LEWISBURG — Scarlett Zolnak waited as patiently as she could.
But the adrenaline was building up inside, and she just wanted to race.
The junior anchor of the newly minted Franklin Regional state champion 200-yard freestyle relay dove in when fellow junior Aidah Holm, the relay’s third leg, touched the wall.
The final 50 was a blazing sprint between Zolnak and the anchors from District 1’s Villa Maria Academy and WPIAL rival Indiana.
In the end, FR was the champion with a time of 1 minute, 37.18 seconds, a second and a half better than their prelim time from earlier in the day.
Though not as fast as the relay’s time from WPIALs (1:36.80), the time was no less impactful.
“It was just building throughout. I was almost shaking it was so exciting,” Zolnak said of her turn to swim for her team.
“I was happy to be in that position. It was amazing watching my teammates (senior Magdalena Hull, junior Jamie Kociela, and Holm) move into first to give me that chance to bring it home.
“Our relay has been together for the past three years, since I was a freshman. For us to continuously improve every year, it’s really been amazing to be together and work hard in practice and for everything to turn out so well.”
Hull kicked off the relay and then gave way to Kociela.
“The excitement continued to build from my start on to everyone else,” Hull said.
“I wanted to get out and give us the lead. I made sure I had a quick but also safe start. It was just awesome watching my teammates after me and watching us win the title. There is no better feeling than to be a state champion with these girls.”
The championship capped a first day of strong swims for the Franklin Regional girls, who head into Saturday’s races at the top the team standings with 108 points. Shady Side Academy, led by a pair of state titles and a runner-up finish, is second with 88 points.
Freshman Anna Tomasic picked up 15 points for the Panthers with a fourth-place finish in the finals of the 50 free (24.08). The WPIAL runner-up was the second WPIAL finisher in the heat with Winchester Thurston’s Thea Siegel second overall (23.42).
“I was definitely a little nervous for my race, but after swimming the medley relay, I got super excited to be able to race again and go fast,” Tomasic said.
“It was such a fun race. I was really grateful to be a part of it.”
Hull was the sixth seed entering the finals of the 200 free, and she maintained that place in sixth with a time of 1:54.73.
“I am pretty happy with how I swam,” she said. “It wasn’t a best time, but I was happy with my place. It felt good.”
Holm contributed 15 points with a fourth-place medal in the 100 butterfly (58.30). She came into the finals heat seeded eighth.
The Franklin Regional 200 medley relay of Tomasic, Holm, Kociela, and Amelia Oates won the consolation heat with a time of 1:50.02, more than a second and a half better than their prelim time.
Zolnak took second in the consolation heat of the 200 free (1:56.19).
In all, Westmoreland swimmers brought home eight medals from Day 1 swims.
The Mt. Pleasant 200 medley relay of Claire Keefer, Lainey Brown Sadie Poole and Riley Shinsky grabbed the first medal of the girls session with a seventh-place finish in 1:50.14. The quartet came in as the No. 10 seed.
Southmoreland senior Allison Stinnett won her third PIAA individual medal with a seventh in the 50 free (24.33).
Last year, she swam the 200 IM on Day 1 at states and placed eighth.
Derry junior Alexa Darazio joined Holm on the medals podium in the 100 fly as she placed eighth (59.22).
Shinsky won the consolation heat of the 50 free in 24.28, slightly faster than Stinnett and Oakland Catholic junior Luci Mazurek from the finals heat.
The Mt. Pleasant girls 200 free relay of Brown, Poole, Giada Bando, and Bentley Mizikar placed 15th (1:43.67).
On the boys side, Belle Vernon senior Brady Malekovich won his first PIAA medal with a fifth in the 50 free. He dropped time from the prelims and finished with a 21.12.
Malekovich swam in the championship heat with Indiana junior Joshua Reed, and the rivals again were the top two from the WPIAL. Reed also dropped time in the final and won silver in 20.80.
Mt. Pleasant senior Gunnar Probst kicked off the swims in the boys 50 free by placing third in the consolation heat and 11th overall (21.60).