SV's Blazer shatters record in backstroke
PITTSBURGH — Having already left a deep imprint on the WPIAL Class 3A boys swimming championship meet with a victory in the 100-yard butterfly Thursday, Owen Blazer went hunting for something even bigger in the event's second day.
Following his victory in the butterfly, the Seneca Valley senior voiced his intention of breaking the district record in the 100 backstroke Friday.
It may have seemed like a hopeful boast at the time, but Blazer's confidence turned into a dominant reality.
He won WPIAL gold for the second straight day, completing the backstroke in a district-record time of 47.83 seconds, .37 seconds faster than the previous standard, set last year by Upper St. Clair's Jack Fitzpatrick.
North Hills' Josh Bogniard was a distant second, 3.12 seconds behind Blazer at the University of Pittsburgh's Trees Pool.
“There's been a lot of positivity on the team the last few days and I just wanted to keep it going,” said Blazer. “I saw Jack get the record last year and I guess I was hoping I could break it. But it was after my 50 back time (22.04) in the medley relay yesterday that I knew I had a really good shot to get it.”
Immediately after finishing the race, Blazer realized that he had broken the record. He turned in the water toward his coaches and teammates and gave a forceful, triumphant pump of his fist.
“It feels awesome,” said Blazer, who broke the school record in Thursday's butterfly with a time of 48.48 seconds. “It may be a little tough getting back to focus on the state meet now, but I don't want to lose sight of what's ahead. If I get back to work, I think I can do really well there.”
As for SV coach Brian Blackwell, Blazer's effort led him to say something profound.
“When it comes to swimming, I've never been happier for anyone else in my life,” he said. “He works so hard. The fly was a nice swim, but we knew he could have the record in the backstroke.”
Blazer wasn't done, either. In his last-ever swim at WPIALs, he teamed with Kevin Donaldson, Daniel Simoes and Max Skeen to break the school record in the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:07.54. That effort capped SV's second-place finish in the team standings. Out of 22 other teams, only North Allegheny scored more points than the Raiders' 252.
“Last year, we had a goal of finishing in the top three and ended up fourth,” said Blackwell. “We're thrilled with second.”
Butler junior David Bocci turned in a very strong meet, placing second in the butterfly Thursday and second in the 500 freestyle Friday.
“He placed second to Rick Mihm (500) and Owen Blazer (butterfly),” said Butler coach Dave Bocci. “They're both seniors, so David is going to be the favorite in both of those events entering next season. His time in the 500 (4:36.56) was only two-tenths of a second from the school record.”
Ben Borvendeg broke a Butler record for the second straight day, swimming the 100 freestyle in 46.58 seconds. He broke the 50 freestyle record on Thursday.
