Shahan ‘golden’ again in PIAA finals
The winning margin wasn’t very much Thursday night, but the difference was enough for Belle Vernon teammates Ian Shahan and Robby Spekis to bring home the gold in the final day of the PIAA Class AA Swimming & Diving Championships.
Mount Pleasant junior Heather Gardner also had the “silver” touch for the second night in a row, finishing second in the 100 breaststroke.
Shahan, a sophomore, won his second gold medal at the state meet when he touched the wall in 45.39 seconds to win the 100 freestyle, about one-half second faster than his time in the prelims. Bishop McDevitt’s Josiah Lauver was a close second in 45.50 seconds.
Spekis dropped over one second from his heat time in the 100 breaststroke, touching the wall in 56.63 seconds for the 100 breaststroke gold medal. Holy Ghost Prep’s Andrew Iannacone was second with a time of 56.98 seconds.
The Belle Vernon boys finished third in the team standing with 86 points. Cathedral Prep won the team championship with 142 points. Lower Moreland was second with 95.
Gardner finished second to Gwynedd Mercy’s Annie O’Dare in the 100 breaststroke, winning her second silver medal of the championship in 1:02.77. Gardner dropped over one second from the prelims.
O’Dare’s winning time was 1:01.80.
“Yes, it was a very good time. It was my best time ever. I rebroke my high school record,” said Gardner. “I cut more than a second. I’m very happy about that.”
The two-time WPIAL defending champion wasn’t the fastest seed coming out of the prelims, though.
“I knew I was seeded fourth coming into the finals. I swam as fast as I could,” explained Gardner. “My (50-yard) split was perfect. I knew I had to take the first 50 (yards) out faster than the prelims.
“I’m absolutely happy about that.”
Gardner has her club meet in a couple weeks, then plans to take some time off in preparation for her summer meet schedule.
Elizabeth Forward junior Kaelyn McClain captured her second medal at the state meet when she finished fourth in the 500 freestyle. McClain touched the wall in 5:08.13, dropping nearly five seconds from her time in the preliminary heat.
Geibel Catholic’s Cole Dorobish won his second medal of the meet after he finished fifth in the 100 backstroke in 52.91 seconds. The senior dropped .30 seconds from his time in the preliminaries.
He was eighth in the 200 IM.
“It was great. I had really good friends there,” said Dorobish, who will continue his swimming and academic careers at Edinboro. “I felt confident going in, but, of course, I had the nerves.
“Those were my best finishes, by a lot, actually. I was happy with how I did.”
Dorobish had faster times at the WPIAL finals, but that was due to how he prepared for the meet.
“I swam faster at the WPIALs, but that tends to happen with how I taper,” explained Dorobish. “I was seeded third (100 backstroke) and fifth (200 IM), going in, but that was a little inflated. Others hadn’t tapered yet.
“I sneaked into the 200 IM finals. I was confident I could final place in the backstroke.”
When asked if he had a good final meet, Dorobish added, “I believe so.”
The Lady Warriors’ Hailey Yurkovich was seventh in the 500 freestyle consolation final and 15th overall in a time of 5:16.12, about three seconds faster than her time in the prelims. Marleigh Bennett, Yurkovich, Natalie Glessner and McClain finished second in the consolation final and 10th overall in the 400 freestyle relay in a time of 3:39.46.
Elizabeth Forward’s Gavin Guern placed 13th in the diving finals with 329.95 points. The junior was 12th after the semifinals with 241.45 points and 13th after the preliminary round with 241.45.
North Catholic’s Kyle Maziarz won the diving gold medal with 447.50 points.
Laurel Highlands’ freshman Kole Friel was sixth in the “B” final and 14th overall in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:43.29. Senior Jacob Johnson capped his career with the Mustangs by finishing fifth in the consolation final and 13th overall in the 100 backstroke in 54.89 seconds.
The Mustangs’ Jonathon Lewis placed 21st overall in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:02.12, slightly slower than his WPIAL time of 1:01.68.
Ringgold junior Jacob Niziol was fifth in the consolation final and 13th overall in the 100 breaststroke. Niziol’s final time of 1:00.87 was just under a second faster than his time in the earlier heat.
Teammate Jonnie McDuffie advanced to the final round of diving in his first state meet. The sophomore stood 15th after the preliminary round with 149.55 points. He remained 15th after the semifinals with 235.50 points, and finished 16th after the final round with 301.50.