2018 Herald-Standard All-Area Boys Swimming & Diving Team
200 medley relay: Belle Vernon
200 freestyle: Noah Barczyk, Connellsville; Tucker West, Belle Vernon
200 IM: Robert Spekis, Belle Vernon
50 freestyle: Jacob Johnson, Laurel Highlands
Diving: John Ek, Laurel Highlands
100 butterfly: Ian Shahan, Belle Vernon
100 freestyle: Jacob Johnson, Laurel Highlands
500 freestyle: Caleb Dankle, Albert Gallatin; Jonathon Lewis, Laurel Highlands
200 freestyle relay: Elizabeth Forward
100 backstroke: Ian Shahan, Belle Vernon
100 breaststroke: Robert Spekis, Belle Vernon
400 freestyle relay: Belle Vernon
MOST OUTSTANDING PERFORMERS: Robert Spekis, Belle Vernon; Ian Shahan, Belle Vernon
COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR: Belle Vernon
Honorable Mention: Riley Gilleland (Uniontown), Logan Kordich (Laurel Highlands), Jamey Siebart (Laurel Highlands), Dalton Swartz (Mount Pleasant), Cole Dorobish (Geibel Catholic), Ben Durant (Elizabeth Forward), Gavin Guern (Elizabeth Forward), Dylan Rice (Laurel Highlands), Dean Peterson (Connellsville), Ryan Kracun (Elizabeth Forward), Seth Andres (Elizabeth Forward), Jake Niziol (Ringgold), Ben Durant (Elizabeth Forward), Noah Gebadlo (Yough), Alex Miller (Belle Vernon).
NOTES: Spekis won the 100 breaststroke in a WPIAL Class AA meet record time of 57.80 seconds after taking gold in the 200 IM in the first session of the two-day meet. The junior won bronze in the 100 breaststroke in the PIAA Championships.
Shahan had an impressive opening to his high school career with the freshman winning WPIAL Class AA gold in the 100 backstroke and silver in the 100 butterfly, and then following up with PIAA silver medals in both events. … The Leopards’ 200 medley relay team of Shahan, Spekis, Tucker West and Alex Miller finished third in the WPIAL. The same quartet won WPIAL silver in the 400 freestyle relay and placed eighth in the PIAA Championships. … Rob Reda and his staff guided the Leopards to the Section 5-AA title, a third-place finish in the WPIAL Championships with 149 points and sixth in the state meet with 91 points. Belle Vernon had the highest finish among District 7 teams at the state meet. … Ek won his third consecutive WPIAL silver medal in diving. He placed seventh in the state final … Johnson won two individual WPIAL medals, bronze in the 50 freestyle and sixth in the 100 freestyle, and two more in relays. … Dorobish, a junior, medaled in both his WPIAL events, finishing third in the 100 backstroke and fourth in the 200 IM. … Durant (6, 50 freestyle; 7, 100 freestyle), Andres (T-7, 50 freestyle), and Guern (4, diving) all won individual WPIAL medals for Elizabeth Forward. The Warriors’ Faychak, Andres, Kracun and Durant won WPIAL bronze in the 200 freestyle relay and the same quartet finished fifth in the 400 freestyle relay. … Elizabeth Forward finished fifth in the WPIAL team standings with 146½ points. … Rice was the only local swimmer to win a medal in diving and swimming. … Gilleland just missed the medal stand in the WPIAL Class AA 100 freestyle, placing ninth overall. … Yough’s Noah Gebadlo (100 backstroke) and Ringgold’s Jake Niziol (100 breaststroke) both had seventh-place finishes in the WPIAL meet. … Peterson, a junior, advanced to the final round of the WPIAL Class AAA Diving Championships for the first time in his career. … The combined medal total accumulated by local swimmers, both male and female, was 50 with 39 WPIAL medals and 11 won at the state meet. … The Laurel Highalnds and Connellsville boys were just about to step onto the starting block for the 200 freestyle when the tornado that hit Uniontown knocked out power to the natatorium. The meet was moved to Connellsville the following afternoon for the competition of the season-ending section contest.