FOX CHAPEL — Anne Marie Bilott and the rest of the Shady Side Academy girls swimmers were just hoping to place second as a team.

They ended up with a whole lot more.

The Indians were tied with Wyomissing for second place in the team standings as the PIAA Class AA Swimming Championships entered its final event Thursday: the 400-yard freestyle relay.

They needed to finish ahead of the District 3 school to secure the runner-up position.

But what Bilott, Natalie Domeisen, Katie Vincett and Margaux Georgiadis did was win a state title in the event with a school-record time of 3 minutes, 33.41 seconds.

The win gave the Indians second place in the team standings behind WPIAL rival Oakland Catholic.

"We were just focused on getting second as a team," said Bilott, a Penn Township resident. "It was kind of surprising that we won. But getting the (first-place) medal, that was nice."

"It was one of the most amazing performances I've seen from kids I've coached, and I've been at this for 17 years," said SSA coach John Landreth.

The win came by a slim .04 of a second over District 3's Trinity, which was clocked at 3:33.45.

Oakland Catholic was seeded first in the event and placed fourth. Wyomissing settled for third.

"I wasn't surprised that Trinity was right there with us," said Landreth. "They'd been posting some good times all year. Some schools just seem to take a liking to certain relays and they're right there in the 400."

For Bilott, the final event was a chance to redeem herself.

The sophomore posted slower times in both of her individual events: Wednesday's 200 individual medley and Thursday's 100 breaststroke, the latter coming just 15 minutes before the 400 freestyle relay.

"I was a little disappointed in those events," she said. "I really wasn't nervous for the relay, but I wanted to get in there, swim well and prove myself."

Bilott swam the third leg of the relay and extended the Indians' lead before Georgiadis wrapped up the win.

"She wasn't particularly pleased with her individual events," Landreth said of Bilott. "But when the chips were down, she came through in the relay."

Bilott now owns a WPIAL breaststroke title, which she won last month, and a piece of a state relay championship.

"It's always nice to win an individual title," she said. "But winning a relay, these are girls you've worked with all year. It's nice to share it with them."