LEWISBURG — Delaney O’Toole won four WPIAL championships — two individually and two more as part of relays — Feb. 26-27 at Pitt’s Trees Pool.
The Fox Chapel swimmer hoped to experience that winning feeling again, this time at the PIAA level.
After a runner-up finish in the Class 3A girls 50-yard freestyle and a third with the 200 free relay Wednesday in her state championship debut at Bucknell University, gold was hers Thursday in an event she hopes to dominate in her four high school years.
O’Toole’s time of 54.15 seconds in Thursday’s championship heat was two hundredths of a second off her WPIAL-winning time, but the view from the top of the podium at Kinney Natatorium was sweet nonetheless.
“It’s so exciting and such an honor to be called a state champion,” O’Toole said. “I felt it was the best I could do with how much I’ve been racing. I definitely gave it everything I had, and I am still really happy with my time.”
O’Toole recovered for her swim with freshman Ellie Lange and juniors Josie Stanczak and Charlotte Rusche in the finals of the 400 free relay.
The WPIAL-champion quartet went toe-to-toe with State College for the gold, and the District 6 champion, fronted by sprint specialist Molly Workman at anchor, won by the smallest of margins.
Workman out-touched O’Toole at the wall as State College claimed the title with a time of 3:24.98 to Fox Chapel’s 3:25.04.
The Foxes dropped 2.34 seconds from their time at WPIALs.
“I knew (Workman) was really good from facing her yesterday, so I was just looking to race her and see what I could do for my team,” O’Toole said. “We all swam great splits. I am still really happy with how we all did together.”
It was the ultimate clash of the champions in the finals of the girls 500 free.
Lange and North Allegheny senior Claire Bacu swam next to each other as the No. 3 and No. 1 seeds, respectively, from the prelims earlier in the day.
Bacu hoped to capture her second state title (200 free) in as many days.
Lange also sought to add the 500 to her 200 individual medley gold from Day 1.
The elite WPIAL swimmers went down to the wire as the spectators, fellow swimmers and coaches in the natatorium were whipped to a fever pitch with every stroke.
Bacu and Lange were even for much of the final length of the pool, and Bacu touched the wall first in a time of 4:51.34. Lange touched a half-second later in 4:51.82.
“It was really fun,” Lange said. “Claire is such a great competitor. It was really great to race her. I was happy that I was able to drop as much time as I did. I wanted to be positive and keep the energy going from yesterday.”
Stanczak earned points for the Foxes with a 14th in the 100 free (52.25), and junior Cameron Brindza finished 16th in the 100 back with a 58.60.
All of the points scored by the Fox Chapel girls in the championship and consolation finals both days added up to a third-place finish in the final Class 3A girls team standings.
District 1’s Upper Dublin and WPIAL champion North Allegheny separated themselves from the pack, finishing 1-2. Upper Dublin scored 257 points, and the Tigers finished runner-up with 225 points.
Fox Chapel edged State College for third by one point, 150 to 149.
“The girls swam super well both days, and I am really proud of them,” first-year Foxes coach Bailey Bonnett said. “Third place is one of our highest finishes. We had success in relays, which is always fun. The girls were excited to see how many we were able to bring to states this year.
“There were girls swimming at this meet for the first time. They all wanted to make sure they were swimming fast in the morning prelims and scoring those points. That was what was going to make the difference for us. It was such a combined effort, and with all of them coming back next year, I know they are hungry and looking for more.”
Leah Kunkle hoped for a higher finish in the 100 breast Friday, but the Kiski Area junior is still the best in the WPIAL.
She carried the WPIAL banner into the evening’s consolation final, and she swam to a personal-best 1:04.91. She dropped seven tenths of a second from her prelim time and won the consolation final for ninth overall.
Her time was faster than the seventh- and eighth-place finisher from the championship heat, but she was locked into a place no greater than ninth.
“After prelims today, I was kind of upset because I wanted to drop time and also make the ‘A’ final,” she said.
“Then I just decided to focus on the ‘B’ final and focus on my time. It gave me a lot of motivation to get a best time. When I looked up on the board and saw the 1:04, I was so happy.”
With one high school season left, Kunkle hopes to close in on the 100-breast school record of 1:04.05 held by now-Edinboro sophomore Eliza Miller.
“I am definitely going to work toward that,” Kunkle said.
“Eliza was such an incredible swimmer for us, and to challenge her record would be special.”
Freeport junior Isaac Barton got things going for the Yellowjackets on Thursday with swims in the para 50 and 100 freestyles
Swimmers from Class 2A and Class 3A schools combined for one heat in each event, and Barton started off his PIAA double-play with a second-place finish in the 100 free. He dropped two and a half seconds from his WPIAL time, placing second with a 56.85.
Barton then came back in the 50 free and took second with a time of 26.00.
Both were faster than his state-record swims from last year, but this year’s winner of both, Lower Merion sophomore Simeon Kohler, now has the records with a 54.14 in the 100 free and a 24.85 in the 50 free.