Stewart sets Canon-McMillan school record at WPIAL swimming
PITTSBURGH – There were no shocking results in Class AAA after the first day of competition in the WPIAL Swimming Championships held Friday at the University of Pittsburgh’s Trees Pool.
North Allegheny dominates the standings. The Tigers lead the boys division with a whopping 248 points, 106 ahead of second-place Upper St. Clair. The North Allegheny girls are also in first place with a 179 score but are being pushed by Mt. Lebanon (147) and Upper St. Clair (146).
Three WPIAL records were set. NA’s Jack Wright won the 200-yard freestyle in 1:37.82. With Wright as the leadoff, NA also set the standard in the 200 freestyle relay (1:21.15). In the girls 50 freestyle, Gateway’s Olivia Livingston lowered her own mark by .12, finishing in 22.71.
There was, however, one pleasant surprise among the local competitors.
Cody Stewart shattered a Canon-McMillan High School record. The senior clocked a 49.08 in the 100-yard butterfly. There was only one snag to Stewart’s plans. He finished runner-up to Gregory Kimani. The Penn Hills junior won with a 48.45 time.
“Cody did a great job,” said C-M coach Paul Reismeyer. “It was a fantastic swim for him.
“We had hoped he’d win and so did he,” Reismeyer continued, “but it’s off to states. We’ll see how much better he can do there.”
With Stewart swimming legs in two relays, the Big Macs finished fifth in the medley and seventh in the 50 freestyle. Max Orlowski, Brant Purcell, Stewart and Liam Sulc comprised the medley unit. Nicholas Pirollo subbed in for Orlowski in the free.
Individually, Pirollo was 16th in the 200 free and Sulc was 18th in the 50 free.
While the top three placewinners in Class AAA qualify for the PIAA Championships March 14-17 at Bucknell University, the remaining spots will be determined by comparing the top 16 times in the state.
C-M anticipates having more than just Stewart qualify.
“The medley relay has a good shot,” said Stewart of the unit’s 1:36.39 time. “Overall, I thought our men’s and women’s teams both did well and the relays were a real good showing for us.”
Abby Mele picked up six points for the Big Macs with an 11th place showing in the 100-yard butterfly, which was won for the third year in a row by Trinity Ward of Mt. Lebanon.
Peters Township sat in ninth place in the boys standings with 54 points while the girls were 15th.
Stephan Hopta and Cassidy Sweeney submitted the top individual performances for the Indians.
Hopta was third in the 200 free. He also helped the medley relay of Bert Wang, Paul Luniewski and Ryan Rose to a bronze medley. Individually, Wang was 17th in the 200 IM; Rose, 15th in the 50 free and Luniewski, 13th in the fly.
Cassidy finished fourth in the fly. She guided the medley team of Carly Frizzell, Lindsey Glover, Cassidy Sweeney and Devon Milley to a 10th-place position.
Abbie Duncan secured eighth place in the 200 free and helped South Fayette’s medley relay team of Abbie Duncan, Lexi Ray and Hailey Poe to a 14th-place showing.