LEWISBURG — Franklin Regional and Shady Side Academy went down to the wire Saturday evening to decide the PIAA Class 2A girls team championship at Bucknell University.
The Lady Bulldogs led by four points after freshman Ella Kiger’s sixth-place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke.
The 400 freestyle relay decided it. Franklin Regional’s quartet of senior Magdalena Hull, junior Phoebe Boswell, freshman Anna Tomasic and junior Scarlett Zolnak knew they most likely had to win gold to clinch the team title.
Shady Side Academy’s foursome of Kiger, freshmen Rachael Bummer and Elyse Brenenborg, and junior Ava Jochims, like Franklin Regional, had sights on the relay championship, but they did have a little breathing room.
District 1’s Villa Maria Academy raced to first in a time of 3 minutes, 31.11 seconds, edging Shady Side (3:31.17) by six one-hundredths of a second.
Franklin Regional placed third (3:32.09).
The lead between the teams shifted back and forth throughout the evening with top performances by both. Shady Side finished with the title trophy and 185 points to 179 for Franklin Regional.
“I am so proud of these girls,” Panthers coach Dan Taylor said.
“It comes down to having fun, being with your teammates, swimming fast and competing. That’s all these kids did all weekend long. We were following the standings and seeing how everything was turning out after each event. With the numbers game, we were hoping to give ourselves a chance at the end. The relay raced their hearts out. It was such great competition both nights. It was a lot of fun.”
Shady Side edged Franklin Regional at Bucknell after FR took second and Shady Side third at WPIALs on Feb. 27 at Pitt.
Hampton, led by Swimmer of the Meet Lainey Sheets, a senior Duquesne commit who won the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke, finished third with 138 points.
Franklin Regional helped its cause with three medal finishes Saturday. Tomasic placed fourth in the 100 free (51.78), Hull took eighth in the 500 free (5:12.93) and Zolnak finished sixth in the 100 back (58.81).
Fast swims were plentiful throughout the second day of the Class 2A meet.
Southmoreland senior Allison Stinnett concluded her standout high school career with a swim in the 100 breast.
The Bowling Green commit dropped nearly seven tenths of a second from her prelim time and raced to third overall in 1:03.99.
She was fourth in the 100 breast at WPIALs (1:06.23) and seeded 11th heading to Bucknell. But she was after a medal, and she made it happen.
It was a measure of heartbreak for a pair of Knoch swimmers Saturday.
Junior Olivia Walewski had designs on making the championship heat in the 100 back.
Also seeded 11th, Walewski swam to a morning prelim time of 59.65, slightly higher than her personal best of 59.10 recorded at WPIALs. She came back in the consolation final and won the heat with a time of 59.32.
Knights senior Adrian Lavorini was as close as one can get to a championship heat. He hoped for a spot in the finals of the 100 breast after placing third in the 200 individual medley on Friday.
The school-record holder in the 100 breast at 57.99, Lavorini swam to a prelim time of 58.79, one one-hundredths of a second away from eighth.
Relegated to coming back in the consolation heat, Lavorini didn’t let any of the other seven in his race overtake him at the wall. He clocked a consey time of 58.46 for ninth overall.
The close calls extended to Mt. Pleasant senior Gunnar Probst, who was ninth after his 100 free prelim swim (48.27). Coming to states as the 13th seed after his runner-up finish at WPIALs, Probst powered his way to a tie for ninth in the consolation in a time of 47.57, faster than what he produced at WPIALs (47.83).