NA Splits With Seneca Valley, Lady Tigers Remain Unbeaten
The North Allegheny swimming and diving teams traveled to Seneca Valley in dual meet battle of WPIAL AAA heavyweight teams. This was a preview of teams that will be vying for the team crown at the WPIAL championships later this season.
The NA girls improved to 8-0 on the season with a win over Seneca Valley by the score of 101-80.
The NA boys suffered their first loss of the season, falling to Seneca Valley by the score of 78-108. They are 7-1 for the season.
Overall, the Tigers girls won 9-of-12 events including the 1-meter diving competition. The NA boys won 1-of-12 events. Several pool records were broken by athletes from both North Allegheny and Seneca Valley.
It was a competitive night of diving for NA against Seneca Valley. For the girls, junior Christina Shi finished in first, was the highest scorer of the evening, and set a pool record with a score of 291.30. Seneca Valley’s Ashley Felitsky, finished second, with a score of 266.25 and freshman Lola Malarkey placed third.
For the boys’ divers, Seneca’s Isaiah Clerkey took first with a score of 271.40. Junior Will Schenk finished in second and Seneca’s Sam Sheen finished in third.
The swimming events were dominated by the NA girls throughout the night.
They started off the meet with a convincing victory in the 200-yard medley relay with the team of sophomore Greta Mott, senior captain Isabella Dietz, sophomore Natalie Sens, and senior Brooke Glinski.
The NA girls had a 1-2-6 finish in the 200-yard freestyle by junior captain Lexi Sundgren, junior Delaney Kennedy, and junior Mikayla Tieppo. Freshman Brianna Reinhart had a season best time swimming exhibition in this event. Sundgren achieved a pool record in this event with her time of 1:54.43.
The NA girls finished a solid 2-3-4 in the 200-yard individual medley event with Dietz, junior Sophia Huwar, and freshman Ava Sharer.
In the 50-yard freestyle event, the NA girls placed 1-2-4 with junior Rebecca Melanson, Mott, and freshman Julianne Weaver.
The NA girls had another 1-2-4 finish in the 100-yard butterfly event from N. Sens, junior Vivien Li, and freshman May Coffman.
Sundgren had her second individual victory of the night in the 100-yard freestyle. Melanson finished second while Glinski finished sixth.
Kennedy secured victory in the 500-yard freestyle while Tieppo finished fourth and Sharar finished fifth.
The NA girls had a victory in the 200-yard freestyle relay with the team of Sundgren, Sens, Melanson, and Kennedy.
Mott finished first in the 100-yard backstroke followed by Li finishing third and Weaver finishing sixth.
With the team victory in hand the NA girls swam exhibition for the final two events.
They had impressive swims in the 100-yard breastroke event from Dietz, freshman Shea Mahon, freshman Erin Cuba, and junior Marissa Milliron.
Lastly, the NA girls finished with an exhibition victory in the 400-yard freestyle relay with the team of Sundgren, Melanson, Kennedy, and Mott. Their fast time achieved a pool record with a time of 3:39.37.
The NA boys started with a second-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay with the team of sophomore William Gao, senior Jacob Yarosz, junior David Shi, and junior Keller Sens.
The NA boys finished 2-3-6 in the 200-yard freestyle event with junior Zachary Jubeck, junior Eliot Maravich, senior captain Ethan Berty. Freshman Nicholas Klein had an impressive exhibition swim in this event and obtained a WPIAL qualifying time.
Gao had a season best time in the 200-yard individual medley and finished in second place. Shi and Yarosz finished 5-6 in this event.
The strong team depth of the NA boys showed in the 50-yard freestyle event with a 2-3-4 finish from junior Ben Gavran, K. Sens, and freshman Grant Regule. Senior captain Stewart Messer also had a fast time swimming exhibition in this event.
The NA boys captured 2-4-5 in the 100-yard butterfly with Jubeck, sophomore Riley Williams, and sophomore Owen Williams. Senior Hayden Klein also had a season best time swimming exhibition in this event.
The NA boys finished 2-3-5 in the 100-yard freestyle with Gavran, K. Sens, and Shi.
Freshman N. Klein had a strong second-half race in the 500-yard freestyle event to finish 2nd with a season best time. He was followed closely by Maravich finishing third and sophomore Josh Berty finishing fourth.
In the 200-yard freestyle relay, the NA boys placed 2-3-4. The second-place team consisted of Gavran, K. Sens, Jubeck, and Regule.
Gao secured an elusive victory against SV in the 100-yard backstroke. Freshman Gus Miller finished fourth.
The NA boys concluded the individual events with a 3-5-6 finish from Messer, Yarosz, and freshman Andrew Li.
In the final 400-yard freestyle relay event, the NA boys placed 2-3-5. The second-place team included Gavran, Maravich, Jubeck, and Gao.
The Tigers will host Mars for a home section match-up on Thursday, Feb. 10 at 6 p.m. This is the senior night meet and will highlight the NA seniors on the team.
