Every year, freshmen arrive at the WPIAL swimming championships, most of them just happy to have qualified for such a big meet.

A select few achieve something greater and last year, Kira Schrecongost and Giona Lavorini earned that distinction.

Schrecongost, of Freeport, won the Class 2A girls 100-yard butterfly and was runner-up in the 200 IM. Knoch's Lavorini placed fourth in the IM and fifth in the breaststroke.

They will both look to build on their already-strong varsity resumes when they hit the water in this year's meet, scheduled Thursday and Friday afternoon at the University of Pittsburgh's Trees Pool.

Schrecongost is ranked third in both of her events, including a time of 57.55 seconds in the butterfly as she hopes to defend her title. South Park junior Katie Jackovic is seeded first with a time of 56.87.

A school-record time of 56.09 earned the crown for Schrecongost last year.

"She's looked really good in the water in practice," said Sheryl Schrecongost, Kira's coach and mother. "With a little rest and taper, she can go even faster."

Kira is hoping to break her own school record.

"I want to go 54 (seconds). With my training, I think I can do that," she said. "I was excited to win last year, but it was a bit unexpected. The title will come down to who wants it more."

Lavorini is seeded second in the breaststroke and seventh in the IM. Her time of 1:05.25 in the former is second only to Indiana's Peyton Scott (1:04.13), last year's champion and like Lavorini, a sophomore.

"I've been swimming against her since I was 9 (YMCA)," Lavorini said. "She's been my biggest competition for six years. My time in the breaststroke now is four seconds faster than it was this time last year."

Knoch coach Dominique Patrick said a standout regular season has set Lavorini up for success.

"She's been very strong this year and received a lot of competition during meets," she said.

Boys — North Catholic's swimmers have a recent history of consistently reaching the medal stand (top eight) and the pieces are in place for that to continue.

The Trojans earned seven medals in 2020 and 2021 and took home eight medals last year. Including relays, they are ranked in medal position in 10 events entering this week's meet.

Luke Lamb's No. 2 seed in the backstroke tops that group of hopefuls.

"It's due to the kids' overall dedication to the program," said North coach Joella Baker. "A lot of them are triathletes and are so dedicated to the sport. We'll see if their hard work pays off."

Following are Butler County’s Class 2A swimmers who have qualified for the WPIAL Championships, scheduled Thursday and Friday at the University of Pittsburgh’s Trees Pool.

Girls

Freeport, Knoch,

North Catholic

200 medley relay: 4-Freeport 1:54.09; 20-Knoch 2:01.76

200 freestyle: 14-Alex Gongas (NC) 2:04.35; 16-Isabelle Barton (F) 2:04.60

200 individual medley: 3-Kira Schrecongost (F) 2:09.08; 7-Giona Lavorini (K) 2:12.76; 17-Sydney Dunn (NC) 2:22.15; 20-Danielle Parke (F) 2:23.27

50 freestyle: 28-Mary Anne Altman (F) 26.49

100 butterfly: 3-Kira Schrecongost (F) 57.55; 10-Caitlyn Brennan (F) 1:02.04

100 freestyle: 24-Mary Anne Altman (F) 57.78

500 freestyle: 19-Isabelle Barton (F) 5:38.81; 25-Alex Gongas (NC) 5:45.47

200 freestyle relay: 8-Freeport 1:44.90; 22-Knoch 1:50.39; 23-North Catholic 1:50.65

100 backstroke: 10-Caitlyn Brennan (F) 1:03.24; 23-Maddie Manczka (NC) 1:05.72

100 breaststroke: 2-Giona Lavorini (K) 1:05.25; 18-Danielle Parke (F) 1:13.40; 21-Sydney Dunn (NC) 1:13.87

400 freestyle relay: 17-North Catholic 4:02.82; 21-Freeport 4:06.85

Boys

Mars, Freeport

Knoch, North Catholic

200 medley relay: 4-North Catholic 1:39.11; 20-Mars 1:51.67

200 freestyle: 15-Alex Urling (NC) 1:54.52; 20-Owen Schessler (NC) 1:56.16; 22-Preston Heynes (M) 1:57.45

200 individual medley: 6-Jackson Kress (NC) 1:58.27; 10-Adrian Lavorini (K) 2:04.75; 25-Sean Muchnok (M) 2:17.00

50 freestyle: 5-John Lamb (NC) 22.31; 18-Nathaniel Tarbi (F) 23.15; 30-Jonah LaPietra (NC) 23.90

100 butterfly: 7-Matthew Littleton (NC) 54.13

100 freestyle: 5-Luke Lamb (NC) 49.23; 12-Nathaniel Tarbi (F) 51.02; 28-Jonah LaPietra (NC) 53.41

500 freestyle: 8-Adrian Lavorini (K) 5:05.96; 13-Owen Schessler (NC) 5:10.29; 19-Alex Urling (NC) 5:18.52; 21-Preston Heynes (M) 5:23.53

200 freestyle relay: 4-North Catholic 1:30.12

100 backstroke: 2-Luke Lamb (NC) 52.31; 5-Jackson Kress (NC) 54.31

100 breaststroke: 4-John Lamb (NC) 1:01.61; 13-Sean Muchnok (M) 1:04.02; 14-Matthew Littleton (NC) 1:04.17

400 freestyle relay: 5-North Catholic 3:20.53; 22-Mars 3:43.17