Best for last
LH senior Mahoney earns WPIAL gold in 100 breaststroke
Laurel Highlands senior Kasey Mahoney learned Sunday that he would be competing in four events at the PIAA Swimming and Diving Championships in Class 2A boys.
The PennWest Clarion commit had a solid WPIAL championship meet on Thursday and Friday at John C. Trees Pool on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh with a third-place finish in the 200-yard IM (individual medley), a seventh-place showing in the 200 medley relay, and the Mustangs were ninth in the 400 freestyle relay.
Despite the performance, Mahoney and his teammates had to sit on pins and needles for several days, as the other regional meets were completed throughout the state. The WPIAL champion is the only representative from District 7 who automatically qualified for the state meet.
Mahoney didn鈥檛 have to wait when it came to his premier event, the 100 breaststroke, as he topped the field at the district meet in a time of 56.64. West Allegheny鈥檚 Alex Aivalotis was second in 57.25 and Knoch鈥檚 Adrian Lavorini touched the wall in 57.99 for third.
鈥淚t feels amazing,鈥� said Mahoney when asked about winning his first WPIAL title. 鈥淚 feel so blessed, and I got the opportunity to do what I can, and I feel like I succeeded in that.
鈥淚 pulled away on the walls, but they did start catching up to me on the straights. My start wasn鈥檛 bad, but I felt like I went a little too deep. I have recognized the problem and can work on it before my next race.鈥�
Mahoney, who broke his own school record in the 100 breaststroke, which he first topped in ninth grade, won the race on Friday. He came into the race as the second seed behind Aivalotis with a time of 59.08. The West Allegheny senior had a seed time of 57.01.
鈥淚 was glad that I didn鈥檛 have to keep asking my coaches if they thought I swam well enough to qualify for the state meet,鈥� Mahoney said. 鈥淚n the other races, the tension is high when you have to wait a few days to learn if you did enough to qualify for the state meet.鈥�
Mahoney was in lane five during the 100 breaststroke and Aivalotis positioned in four as the No. 1 seed. The visibility for swimmers is not as clear as other sports, but Mahoney used his peripherals to keep a watch on Aivalotis.
鈥淎lex was in the lane right next to me, so I was pretty much in the middle of the pool,鈥� Mahoney said. 鈥淚 knew I had a shot in the last 25 yards and was able to touch the wall first. It is really about chasing your top time, but swimming in a competitive race like that helps you to break your PR (personal record).
鈥淚 also attribute swimming in a large pool at Pitt in helping me to get my PR and break the school record again. The facility is one of the best around and the energy is way higher than at a regular season meet. All eyes are on you and the best feeling is standing on top of the podium.鈥�
Mahoney will not have this week off, as he will swim for the Uniontown YMCA this weekend before he turns his attention to the PIAA Swimming and Diving Championships, which are scheduled for March 11-14 inside the Kinney Natatorium on the campus of Bucknell University in Lewisburg.
Mahoney is the third seed in the 100 breaststroke at the state meet behind Bishop McDevitt鈥檚 RJ Duffy (55.36) and Bloomsburg鈥檚 Grayson Reck (56.12).
鈥淢y all-time high school goal is to win a state championship, but if I can鈥檛 accomplish that, I would like to do better than what my seed time is,鈥� Mahoney said. 鈥淭he state meet is a little different than the WPIAL because you have a preliminary race in the morning, and must qualify for the finals.鈥�
Mahoney placed fourth in the 100 breaststroke last year at the state meet. He was fifth in the event as a sophomore. Mahoney qualified for the state meet last season in the 200 IM. He is the fourth seed in the event this year with a time of 1:55.32.
The Mustang quartet of Mahoney, Lincoln Metheney, Drew Tupta and Aidan Swaney swam the 200 medley relay in 1:43.11 at the WPIAL meet, and the same group finished the 400 freestyle relay at the district championships in 3:24.18.
Metheney was 13th in the 500 freestyle at the WPIAL meet with a time of 5:00.60. He qualified for the state meet in the event.
Addie Ciez qualified for two events in Class 2A girls at the state meet in the 200 IM and 500 freestyle. The senior and Frostburg State University commit was 10th in the WPIAL with a time of 2:18.41 in the 200 IM and 13th in the 500 freestyle at 5:26.57.
Uniontown鈥檚 girls 200 medley relay team of Joss Rutter, Hannah Foster, Addison Caruso and Shelbie Covert set a school record of 1:56.57 and finished 11th at the district meet. The Lady Red Raiders not only set the school record, but qualified for the state meet.
Foster was 10th in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:08.77, which was low enough to put her into the state championships.
The Lady Red Raiders鈥� Ellie Carei will be competing in diving at states for the first time in her career. Carei was fourth in the WPIAL championships on Feb. 20 at North Allegheny High School.
Albert Gallatin sophomore Caylee Psenicska qualified for the 200 and 500 freestyle races at the state meet after strong showings in the district championships.
Psenicska was sixth in the 500 with a time of 5:17.31. She received a medal for a top-eight finish in the event. She was 12th in the 200 freestyle in 2:00.06.
Psenicska qualified for the state meet last year in the 500 freestyle. She hit the state-qualifying-standard in both events this year.
Belle Vernon鈥檚 Josie Nikolic (100 breaststroke/1:07.40 and 100 freestyle/53.14) and Megan Shusteric (200 freestyle/1:59.46 and 500 freestyle/5:23.58) hit the state cut for Class 2A.
Southmoreland鈥檚 Allison Stinnett will compete in the 50 freestyle and 100 breaststroke at the state meet. She has a time of 24.20 in the 50 and 1:06.23 in the 100.
Mount Pleasant鈥檚 200 medley relay girls team enters the state competition with a time of 1:50.74. Its 200 freestyle relay checks in at 1:43.72 and the 400 freestyle relay has a seed time of 3:42.31.
The Lady Vikings鈥� Riley Shinsky has qualified for the state meet in the 50 and 100 freestyle in times of 24.55 and 53.88. Teammate Lainey Brown will enter the 100 breaststroke (1:06.16).
Ella Paul will compete for Mount Pleasant in diving. She scored 295.60 in the district meet.
The Vikings have two individual swimming qualifiers in Cody Fusco (200 freestyle/1:48.38 and 500 freestyle/4:54.68) and Gunnar Probst (50 freestyle/21.25 and 100 freestyle/47.83), who hit the state standard at the district meet.
Mount Pleasant鈥檚 200 and 400 freestyle relay teams qualified for states with times of 1:30.38 and 3:20.52 at the WPIAL championships.
The Vikings鈥� Noah Lahm won the WPIAL title in diving with a score of 320 for 11 dives.
Belle Vernon鈥檚 Brady Malekovich was the runner-up in the 50 freestyle at the district meet with a time of 21.22. He is the third seed for the race in the state competition. Malekovich advanced to the state meet after swimming 48.20 in the 100 freestyle at the WPIAL championships.
The Almanac Sports Editor Eleanor Bailey contributed to this story.