Delaney O’Toole
School: Fox Chapel
Class: Freshman
Sport: Swimming
Claim to fame: O’Toole had a successful PIAA championship meet, grabbing second place in the 50 free and third in the 200 free relay Wednesday. On Thursday, she swam a time of 54.15 seconds to win gold in the 100 backstroke. O’Toole also helped the Foxes’ 400 free relay take silver with a time of 3:25.04. She grabbed four total gold medals at the WPIAL swimming championships Feb. 26-27 at Pitt’s Trees Pool. She was the anchor in both the girls’ 200 medley relay and the 400 free relay. The 200 medley posted a time of 1:43.94 and the 400 free a time of 3:27.38. O’Toole took first in her individual events with a time of 22.97 in the 50 free and a 54.13 in the 100 back.
How excited were you to head into your first state meet?
I was really excited because I knew that with my team, and everything I had heard good things about it in the past, that it was going to be real fun.
Any nerves at all?
A little bit, but not that many.
How did you feel going in Wednesday?
Prelims were good and I felt we did a good job in our swims. Going into finals I knew Molly Workman was a really good swimmer, so I was just looking to race her. I was really happy with how we swam in the relay.
Thursday is when you took home a gold medal in the 100 backstroke. What was going through your head after that event?
Whenever I finished, I was really excited because I knew that all the girls there were really good athletes. Being able to race them and look up and see I got first was such a surreal moment.
Then the 400 free relay came in a close second. How do you feel you swam?
I could see my teammates having good times. Their splits were really good. I knew their anchor, Molly, had a good 100 free time. We dove in a little before them and I was just racing to see who could get to the wall first.
When did you get started in swimming?
I was 3 years old. My two older sisters were swimmers, so it was always something I wanted to follow in their footsteps with.
Between WPIALs and the PIAAs, you brought home a lot of hardware in the last three weeks. Where will you keep those medals?
I have curtain rods hung up on the walls in my room, so I just add more and more to them. It’s something my family has always done since we were little.
Do you want to take a guess at how many medals you have total on those curtain rods?
I have three curtain rods and they’re all pretty full. I would say about a couple hundred.
How many competitions or events do you swim in a year?
It’s different in the high school season because there are a lot of dual meets. But in club, it’s like five big meets a season which makes it 10 a year because there’s the long course season and the short course season.
Did you have nerves going into the WPIAL championships?
I was very nervous for that.
How do you find a way to stay loose and relaxed?
I listen to music and think about all the training I have done and I just have to go out there and do my best and what happens, happens.
You shaved 0.19 seconds off your seed time in the 50 free at WPIALs. How rewarding was that for you to see that time on the board after all your hard work this season?
It was very exciting. Breaking 23 seconds had been a goal of mine for a long time. Seeing that I finally broke that barrier was a good feeling.
Then on Day 2, you took off 3.80 seconds from your seed time in the 100 back. How surprised were you when you saw that time?
My personal best time was actually faster than the time I was seeded with. It was only about a second off my personal best, but I was still excited about the drop in time. I believe my personal best was a 54 high or a 55 low. Not 100 percent sure.
Any pressure on you as the anchor in both relay teams, or is that more of a confidence boost, knowing coach and your teammates trust you?
It’s a little bit of pressure, but not the kind that other people put on me. It’s more of me in my own head. It’s really exciting going in as the anchor because I feel I race better at the end.
What was your reaction seeing the team place second overall in the competition?
I knew we had a chance to be top three with how well we had been placing. Getting second to North Allegheny, with them being such a big team, it was very exciting.
What did you learn from your varsity experience?
The main thing I learned was how important it is to have good friendships on your team and good sportsmanship because that can take your racing a long way.
What were your goals coming into this season?
Make WPIALs in a few events, hopefully make states. I wanted our relays to perform really well and individually I wanted to shoot for best times.
Favorite hobbies outside of swimming?
I enjoy plying volleyball. I played a little bit last year for a club team, but I don’t play anymore. I enjoy spending time with my friends and family.
Favorite food?
Pasta.
Do you have a favorite subject in school?
Math. My mom is a math teacher, and I enjoy the problem-solving aspect of it.
Evan Moore
School: Deer Lakes
Class: Junior
Sport: Basketball
Claim to fame: Moore produced a double-double with 30 points and 12 rebounds to lead Deer Lakes (13-14) in a 67-47 win over District 6 champion Huntingdon in the first round of the PIAA Class 4A playoffs. He then had 17 points and five rebounds to help guide the Lancers to a win over Hickory in the second round. In the quarterfinal round against Obama Academy on Friday, Moore led the Lancers with 25 points in a loss.
You got to within five points at the end of the third quarter against Obama Academy but couldn’t close the gap in the fourth. What caused you guys to come up short?
We played zone a lot of the game because they weren’t that good of a shooting team. They held the ball a lot in the halfcourt, so that made it hard for us to get the ball back and chip away at their lead.
Sort of a weird situation where you were set to play at North Allegheny, but because of the wind the gym lost power and both teams had to travel to Norwin. What was that like?
We had a whole other hour before we had to play and we were already to go at NA. Weird how we were warm and ready to go, had a cool down on the bus ride, then had to get ramped up again.
That was a very competitive game against Hickory in the second round. You led the entire way, but it was close at the end. What was it that helped you win?
We did really good at rebounding, boxing out and pushing in transition. We got a lot of easy looks and scoring.
Not a hot start for the team at the free-throw line, but your team hit 12 of 14 at the end to pull away. How did you flip that switch?
We knew we had to make our foul shots if we wanted to win that game. That was the discussion at halftime and we came out and starting hitting them.
Their leading scorer, Trevor Borowicz, scored 23 points in the previous round, but you guys held him to just 14. What went into shutting him down?
If he got the ball in the post, it was our solution to double team him with help from the back side. It stunted how he wanted to operate in the paint and he just didn’t get many buckets to fall.
What was going through your head the majority of the third quarter, a time when you sat with three fouls?
I was believing in our team that we weren’t going to give up, weren’t going to go away easily and come away with the win.
Was that a career night for you in the game against Huntingdon?
Yeah, it was my best game this year, getting a double-double. I had scored 30 points earlier in this season, but never had I paired that point total with 12 rebounds.
Once you get on a roll pouring in buckets it seems you can’t be stopped. When did you start really getting in that zone against Huntingdon?
We couldn’t miss. We were getting open looks and all our plays were working. They just couldn’t stop us.
At one-point you were up by 21 points in the first quarter and then 30 late in the game. How did it feel to be able to win by such a margin?
It felt good to not have a close game for the first time in a while. We were playing very relaxed.
How were you guys able to shut down their top scorer, Elliot Guisler?
They had a big man and he couldn’t shoot. I was guarding him and every time he drove, we had help defense on him every time.
After a long layoff in between the end of the WPIALs and the start of the PIAAs, what did you do to keep fresh and focused?
We just kept amping it up in practice, working together, sharpening our defense and remaining close-knit as a team.
What did you do on that two-hour bus ride to the Huntingdon game? Catch a nap?
I did nap on the way over. The bus didn’t have air conditioning on the way up, so it was very hot on the bus, we were all sweating. I don’t know how, but they got it fixed for the ride back and I wish it was the opposite — get that AC on the way up.
After deep playoff run this year, what are your feelings on how well you played in the postseason?
After the regular season, when we lost to Highlands, we knew we weren’t going to get a good seed, so we knew we had to play our best. No one could really get to us and we just kept going, kept moving on.
What are your feelings on the season as a whole?
Towards the start of the season, we weren’t that good at coming together, but as the season went on, we really began to mesh and playing as a team. We started to play better and the wins started to come.
What were some of your favorite moments of the year?
Probably scoring 30 points for the first time in my career at Highlands on Feb. 4.
What are you planning on doing with your time now that the season is complete?
I’m on an AAU team, so I’ll be playing a lot more basketball. I’ll also probably do a lot of lifting and getting prepared for football in the fall.