Vikings rule
King sparkles again as MP sweeps boys, girls PIAA swimming titles
Lily King无毛视频檚 greatness had already been established.
The Mount Pleasant senior made sure her legacy stood out like no other high school swimmer in the state of Pennsylvania Thursday.
King claimed yet another PIAA and pool record in recording her eighth individual state gold medal at the PIAA Class 2A Swimming and Diving Championships at Bucknell University无毛视频檚 Kinney Natatorium on the second day of competition. She became the first PIAA swimmer to win eight WPIAL and eight state individual gold medals with her dominating victory in the 100 freestyle, turning in a time of :47.31, almost four seconds better than second-place Cody Genevieve of Thomas Jefferson (:51.30), to best her own pool and PIAA mark she set in 2024.
While King sparkled brightest again 无毛视频� she was named the Class 2A girls Swimmer of the Meet for the second straight year 无毛视频� there were many other stars for Mount Pleasant which swept the boys and girls team titles.
无毛视频� King无毛视频檚 teammate senior Kiersten O无毛视频機onnor won gold in the 100 backstroke with a time of :54.61.
无毛视频� Senior David Mutter won the boys 500 freestyle with a time of 4:31.56.
无毛视频� Senior Joseph Gardner roared to victory in the boys 100 breaststroke for the second year in a row with a time of :53.83, breaking the PIAA record he set at last season无毛视频檚 meet.
Also reaching the medal stand among local swimmers were juniors Allison Stinnett of Southmoreland and Kasey Mahoney of Laurel Highlands, both in the 100 breaststroke.
Stinnett earned the bronze medal in the girls event (1:04.16) while Mahoney was fourth in the boys race (:56.86), topping the fifth-place medal he won last year.
无毛视频淢edaling on the podium two years in a row is a blessing from God and I无毛视频檓 eternally grateful,无毛视频� Mahoney said of his feat.
When the water had settled, it was Mount Pleasant sitting atop the standings in both of the team standings.
The Lady Vikings accumulated 189 points to top second-place Erie Cathedral Prep无毛视频檚 173 and earn their third consecutive state team championship.
无毛视频淓nding my career like this with my teammates is the most rewarding thing ever,无毛视频� King said. 无毛视频淓verything that I无毛视频檝e worked for these past four years has paid off. I have reached all of my goals for my senior season and I couldn无毛视频檛 be happier.无毛视频�
The boys race was much closer as the Vikings needed a third-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay (seniors Seth Painter, Mutter and Gunnar Probst and junior Cody Fusco), to pick up 32 points, which was just enough to bump them ahead of second-place Indiana, 198 to 197. Indiana, which won both WPIAL titles, was fifth in the girls standings.
Mount Pleasant coach Sandy Felice was thrilled with the pair of team championships.
无毛视频淭hrough the dedication and perseverance of the entire team and coaching staff, we reached a longline goal of the swimmers and coaches to get both the boys and girls teams on the championship podium,无毛视频� Felice said. 无毛视频淭he meet itself was very stressful but very exciting and rewarding. The swimmers rose to the challenge, event after event, until we compiled the points that we needed to win. The boys won by one point and the girls won by 16.
无毛视频淲e coaches couldn无毛视频檛 be more proud of our entire team.无毛视频�
King, who broke the PIAA and pool record in the 200 on Wednesday, ends her career with a combined 27 gold medals in the district and state meets. She has seven WPIAL and four PIAA relay golds to go with her 16 individual victories.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 grateful for my coaches and my teammates for making this happen,无毛视频� King said. 无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 extremely proud of all that we accomplished this year.无毛视频�
King also combined with senior Maddie Barrick, junior Lainey Brown and sophomore Riley Shinsky to take the silver medal in the 400 freestyle relay.
Felice lauded her prodigy swimmer.
无毛视频淚t was an honor and privilege to be Lily无毛视频檚 coach,无毛视频� Felice said. 无毛视频淚n addition to being an amazing swimmer, she also is very humble about her achievements. She has had a fabulous high school swimming career and I无毛视频檓 sure she will be a great asset to her future team and teammates at NC State, as she has been to our team. We无毛视频檒l miss her but we want nothing but the best for her in the future.无毛视频�
Also earning points for the Lady Vikings Thursday were Brown, who was 11th in the 100 breaststroke, and Shinsky, who was 14th in the 100 freestyle.
Southmoreland finished 27th out of the 57 teams in the girls standings.
Area boys who earned points for their teams were Fusco (15th, 500 freestyle) and Belle Vernon senior Tim Reda (15th, 100 breaststroke) and junior Brady Malekovich (16th, 100 freestyle). Laurel Highlands wound up 37th in the boys standings and the Leopards were 51st.
Malekovich also participated in the 50 freestyle but suffered a disqualification in that event, while Belle Vernon boys relay teams were 22nd in the 400 freestyle and 29th in the 200 medley.
Also among area boys, Fusco was 21st in the 200 freestyle, Uniontown senior Wyatt Dean was 22nd in diving, Painter was 25th in the 100 butterfly and Laurel Highlands freshman Metheny Lincoln was 28th in the 500 freestyle.
Other girls who qualified for the PIAA meet were Albert Gallatin freshman Caylee Psenicska, who was 20th in the 100 butterfly and 21st in the 500 freestyle, Belle Vernon sophomore Megan Shusteric who was 19th in the 500 freestyle and 28th in the 200 freestyle, Lady Leopards freshman Josie Nikolic who was 21st in the 100 freestyle and 23rd in the 50 freestyle, BV无毛视频檚 200 medley relay team which was 17th, Uniontown junior Hannah Foster who was 21st in the breaststroke and Laurel Highlands junior Addie Ciez who was 22nd in the 500 freestyle.