PITTSBURGH — Last March, Ben Gutmann watched his best friend swim his way to the state championships.

Now they're both going.

Gutmann, a Seneca Valley senior, placed third in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1 minute, 1.11 seconds Friday in the WPIAL Class AAA championships at the University of Pittsburgh's Trees Pool.

Right in front of him, in second place, was Gutmann's friend, Scott Bowser, who finished with a time of 1:00.76.

"It's like a dream come true because I've always wanted to go to states," said Gutmann, who finished ninth in the event last year at the district meet. "I wanted to be right there at states with Scott."

Now he is, thanks to a personal-record time.

It marks the second straight year in which Bowser has taken second in the breaststroke. This time around, he was edged by Pittsburgh Central Catholic's John Nemeth by only .28 of a second.

"I'd say I swam the best race I was capable of swimming," said Bowser. "It was close, but I lost it on the last lap."

A day after making the PIAA girls meet in the 50 freestyle, Seneca Valley's Kelly Connolly did it again Friday in the 100 breaststroke. She managed a finish of 1:07.46.

Butler's Molly Evans placed fourth in the 500 freestyle at 5:15.24 after taking fourth in the 200 individual medley Thursday.

"I think she has a good shot at states in both events," said Golden Tornado coach Jeff Armstrong, referring to the fact that after all districts in the state have completed their championship meets, the top 16 times in each event that don't qualify automatically will be given a spot in the state event.

Evans, Brittany Vogel, Sarah Clouse and Ellen Crummy set a school record in the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:45.09 while taking ninth place in the event.

The previous mark was 3:46.73.

You don't have to tell Andrea McQueen how tough it is to unseat a champion.She now knows first hand.The Freeport sophomore entered the 100 freestyle seeded first, two spots in front of Yough's Kelsey Grushecky.But Grushecky, last year's champion in the event, came out on top again Friday afternoon with a time of 52.38.McQueen was less than a second behind at 53.35."We were in the same heat and I was right beside her," said McQueen. "She had a bit of a lead on me on the last turn. I crept up to her, but she stayed ahead of me."Still, it was a solid day for McQueen, who also will swim at the state meet in the 100 breaststroke, after posting a third-place time of 1:08.43.McQueen was a big reason why Freeport's girls, who sent only four swimmers, including Lauren Palko, Gail Erickson and Katy Screen, placed eighth in the team standings.Mars' Jeff Gavin placed fifth in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:52.33.The PIAA Swimming Championships will be held March 15 to 18 at Bucknell University in Lewisburg.