PITTSBURGH — All the training and practice time had put John Wilson in position to cap his WPIAL swimming career in style.

The only thing left was for the Knoch senior to close the deal.

And he did.

Wilson won the Class AA boys 100-yard breaststroke crown with a time of 58.83 seconds Friday at Trees Pool on the University of Pittsburgh's campus.

He will enter his final state championship meet later this month with a total of three district titles under his belt. He also won the breaststroke here in 2015 and the 200 individual medley on Thursday.

“When I was in ninth grade, I had a dream of winning a WPIAL championship,” Wilson said. “Now I've done it three times. It feels amazing.”

Wilson edged Springdale's Collin Hurley at the finish by .18 seconds.

Aquinas Academy's Ian Schirra, who resides in Penn Township, was fourth at 59.82.

“I know pretty much everybody else who was in my heat today,” said Wilson, “but I just go out and swim my race.

“I have been swimming the breaststroke since I was 11 years old. I don't know why, but it's the event that I've always done extremely well in.”

Dale Ross is in his first season as Knoch's coach, but it didn't take long for him to get a read on Wilson.

“John has been training super hard all season,” he said. “His taper worked well and I thought this would be a strong meet for him. He's a 110-percent type of guy.”

Wilson's teammate, Derek Ekas, advanced in the 100 freestyle with a fifth-place effort.

Not that Andrew Pierre needs another reason to do well at the upcoming state swim meet, but a little extra incentive never hurts.

All season long, Pierre, a sophomore at Mars, had his eye on breaking the Planets' program record in the 500-yard freestyle.

Pierre finished third in the event with a time of 4 minutes, 44.56 seconds. It ties him with his older brother, Tommy, for the top spot on Mars' record board.

“He probably watched my race today because they were live-streaming it,” Andrew said. “I talked to him (Thursday) and he said he wanted me to break the record.”

The younger Pierre will get a chance to do just that when he hits the water at the PIAA event later this month at Bucknell University's Kinney Natatorium.

“We're looking for him to break it there,” said Mars coach Hans Bergh. “He's not even tapered yet.

“Andrew is an amazing kid,” he added. “He obviously wants to do well for himself, but he also is willing to do anything to help the team. I have only good things to say about him.”

Pierre and teammates Tommy Hall, Austin Gilstrap and Andrew Ivory will be swimming in the 400 freestyle relay at PIAAs following a fifth-place effort.

Butler's Alex Deemer was looking to take the next step in his swimming career.

As a freshman last year, he finished just outside of a medal spot here when he placed ninth in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:48.41. This time around, he earned a medal and possibly, much more.

Deemer took fourth with a time of 4:43.32 and will now wait to see if his time falls within the top 16 non-automatic state qualifying times in Pennsylvania. If it does, he will compete in the event at PIAAs.

“I think I have a decent shot,” he said. “It depends on what times come out of the (Philadelphia) area. There's a lot of strong swimmers out there.”

Girls

A day after setting a WPIAL record to win the Class AAA 200 IM, Butler's Laura Goettler placed second in the breaststroke.

Her finish of 1:03.7 was just .35 seconds behind champion Sydney Davidson of North Hills.

Davidson held a decent lead before Goettler began closing the gap with 25 yards left. The two swimmers swam in lanes right next to each other.

“I try to keep my time even throughout a race, but if I have anything extra left, I kick it in at the end,” Goettler said. “I saw the lead she had out of the corner of my eye.”

The two swimmers met in a dual meet Jan. 19, with Goettler taking first place in the event.

Knoch senior Brooke Zukowski took third in the Class AA breaststroke and will close her high school career at the state meet.