NA Sweeps North Catholic In Season Opener
by Caitlyn Edwards
WEXFORD, Pa. — The North Allegheny High School Swimming & Diving teams opened up their 2021-22 season with two wins at home Friday evening. The girls swept every event to win by the score of 108-61 and the boys won by the score of 104-74.
The meet began with the diving portion from the 1-meter springboard. It was an intense battle for the top spot, but freshman Lola Malarky, who was diving exhibition, had a final dive with a score of 37.40 to boost her final score of 223.75. Malarky’s tremendous freshman diving debut, and top score of the night for the female divers, earned her the first Wright Automotive Diver of the Meet this season.
In addition to Malarky’s impressive exhibition showing, junior Maddie Whitewolf (217.45) took first place for the Lady Tigers with a score of 217.45. Eva Betz (187.35), and Faith Miller (130.40) also participated for the NA girls’ divers. On the boys’ side, Will Schenk took first place with an impressive score of 285.45. Alex Palermo chipped in with a score of 162.75 for the Tigers.
The quartet of Isabella Dietz, Shea Mahon, Sophia Huwar, and May Coffman kicked off the meet with a win in the 200-yard medley relay with their time of 1:53.80.
Huwar and Lexi Sundgren had standout performances for the Lady Tigers, each winning two individual events. Huwar collected first place honors in the 50-yard freestyle (26.54) and the 100-yard breaststroke (1:14.64). Lexi Sundgren won the 200-yard individual medley (2:13.69) and 100-yard backstroke (1:00.41).
Ava Sharar continued the domination for NA by winning the 200-yard freestyle by over almost five seconds with her time of 2:03.26. Natalie Sens claimed the 100-yard butterfly with her time of 1:00.53 and May Coffman took home the gold in the 100-yard freestyle clocking in a time of 58.34.
Greta Mott continued the strong performances by winning the 500-yard freestyle by over 25 seconds with her time of 5:23.59. The Lady Tigers relay squad composed of Delaney Kennedy, Rebecca Melanson, Sens, and Brianna Reinhart finished the meet with a win in the 400-yard freestyle relay, clocking in a 3:51.05.
The NA boys were just as impressive, claiming the top three spots for multiple events. The first win of the evening for the NA boys came from William Gao in the 200-yard freestyle with his time of 1:49.17. The next first place finish was not until the 100-yard butterfly when Nico Jacobs-Alacorn hit the wall first with his time of 58.66.
Camden Wright had an impressive high school swimming debut as he claimed top points in the 500-yard freestyle, clocking in a 5:19.32, just edging out teammate and second place finisher, Riley Williams finishing in 5:19.38. Keller Sens claimed victory in the 100-yard backstroke by just .09 clocking in a time of 55.52. Asher Jones completed the first-place finishes of the evening for the NA boys in the 100-yard breaststroke with his time of 1:06.82.
North Allegheny returns home next Thursday to host WPIAL rival, Mt. Lebanon. The meet is schedule to start at 5:00 P.M. with diving performing first. The meet will be broadcast live by the North Allegheny Sports Network.