Seneca Valley seeks more medals, sustained team success
Seneca Valley's boys swimming and diving team has the pieces in place to make this season one to remember.
At last year's WPIAL championship meet, current seniors Daniel Simoes and Kevin Donaldson placed first in the 200-yard IM and second in the 200 freestyle, respectively.
Simoes, Donaldson and current juniors Haihan Xu and Gavin Blazer teamed up to win the district title in the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:07.16.
Xu, a junior, earned two third-place finishes in the IM and breaststroke. Add senior Zach Lozowski, who helped the Raiders place third in the 200 freestyle relay, and SV has a very strong group of upperclassmen who helped the Raiders place second in the WPIAL team standings a year ago.
“I was really happy with how we swam at WPIALs,” said coach Brian Blackwell. “The number of kids who made the WPIAL and state meet was cut down last year because of COVID and we're looking to have more swim at both this season.”
The Raiders return four boys who qualified for the district diving championship last year — senior Sam Skeen, juniors Jeremiah Laslavic and Sam Hersick and sophomore Isaiah Clerkley. Laslavic placed fifth in the WPIAL.
SV's girls will be led by seniors Ria Dietz and Abby Perry. Dietz was second in the backstroke and fourth in the butterfly at districts last year.
“Ria and Abby are both captains and have been strong contributors since their freshman year,” said Blackwell. “We're looking for a lot of points from those two.”
As a junior last year, diver Ashley Felitsky placed fourth at WPIALs.
The Golden Tornado boys graduated a strong senior class, but the cupboard is far from bare.Ben Borvendeg, now a senior, returns after winning a WPIAL title in the 50 freestyle and placing fourth in the 100 freestyle last March.Junior Gideon Goettler is also back and will swiim the breaststroke, 200 IM and 500 freestyle.Drew Griffith, a sophomore, swam in relays at districts and could become a steady performer in the 200 freestyle and backstroke after placing second at the WPIAL and PIAA cross country meets in the fall.“Ben and Gideon are definitely the leaders for us,” said Butler coach Dave Bocci. “We were fourth (as a team) at WPIALs last year and if we get enough points, I think we can still place in the top eight.”The Tornado girls are “in a rebuilding year,” according to Bocci. The team will lean on the efforts of senior Autumn Birch (100 breaststroke/IM), junior Ally Smith (50/100 freestyle) and sophomore Emma Pflugh (100/200 freestyle).Seniors Delayne Waterbec and Alana Collins are both back after diving at WPIALs last year.
The Planet boys are dealing with a bigger team, which will allow coach Todd Slobodnyak more leeway when deciding on his lineup prior to meets.“We have 12 boys this year,” said Slobodnyak. “That doesn't sound like a lot, but it's the biggest boys team we've had in about 10 years.“There are some freshmen who should be able to help us in the relays.”Senior Kevin Butler is a very good diver, placing seventh in the WPIAL last year. He also contributes in the water in freestyle events. Fellow seniors Nate Silsby (50/100 freestyle) and Jacob Harsch (100 freestyle) will team with Butler to give Mars a strong trio to build around.Junior Leo Saver (50/100 free) and sophomore Ethan Vitale will provide some valuable depth.The Planet girls return divers Emily Mueller and Kirsten Maybach, who placed eighth and 13th in the district last year.As for the swimmers, senior Sarah Hooper has returned from injury to help spark the Planets.“She'll be swimming the breaststroke and 50 free for us,” Slobodnyak said. “She's been training hard and I anticipate her making several WPIAL cuts.”Juniors Riley Connelly and Natalie Stasiowski and freshman Reagan Connelly will bolster the roster.
First-year coach Dominique Patrick has a 10-member girls team that will be led by a pair of freshmen.Giona Lavorini's specialties include the breaststroke and 200 IM while Allison Smith will swim the 50 and 100 freestyles, but should also have the versatility to compete in other strokes.“Both of them have been swimming for several years,” Patrick said. “They have the talent and mentality to lead the team.“We should be pretty strong in relays, too. We gave Butler some good competition in a scrimmage.”The boys team numbers just one in senior Caden Traggiai, who will be looking to build off a solid effort at WPIALs last season when he placed sixth in the 500 freestyle and seventh in the 200 freestyle.“Having no male teammates, it's tough on him,” Patrick said. “Instead of competing against the swimmer in the next lane (in practice), he just has to push himself.”
North's boys team returns a bevy of WPIAL qualifiers, led by junior Matt Littleton, who was fifth at districts in the butterfly and earned a spot at the state meet.The rest of the group includes seniors Julian LaPietra (100 freestyle) and Ben Capozzi along with juniors Jackson Kress (IM), John Lamb (breaststroke/IM) and Owen Schessler (500 freestyle).The Trojans qualified all three of their relays for states last March and coach Joella Baker sees no reason to expect a drop-off this year.“It's phenomenal,” she exclaimed of the team. “We're going to have a great season.”The girls team will be led by junior and two-time defending WPIAL diving champion Maggie Foley.Senior Katie Ravasio (200/500 free) and junior Maddie Manczka (50 free/backstroke) head the swimmers.Ravasio swam the 500 at WPIALs last season and Manczka did so in the backstroke.“We're looking for both of them to continue to build their endurance and strength so they can have a good showing at WPIALs,” Baker said.
Senior Alexis Schrecongost returns to defend her WPIAL Class 2A girls title in the breaststroke and her younger sister, freshman Kira, is already making a name for herself.In a season-opening meet against Kiski Area, Kira broke the school record in the butterfly with a time of 59.81.“It still hasn't hit her what she accomplished,” said Yellowjackets' coach Nikki Heasley. “She expected to go even faster.”Kira Schrecongost is part of an onslaught of freshmen that Heasley said will add valuable depth.”The 'Jacket boys include eight swimmers, their best turnout in recent memory. Junior Tyler Moretti specializes in freestyle events and freshman Nathaniel Tarbi is a talented newcomer still searching for his niche.“I haven't had much opportunity to see him in race mode, but his sprint freestyle stands out,” Heasley said.Seniors Blair Beck and Giuseppe Porco will add depth.Beck was injured the last two years.
The Rocket girls are looking to build off of last year's 9-4 record and eighth-place finish out of 16 teams at the District 10 meet.The roster includes 15 swimmers, led by juniors Natalie Double, Grace Olshanski, Maggie Masella and Sarah McCandless, along with sophomore Katie Shea. Each swam at districts last season.Freshmen Ann-Katherine Burns, Elise Cagle, Maddie Gauselmann, Mollie Massella and Tessa Syzmanski and experienced sophomore Kaitlyn Parson will add depth to a team that has high hopes this winter.“Our girls team should contend for the Region 1 title,” replied coach Kirby Burns. “Grace had earned a spot to swim the 50 free at the cancelled state meet her freshman year and should contend for a return trip in both the 50 and 100 freestyle this season.”For the boys, junior Conner Wallace and sophomore Kevin Bowser look to build off of district-meet performances. With the return of senior Landen Suorsa and the addition of Cody Hartle, “our boys team will be competitive with any smaller team in our league,” replied Burns.
