TIGERS TEAMS FINISH THIRD AT SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

(3/15/12) North Allegheny concluded a terrific swimming and diving campaign with a pair of third place finishes at the PIAA Championships at Bucknell University on Thursday.  The NA Boys took third with a team score of 144, while the Lady Tigers also took third with a team score of 146. 

For the Boys, the brother combo of Matthew and Zach Buerger again led the way as the two claimed bronze medals in the 100 Yard Backstroke and the 500 Yard Freestyle respectively.  The two were also part of a combo, which included Greg Arnold and Evan Staresinic, that claimed second place in the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay with a time of 3:06.00. 

The Lady Tigers were paced by Allie Pennetti’s third place finish in the 100 Yard Freestyle with a time of 51.21.  Katerina Borisov earned 14^th in the same competition with a time of 52.94.  In the 500 Yard Freestyle, Kally Vanderbilt added to the NA team score by finishing in fifth place.  Jacquelyn Du posted a time of 57.77 in the 100 Yard Backstroke which was good for 12^th place. 

North Allegheny concludes a highly successful season with WPIAL titles and PIAA bronze medals for both the Boys and Girls swim teams. 

BOYS FINAL STANDINGS
1. LaSalle College - 323.5
2. Hershey - 210
3. North Allegheny - 144
4. Upper Dublin - 119
5. Upper St. Clair - 117

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TIGERS MAKE STRIDES IN DAY ONE OF PIAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

(3/14/12) The WPIAL Champion North Allegheny Tigers took their first steps toward a PIAA title with a strong start at Bucknell University on Wednesday.  Day one of the state championships saw the Lady Tigers storm out of the gates with a first place performance in the 200 Yard Freestyle Relay.  The combo of Katerina Borisov, Allie Pennetti, Arielle Krigger, and Kally Vanderbilt posted a time of 1:33.78 to take home the gold.  Vanderbilt earned some individual accolades as well by claiming fourth place in the 200 Yard Freestyle with a time of 1:51.27.  Other strong individual performances had Pennetti taking third place in the 50 Yard Freestyle with a time of 23.18 and Jade Song finishing in 14th with a time of 2:09.73.  In another group effort, Pennetti, Krigger, Gabriella Borza and Erin Bishop took second place in the 200 Yard Medley Relay with a time of 1:44.70.  The Lady Tigers enter day two in second place, trailing Wilson by just 26 points.

The NA boys also performed well and sit in fifth place at the conclusion heading into Thursday's action.  The Tigers took third place in the 200 Yard Medley Relay with a time of 1:33.68.  The highlight of the days boys events took place in the 200 Yard IM courtesy of the Buerger brothers.  Senior Matthew Buerger finished in first place in the event with a time of 1:48.22 and sophomore Zach Buerger earned silver with a time of 1:48.55. 

The second and final day of the PIAA Championships gets underway this morning at Bucknell University. 

BOYS DAY ONE STANDINGS
1. LaSalle College - 182.5
2. Hershey - 95
3. North Penn - 87
4. McDowell - 70
5. North Allegheny - 69

GIRLS DAY ONE STANDINGS
1. Wilson - 134
2. North Allegheny - 108
3. Hershey - 105
4. Franklin Regional - 84
5. Upper St. Clair - 56

WPIAL SWIMMING AND DIVING - 2011-12

The Tigers will compete again in the WPIAL in Class AAA along with 29 other teams.  The WPIAL swimming program will be operated during the 2011-12 school year on a double dual meet basis for all section meets.  The boys and girls will swim at the same time at the same pool.  The swimming competitions are scheduled to begin on January 5, 2012, and must be completed according to the schedule.

National Federation scoring system will be in effect.  The scoring system used in the meet will correspond to the total number of available lanes in the competition pool, except where modified by prior mutual consent.  Section champions will be determined by the best won/loss record in section play.  In the case of a tie in section record for first place, all tied teams will receive a plaque. The dates of the PIAA Championships are March 14-17, 2012, site at Bucknell University. The WPIAL AA Diving Championships will be held at South Park H.S., on Friday, February 24, 2011, and the WPIAL AAA Diving Championships will be held at Pine Richland H.S. on Saturday, February 25, 2011. The WPIAL Swimming Championships will be held the week of February 27, 2012. The specific dates will be announced in September and will be established based on the facility availability as determined by the University of Pittsburgh.  The WPIAL 2012 Swimming Championship meet order will change. Class AAA will be run first with AA to follow. The time frames will be similar to previous meets. The 2012 WPIAL Championships will be scored to 16 places.

WPIAL QUALIFYING STANDARDS

A. Teams must have a minimum of 10 competitions (swimming and/or diving) prior to the WPIAL Meet, to be eligible to score team points at the WPIAL or PIAA Championships.

B.  Individuals must have been in uniform and available at 75% of the team contests to be eligible for post-season competition.

C.  In order to qualify for the WPIAL championship event at Pitt, all swimmers must achieve the minimum standards established by the WPIAL as posted on the WPIAL website at www.wpial.org.  These standards must be met in a WPIAL meet or in an invitational qualifying meet that is scored and uses an electronic timing device. 

D.  Diving - In order to qualify for the WPIAL diving competition, all divers must meet the minimum standards as posted on the WPIAL website.  The diving sheet, documenting the score and the degree of difficulty, must be signed by the referee and submitted with the entry form to the WPIAL.  Additional information is available on the WPIAL website.

BOYS' SWIMMING ALIGNMENT
CLASS AAA - 29 TEAMS

GIRLS' SWIMMING ALIGNMENT
CLASS AAA - 30 TEAMS

* - indicates Class AA school swimming in AAA section
(C) - indicates Co-operative