool would it be if someday I could have one of those. I’m so excited I did it now.”
King doesn’t mind chasing down her own record times.
“Sometimes it seems it’s sweeter to break your own records than someone else’s. It really does show how much I’ve improved since my freshman year, to my sophomore year and to now. It’s a testament to the work that Sandy (coach Sandy Felice) and I have put in over the years. So, it’s always very exciting,” said King, adding about breaking records, “No, it never gets old.”
King won her fourth medal of the championship when she anchored the 400 freestyle relay to the bronze medal in a time of 3:38.06. Lainey Brown, Maddie Barrick and Riley Shinsky rounded out the quartet.
Teammate Kiersten O’Connor won her second individual gold medal after she touched the wall first in the 100 backstroke with a time of 55.37 seconds.
“It’s a great feeling. I really feel all the hard work we put in as a team and individually has paid off this year, which is, it’s a really rewarding feeling,” said O’Connor. “I was very nervous as one would be. I was really excited.
“This is my favorite event so it’s so amazing I get to swim this every year, basically.”
Mount Pleasant made a run to retain the team title, but Kiski Area unseated the defending champions with 218 points. The Lady Vikings finished second with 200 points.
“That is always a big thing I think about a lot coming into these meets. It’s never always about my individual swimming. I’m always thinking about what can I do in this race to help get my team the most amount of points that I can. It’s always about the team,” said King.
O’Connor wanted to do her part for the team by simply doing her best.
“I try not to worry about (the team standing). I just try to come in and better my time, and do the best that I can,” said O’Connor.
Brown finished 14th and Shinsky placed 23rd in the 100 freestyle. Shinsky was 15th and Kinneer placed 22nd in the 100 backstroke. Brown placed 14th and Kaylie Korpiel was 20th in the 100 breaststroke.
Belle Vernon’s Ava Bosetti made the podium in the 100 breaststroke after she finished sixth with a time of 1:08.74. Bosetti was seeded ninth, lowering her time by nearly two seconds.
“I dropped two seconds, so I’d say it’s a good time,” said Bosetti. “Well, I didn’t do the best in my 200 IM yesterday, so I carried the anger to today.’
She also medaled Thursday as a member of the 200 medley relay team.
The Lady Leopards’ Melina Stratigos was 27th in the 100 freestyle. Martyna Maley finished 31st in the 100 backstroke. The 400 freestyle relay finished 12th.
Connellsville freshman Kallee Maloy had a solid showing after finishing 12th in the 500 freestyle and 23rd in the backstroke. The Lady Falcons’ 400 freestyle relay finished 18th.
Laurel Highlands’ Addie Ciez placed 16th in the 500 freestyle.
Ringgold’s Natalie Noll placed fourth in the 100 backstroke with a time of 59.31 seconds.
The Lady Rams’ Emily Carpeal finished 13th in the 500 freestyle.
Uniontown’s Hannah Foster was 10th in the 100 breaststroke in 1:09.16.
Elizabeth Forward’s Sydney Boyd was 13th and Allison Glessner finished 27th in the 100 backstroke. The Lady Warriors’ 400 freestyle relay finished 19th.
Belle Vernon finished 14th in the team standings with 66 points. Ringgold finished with 43 points for 17th place. Elizabeth Forward was 23rd with 19 points. Connellsville (27th, 9 points), Laurel Highlands (28th, 7 points), and Uniontown (28th, 7 points) also placed in the team standings.