Mustangs’ Mahoney places 3rd in 200 IM at WPIAL championship meet
Laurel Highlands’ 200 medley relay finishes 7th in district
Laurel Highlands senior Kasey Mahoney, and teammates Lincoln Metheney, Drew Tupta and Aidan Swaney will have to play the waiting game to find out if they did enough to qualify for the state meet, but the quartet stood on the medal stand Thursday evening when action concluded on Day 1 of the WPIAL Class 2A Boys Swimming Championships at John C. Trees Pool on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh.
The four Mustangs placed seventh in the 200-yard medley relay in a time of 1:43.11, but the only automatic state qualifiers from the WPIAL are the race winners in each event.
Mahoney earned the bronze medal in the 200 IM (individual medley) with a time of 1:55.32 in the finals. He had a seed time of 1:59.75, and earned 16 points for Laurel Highlands. Mahoney broke the school record in the event.
Northgate’s Sam Cavanaugh won the race in 1:50.77 and Knoch’s Adrian Lavorini was second in 1:54.77.
Should any of the Mustangs qualify, the PIAA Class 2A Individual Swimming & Diving Championships will be held March 11-14 inside the Kinney Natatorium on the campus of Bucknell University in Lewisburg.
Four swimmers who won’t have to play the waiting game are the members of the Mount Pleasant boys 200 freestyle relay, who won the race in a time of 1:30.38.
Cody Fusco led off the race before Colby Emerick swam the second leg. Lucas Poole was third and Gunnar Probst brought home the anchor leg. Indiana was second in 1:30.87 and Shady Side Academy came in third at 1:30.99.
Uniontown competed in the event, but was just shy of the medal stand in 10th place. The Red Raiders’ quartet of Chase King, Patrick Foster, Ivan Rutter and Donte Rugola came through in 1:35.35. King (13th/1:52.18), Rutter (20th/1:54.90) and Rugola (33rd/1:59.05) were also in the 200 freestyle.
Belle Vernon’s Brady Melekovich was second in the 50 freestyle in 21.22.
Probst and Fusco will have to sit on pins and needles to see what their fate is for the 50 and 200 freestyle, as both finished in the top eight for a medal, but were not able to secure the automatic bid to the state meet.
Probst was third in the 50 freestyle with a time of 21.25, while Fusco was fourth in the 200 freestyle at 1:48.38. Teammate Tad Tompkins was 19th in the 50 freestyle (33.15). Tupta was 16th in the race in 1:52.56.
Poole was eighth in the 100 butterfly with a time of 55.74.
Metheney was 11th in the 200 freestyle (1:51.67).
Albert Gallatin’s Aaron Moccaldi (18th/2:08.51) and Belle Vernon’s Gaige Watson (19th/2:08.67) competed in the 200 IM.
The Vikings’ Colby Emerick, Owen Spires, Ben Marsh and Gage Burkes were 15th in the 200 medley relay (1:48.45). Uniontown’s Logan Davis, Patrick Foster, Cameron Soltis and Ethan Syner placed 19th in the event with a time of 1:52.17.
Connellsville is the lone Class 3A swimming team in the area, but the Falcons’ Vincenzo Stader, Cory Stanton, Corbin Hoffer and Dalton Shoemaker placed 16th in the boys 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:32.71.
Mount Pleasant had two girls relay teams reach the podium, as the 200 medley relay was fourth in 1:50.74 and the 200 freestyle relay was sixth in 1:44.01. The 200 medley relay consisted of Claire Keefer, Lainey Brown, Sadie Poole and Riley Shinsky.
Poole was joined by Mia Hribal, Giada Bando and Bentley Mizikar in the 200 freestyle relay.
Southmoreland’s Allison Stinnett placed third in the 50 freestyle in a time of 24.20. Shinsky was seventh in 24.55.
Laurel Highlands’ Addie Ciez was 10th in the 200 IM with a time of 2:18.41. Uniontown’s Hannah Foster finished in a tie for 24th in the event at 2:25.73. Teammate Addison Caruso was 26th in 2:25.89.
The Lady Red Raiders’ Joss Rutter (15th/25.5), Brown (16th/25.86) and Hribal (23rd/26.75) competed in the 50 freestyle.
Poole was 17th in the 100 butterfly (1:02.47) and Caruso 25th (1:05.72).
Belle Vernon’s Megan Shusteric was 11th in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:59.46. Albert Gallatin’s Caylee Psenicska was right behind in 12th place (2:00.06). Bando was 22nd in 2:06.40.
Shusteric swam the anchor leg of the 200 freestyle relay with the team of Josie Nikolic, Isabella O’Ware and Ali Watson. The quartet was 19th in 1:52.28.
Uniontown ninth grader Shelbie Covert swam the anchor leg on the 200 medley relay team that also consisted of Rutter, Foster and Caruso to an 11th-place finish in the event with a time of 1:56.57.