Click here to subscribe today or Login.
Annalise Cheshire
Dallas
Jr. – Sprints
Cheshire added two more district championships to her collection to help Dallas will the team title. She won the 50 free by a quarter second with a 24.23-second swim. Cheshire added her second gold medal after touching the wall in 53.43 seconds in the 100 free. After qualifying in four events for states, Cheshire missed out on another state medal by a mere hundredth of a second with her ninth place in the 50 free. Her relays were 10th and 11th.
Alexis Ivanitch
Wyoming Valley West
Sr. – Medley/Breast
Ivanitch beat her own district record in the 100 breast. She beat her previous mark by more than a full second with her 1:05.79 finish for her third straight title in the event. Ivanitch came up just short with a silver in the 200 IM at 2:15.34. She raced to a 27th place finish in the 100 breast at states. Ivanitch wraps her career with seven regional golds.
April Kupsky
Wyoming Seminary
Fr. – Distance/Medley
Kupsky followed in the tradition of her sisters by winning a pair of district championships. She edged Dallas’ Abby Zolner by a hundredth of a second for a 5:15.84 win in the 500 free. Her 400 free relay won districts in 3:36.24. Her 2:12.26 in her bronze-medal 200 IM punched a ticket to states. At states, Kupsky took 11th and 17th in the 500 free and 200 IM, respectively, and her 400 free relay placed third.
Tara Kupsky
Wyoming Seminary
Jr. – Medley/Butterfly
Kupsky captured three state medals in her junior campaign. She earned seventh in the 200 IM in 2:08.32 and eighth in the 100 butterfly. Her 400 free replay claimed third in 3:35.45. After leading her team to a WVC title, Kupsky won an individual title in her third different event, winning the 100 fly in 57.96 seconds. She led Sem to a 400 free relay championship for the second straight season. Kupsky was second in the 200 IM.
Melissa Leonard
Dallas
Fr. – Distance
Dallas’ district title was helped in part to Leonard’s pair of third-place finishes. The Dallas freshman cut four seconds off her 200 free time for a 1:58.03 finish. Leonard shaved 10 seconds off her 500 free seed to clock in at 5:24.57. She claimed 20th place in the 200 free at states, and her 400 and 200 free relays were 10th and 11th, respectively.
Sydney Lloyd
Berwick
Fr. – Distance/Butterfly
Another one of the WVC’s many talented freshman class, Lloyd swam the WVC’s fastest 200 free time of 1:57.88. Lloyd nearly pulled off a 200 free upset for second place, along with her fifth in the 100 butterfly. Lloyd came in 31st place in the 200 free in her first state meet.
Chelsea Mackiewicz
Wyoming Valley West
Sr. – Sprints
Mackiewicz secured her first individual regional crown by winning the 50 free. She trimmed a half-second off her time for a 24.97 second finish. Mackiewicz tabbed second place in the 100 free in 56.05 seconds. At states, the Spartans’ senior came in 32nd place.
Marina O’Hara
Hazleton Area
Fr. – Back
A five-second underdog, O’Hara came behind from third place at the midway point to win the 100 back. She touched in 1:01.93 for a 16-hundredths of a second win. O’Hara also helped the Cougars to a 400 free relay win in 3:53.4. In her first state race, she took 31st in the 100 back and her 400 relay squad was 21st.
Maddy Ross
Dallas
Sr. – Diving
The 2016 diving champion lost to teammate Lexi Spaciano by less than four points. Ross took second place with 370.65. With a month’s hiatus because of the winter storm, she took 15th place at states with a 300.75.
Haley Thier
Wyoming Seminary
Fr. – Back/Butterfly
The future looks bright for WVC champion Sem with Thier’s two bronze medals at districts. She placed third in the 100 back (1:00.22) and 100 butterfly (59.33). Thier swam on a 400 free relay that won districts and earned a third-place state medal. Thier trimmed seven-tenths of a second off her 100 fly time for 11th place at states.
Lexi Spaciano
Dallas
Sr. – Diving
Spaciano won the district diving championship by edging her teammates with a 374.45 score. She collected her first state medal with her seventh place finish at the PIAA state championships. Spaciano tabbed a 342.5 score.
McKenna Zeller
Holy Redeemer
Sr. – Back
Zeller capped her career with a state medal in the 200 medley relay, joining her Royals’ teammates for eighth place in 1:49.89. The Holy Redeemer senior came in under the minute mark for her second-straight second place in the 100 back. Zeller took off three-tenths of a second to take 18th in the event at PIAAs.
Abby Zolner
Dallas
Jr. – Fly/Distance
Zolner came up short in her quest to repeat as district champion. The Dallas junior was out-touched at the 500 free by a hundredth of a second, taking the silver to Sem’s April Kupsky in 5:15.85. Zolner secured second place in the 100 fly in 59.15 seconds. In the state meet, Zolner made six-tenths drop to get 10th in the 100 fly and finished 15th in the 500 free. Her 400 and 200 free relays were 10th and 11th, respectively.
Coach of the Year
Paul Mierzwa
Dallas/Holy Redeemer
Dallas’ district championship can be largely thanked to the diving team taking the top four spots. The 51-point lead over the field was provided by Mierzwa’s direction over district champion Lexi Spaciano and runner-up Maddy Ross. Mierzwa also coached Holy Redeemer, and together his divers took the top seven spots in the district. Along with Gianna Leo, Dallas had three in the top 16 at states.