Muehlheuser snares elusive gold
PITTSBURGH — Jack Muehlheuser was already a strong swimmer with two trips to the PIAA Class AA meet to his credit.
But a district title had eluded him — until Friday.
The Mars senior successfully defended his No. 1 seed by swimming the WPIAL boys backstroke in 52.85 seconds at the University of Pittsburgh's Trees Pool.
“I was thinking I would have to go a bit faster,” he said. “After the first 50 (yards), I became sure of myself.
“The backstroke has always come naturally for me,” Muehlheuser added. “It's been my best stroke since the sixth grade. It's been my goal (to win) and it feels great to get it.”
“He's been working for this for four years,” said Mars coach Heidi Brandon. “All the pieces came together today for Jack.”
Muehlheuser also made states in the 400 freestyle relay, along with teammates Francis Folz, Thomas Pierre and Chris Georgiadis. The foursome placed fourth.
Georgiadis was second in the 500 freestyle, improving his seed by one place.
Knoch's Ian Lindsey was third in the breaststroke and teammate Chadd Cummings sixth.
“The breaststroke was unbelievable,” said Knoch coach Rick Hassler. “It was very exciting to watch, Ian and Chadd have been battling each other all year. They're very good friends.”
Also earning a medal was the Knights' 400 freestyle relay team (seventh) of Matt Wilson, Nathan Walls, Austin Wittmer and Cummings.
Mars' Reed McDonough was sixth in the backstroke.
Class AAA BoysButler's Travis Myers turned in a career performance in the backstroke, swimming the event in 52.46.The effort was good for fourth place, a medal and most likely a spot at the PIAA meet, but for Myers, it holds even more weight than that.Just over a month ago, Myers lost his father to cancer. He arrived at Trees Pool with more than just good turns and a personal-best time on his mind.“It's bitter-sweet, to be honest,” Myers said of his individual success in the wake of his father's death. “My mom gave me this medal of Saint Christopher, the same one my dad had.”The Saint Christopher medal was dangling from a necklace Myers had put on just before accepting his WPIAL medal, after which he became emotional over the events of the last five weeks.“This was probably the first time in swimming that I gave it all I had,” he said.Myers swam the fourth-fastest split (24.8) in all of Class AAA in the backstroke leg of Thursday's 200 medley relay.“We didn't know if he'd be able to keep up that pace,” said Butler swim coach Dacia Como, “but he did. I'm so proud of him, he's such a great kid. His teammates love him.”Myers' time Friday was nearly five seconds better than his seed time of 57.42.Only the top three from the WPIAL are assured of a spot at states, but Myers' effort is almost a lock to extend his season.“I have a few friends who made it last year after swimming (54 seconds),” said Myers. “I'll probably get there with my time.”n Seneca Valley's Matt Myers was seeded 16th in the 100 freestyle, but tied for ninth with a time of 49.29.“I wanted to medal (top eight), but I don't know if there's anything else I could've done,” he said. “It was so close.”
