Canon-McMillan making gains in swimming
PITTSBURGH – In a time-honored tradition, Royce Tipper dyed his hair for the WPIAL Swimming Championships.
Tipper, however, was not one of the competitors. In fact, he’s not entered in any event being held during the two-day competition Thursday and Friday at the University of Pittsburgh’s Trees Pool.
No, Tipper is the Canon-McMillan High School coach, but he has the Big Macs fired up.
Of his red-cropped curls Tipper said, “I did it just for a little motivation for the kids. Making sure they’re having fun and keeping a good mindset.”
The Big Macs certainly were pumped. After the first day of racing, the girls found themselves one point behind neighboring Peters Township, 34-33.
In the team standings, Canon-Mac is 14th overall and the Indians are 13. Neither, nor any team for that matter, is within range of stopping North Allegheny from winning its 30th overall championship and 18th title in a row. The Tigers held a 279-206 lead over their closest competitor, Fox Chapel. Pine-Richland is in third place heading into today’s competition, which begins at 9:45 a.m.
Though Peters Township is noted for swimming in Washington County, Tipper said, “We’ve had a really good back and forth with them the last couple of years.
“We’ve been kind of chasing them but I think the girls’ side will be closing the gap,” said Tipper, who is in his fourth season at the helm. “The boys’ side is still relatively competitive. As far as our girls, we’ve really stepped up and had a really great showing today.”
Kaelyn Yates had the best individual performance. She earned a medal and placed eighth in the 50-yard freestyle.
The 200 freestyle relay, led off by freshman Charlotte Kauffman, also earned a spot on the podium. Kauffman and Yates combined with Giada Panelli and Alaina Kauffman, for eight place with a 1:42.39 time.
“Kalen had a great swim as did Charlotte and Luke (Irwin). We had multiple drops across the board,” Tipper said. “I’m hoping our free relay can qualify for states. They are within striking distance. It’s really, really fingers crossed.”
The WPIAL champions automatically earn berths for the PIAA championships set for March 11-14 at Kinney Natatorium on the campus of Bucknell University. Top finishers and relays that meeting qualifying standards in comparison across the state will also gain spots in the PIAA championships.
Regardless of what Canon-McMillan does during the second day of action and whether they advance to states, the Big Macs are already winners in Tipper’s book.
“The kids have been swimming really, really well. We’ve trained really hard all year,” he said. “They’re prepared, and they’re swimming up to the best of their abilities, and representing their community well. I’m really, really proud of them.”
In the boys competition, North Allegheny, like the Lady Tigers, are leading the pack with 287 points. Upper St. Clair (134), Mt. Lebanon (128) and Bethel Park (100) are in contention for the runner-up trophy.
Peters Township had hoped to be among the challengers for second, too, but a disqualification in the final race of the session dropped the Indians to sixth place and no points were added to their score of 80.
Peters Township head coach Alex Hardwick declined to comment on the race, in which the Indians could have finished fourth behind NA, USC and Lebo. Hardwick was also unavailable for remarks on his team’s general showing.
The Indians did submit some performances that gained spots on the podium.
Top showings included: Isaac Lee, sixth in the 50 free and Wyatt Stetor, fourth in the 200 IM as well as the medley relay team finishing fourth. Stetor, Lukas Hartman, Ryan Smith and Logan Hartman comprised the unit.
Ava Komoroski was the lone Peters Township girl to medal. The sophomore secured the bronze in the 50 free.
Class 2A
The Ringgold boys had three top-10 finishes, including a fifth by the 200 freestyle relay team, helping the Rams to eighth place in the team standings after the first day of competition.
Ringgold’s relay team of Randolph Noll, Ethan Rahr, Korden Andrews and Maxwell Wukovich swam 1:32.01, more than a full second better than their seed time. Andrew placed seventh in the 100 butterfly and Wukovich was eighth in the 50 freestyle in 22.64.
The top local boys finisher was Belle Vernon’s Brady Malekovich, who was second in the 50 freestyle in 21.22. South Fayette’s DJ Poe, who was third in the 200 free and teammate Grant Logan was ninth in the 100 butterfly.
The South Fayette girls had a handful of medal winners. Macy Koerner was seventh in the 100 butterfly. The 200 medley team of Koerner, Abby Poe, Cloey Barnes and Carrie Fisher combined for sixth place.
Trinity’s 200 freestyle relay team placed 12th.