PT’s Komoroski defends her title
Top seed wins 100 freestyle
PITTSBURGH – Ava Komoroski of Peters Township is a sure thing. Especially in the 100-yard freestyle.
A junior, Komoroski came into the WPIAL Class 3A Swimming Championships as the defending champion. She also entered the competition as the top seed with a more than one second advantage over the rest of the field.
“I knew there was going to be competition, but I was pretty set in my mind that I was going to win it,” Komoroski said.
And, she did.
On Day 2 of the finals Friday at the Joseph C. Trees Pool on the University of Pittsburgh Campus, Komoroski won the race in 51.06, .01 seconds faster than her seed time.
“I’m very proud of Ava defending her title,” said PT coach Alex Hardwick. “It’s one of those things where almost being the winner is more of a nerve-wracking experience than being a fresh out of a pool swimmer.
Cameron Peretti from Woodland Hills was the fish out of nowhere that had sights on toppling the champion. The junior, who was seeded 10th, lowered her mark by more than three seconds and finished runner-up with a 51.61 time.
“I just went all out from the very start and I didn’t hold anything back,” Komoroski said.
Hardwick concurred.
“She was a lot of fun to watch,” he said. “Ava did a wonderful job taking it out with a lot of confidence, and this time, her last 25 was so much better than last year’s”
Komoroski agreed, saying that her “details” – starts, turns, under-water swims and finish – have improved.
“I just kind of put on my best performance, and I think that really made the difference,” she said. “Although I’m not fully tapered for this meet, I still wanted to win.
I won,” she added. “I got what I wanted.”
Komoroski wants to do well at the PIAA Championships next. Last year, she placed ninth in the 50 free and 12th in the 100 at the state meet, which will be held March 11-14 at Kinney Natatorium at Bucknell University.
“Yes, on to states,” said Komoroski. “That’s where I’m going to go for it all this time.”
That is a vow that Hardwick expects Komoroski to keep.
“I think her 100 performance gives her a lot of promise going into states,” he said.
During Day 2, the Peters Township boys reversed their fortunes. DQed on the final event in the first day, the Indians rebounded to finish fourth in the team standings.
North Allegheny won both the boys and girls team championships with whopping scores of 483 and 495, respectively. The NA girls have won 18 titles in a row and 30 overall. The boys have won four in a row and 20 overall.
In the boys team standings, Mt. Lebanon earned the runner-up trophy with 255 points and Upper St. Clair took third with 224. Peters Township finished with a 159 score.
“I think for the boys to be in a position where we were pretty much all best times, day one, till that last relay was tough. We finished the day in sixth but worked our way back to fourth place.
“We say, you either win or you’ll learn, so we had some learning yesterday. We had some winning today. For the team we have, it’s a great finish.”
The Indians finished strong with a third-place showing behind NA and Lebo in the 400-yard free relay. John David Lewis, Isaac Lee, Wyatt Stetor and Ryan Smith comprised the unit, which clocked a 3:12.47.
Individually, Stetor finished fourth (4:39.08) in the 500 free while Lee and Lewis secured seventh 14th in the 100 free.
Smith, 14th in the back; Lukas Hartman (10th) and Addison Bowers (14th) in the breaststroke added to PT’s team total.
The Canon-McMillan girls earned a point with a 16th-place showing in the 400 free relay. Charlotte Kauffman, Natalie Artz, Alaina Kauffman and Giada Panelli comprised the unit.
PT’s 400 relay team of Komoroski, Megan McChesney, Abigail Zinn and Addison Bowers placed 12th.
South Fayette was ninth in the 400 free relay. Abby Poe, Macy Koerner, Carrie Fisher and Barnes comprised the unit.
Individually, Poe finished seventh in the 500 freestyle while Barnes took 10th in the breast.
Class 2A
DJ Poe secured the silver medal in the 500 freestyle. The South Fayette sophomore finished in 4:44.53, behind only Northgate’s Sam Cavanaugh, who won in 4:35.89.
Poe’s teammate, Grant Logan, added eighth in the backstroke.
Poe and Logan combined with Kevin Wang and Alex Lou for 13th in the 400 freestyle relay.
Brady Malekovich from Belle Vernon was third in 48.20 while teammate Josie Nikolic finished fourth for the girls with a 53.14 mark. Nikolic also secured a seventh place in the breaststroke.
Also for the Leopards, Megan Shusteric placed 11th in the 500 free.
Ringgold’s Randolph Noll took 10th in the backstroke. He also helped the 400 free relay team to a fifth-place finish. The group also included Maxwell Wukovich, Korben Andrews and Ethan Rahr.
Northgate won the boys team title with 229 points. Indiana finished runner-up with a 209 score. Ringgold placed eighth and South Fayette followed in 15th position.
On the girls’ side, Indiana won the team title with 284 points. Franklin Regional was the runner-up with a 277 score.