SV Swim Club snares prestigious title
JACKSON TWP — For members of the Seneca Valley Swim Club, it was worth the wait.
The club sent more than 50 competitors to the Allegheny Mountain Swimming Championship Gold Meet, held last month at the University of Pittsburgh's Trees Pool.
When all of the results were tallied up — including four age groups for both boys and girls — SVSC had claimed the team title with 1,226 points. The total topped the 965 put up by Allegheny North Swim Club, which is comprised mostly of swimmers in the North Allegheny School District.
It marked the first time in Brian Blackwell's six seasons as the head coach at SVSC that his swimmers combined to win the team championship.
The event featured elite swimmers from 50-plus Allegheny Mountain Swimming programs.
“It was a goal that we've been working toward,” said Blackwell of the title. “We've been climbing up the rankings the last few years and to see the kids come together and win it, I was really excited.”
“When Coach Blackwell first got here, we weren't very competitive,” said Connor Quiggle, 17, who won the 1,000-yard freestyle and the 400 individual medley in the 15-and-over age group to help the club place first in the boys team standings. “But we've had massive improvement since then. It meant a lot to me to see us take down the big dog (Allegheny North).
“Coach Blackwell and Coach (Jeff) Gavin, they train us year-round and had us ready for this meet.”
Also earning first place in boys events were Owen Blazer in the 15-and-over 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke, Daniel Simoes in the (ages 11-12) 50 backstroke, 100 breaststroke and 200 IM and Kevin Donaldson in the (11-12) 200 freestyle, 100 backstroke and 200 backstroke.
SVSC's lone girl to win was Sophia Gaguzis, who took the 15-and-over 100 freestyle, but a lot of swimmers medaled (top eight) to help the team place second in the girls team standings.
The Champs Gold Meet lasted four days and many swimmers swam up to seven final events, not including competing in preliminaries prior to the finals.
The event was sandwiched between the WPIAL Championship Meet and the PIAA event. Having that many high-profile meets so close together on the calendar can become taxing.
“It's tough mentally,” admitted Blazer. “It starts to take a toll that time of the year. It was a long weekend. I was whooped at the end.”
But Blazer knows that to reach his full potential, competing in club swimming is a must, as is work outside of the pool.
“I hit the weights for the first time and that played a huge part in me doing as well as I did,” he said.
Some may view swimming as an individual sport, but Quiggle is glad that's not the case for him and his teammates.
“The team aspect is what I enjoy most about swimming,” he said. “Everybody on the team is so close, we do a lot of things together outside of the pool. I don't look at them as my teammates, I look at them as family.”
