Splash of gold: Mapletown’s Menear PIAA champion in 200 IM
Submitted photo
Mapletown junior Ella Menear shows off her gold medal after winning the 200 IM in 2:00.50 at the PIAA Class AA Swimming & Diving Championships Friday night at Bucknell University.
Submitted photo
Laurel Highlands鈥� Ella Ciez (far left) and Mapletown鈥檚 Ella Menear (center) stand on the awards podium Friday night after receiving their medals for the 200 IM in the PIAA Class AA Swimming & Diving Championships. Ciez placed sixth and Menear won the gold medal.
Mapletown junior Ella Menear led at every split on her way to a gold medal finish in the 200 IM in the PIAA Class AA Swimming & Diving Championships Friday night.
Mount Pleasant鈥檚 Lily King not only won gold in the 50 freestyle, but the freshman did so in record breaking time.
Menear finished third in the 200 IM last year and did not have a chance to compete as a freshman in 2020 when the meet was cancelled the day before the Class AA championship because of the pandemic.
鈥淚 was disappointed (last year). I鈥檓 really happy it turned out the way it did this year,鈥� said Menear. 鈥淚鈥檓 super excited. The 200 IM has always been by best event. There was really good competition and it was a really good race.
鈥淚 knew it was going to be a close one.鈥�
Menear wanted to 鈥渂ank time鈥� in the first two legs 鈥� butterfly and backstroke 鈥� with the breaststroke not her strongest of the four strokes.
鈥淚 knew I had to go out in the butterfly. I was recalling last year. She beat me in the breaststroke. I wanted to get a lead in the butterfly and backstroke,鈥� said Menear. 鈥淚n any 200 (yard) race, the hardest 50 is the third 50. Naturally, it鈥檚 the breaststroke.鈥�
Menear finished the opening butterfly leg in 26.14 seconds. She completed the backstroke in 28.84 seconds and slowed in the butterfly with a 36.36 split.
Menear turned into the freestyle with a lead, but Lewisburg鈥檚 Kimberly Shannon had sliced into her advantage. Shannon鈥檚 splits were 27.23, 30.07 and 35.17.
Menear still had the lead with 25 yards to go with Shannon closing on her right. Menear normally turns right to breath, so she was able to keep track of Shannon.
Menear swam freestyle leg in 29.16 seconds. Shannon closed in the freestyle leg with a 28.73-second split to finish in 2:01.20 for the silver medal.
鈥淚 was dying a little bit in the freestyle. I saw her. I knew I had to kick it in,鈥� explained Menear. 鈥淭he last 25 (yards) is the hardest part of swimming.鈥�
Fans were not permitted to be in the stands in 2021, but Menear had a strong contingent at Kinney Natatorium on Friday.
鈥淎n audience makes it more fun and more exciting. I had family and friends there,鈥� added Menear.
Laurel Highlands junior Ella Ciez won her first state medal after finishing sixth in the 200 IM with a time of 2:09.43.
Unlike many individual medley swimmers, Ciez鈥檚 strongest stroke is the breaststroke.
鈥淚 need to be around 31 or 32 (seconds) in the backstroke. I鈥檓 pretty decent in the butterfly,鈥� said Ciez. 鈥淚 just try to stay with the competition.
鈥淚 can not bring it back in the freestyle. It鈥檚 very tiring after a 150-yard sprint.鈥�
Ciez said she completed what she set out to do.
鈥淚 just wanted to get on the podium. I just wanted to stay were I was seeded or higher,鈥� said Ciez, who was seeded seventh in the final.
Ciez returns to the pool Saturday for the 100 breaststroke.
鈥淚 hope my body recovers,鈥� said Ciez.
King broke the state meet record from 2013 when Villa Maria Academy鈥檚 Sarah Hichens finished in 22.91 seconds.
King just missed the state meet record in the preliminary heat, touching the wall in 22.92 seconds, just one-hundredth of a seconds off mark.
King almost won a second gold medal in the opening 200 medley relay, but the Lady Vikings were unable to make up enough ground in the King鈥檚 final freestyle leg to rally for first place.
Villa Maria Academy held just over a two second advantage after the the Lady Vikings鈥� opening leg by Reegan Brown, but that was sliced into after SaraJo Gardner鈥檚 30.78 lap edged Kyan Snider-Mills鈥� 32.09 leg. Villa Maria Academy got around a second back after the third leg, completed by McKenna Miziakar, to give anchor Haley Palmer a two second lead with 50 yards to go.
King closed with a 22.02-second split to pull the Lady Vikings to a finish time of 1:46.89. Villa Maria Academy won the gold medal by the slimmest of margins, 1:46.65.
Ashlyn Hornick, Trinity Graft, Mizikar and Kiersten O鈥機onnor finished fifth in 200 freestyle relay in 1:39.60.
Mizikar finished 23rd in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:00.92. Brown finished fourth in the 鈥楤 final鈥� and 12th overall in the 100 butterfly in 58.46 and was 19th in the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:00.72. Gardner was 21st in the 50 freestyle with a time of 25.31 seconds, while Hornick was 31st in 25.75 seconds.
The Laurel Highlands quartet of Elizabeth Thomas, Ciez, Sarah VanVerth and Cecilia Mrosko placed eighth in the 鈥楤 final鈥� of the 200 medley relay and 16th overall with a time of 1:55.98, slightly slower than their finish of 1:55.48 in the prelims.
Ringgold鈥檚 Natalie Noll, Paige Doleno, Emily Doleno and Addision Carson placed 22nd in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:57.01.
Elizabeth Forward鈥檚 Emma Durant, Riley McLaughlin, Hailey Yurkovich and Madison Alessio were 24th in the 200 medley relay in a time of 1:57.51, slightly faster than their seed time of 1:57.76. Yurkovich placed second in the 200 freestyle and 10th overall with a time of 1:57.34.
California junior Anastasia Georgagis just missed the 鈥楤 final鈥� of the 200 IM with a time of 2:14.30, slower than her seed time of 2:12.76. MMI-MA鈥檚 Mary Kate Kupsky was 16th in the prelims in 2:13.81.
Belle Vernon senior Delaney Patterson placed 21st in the 200 IM in 2:15.99. The Lady Leopards鈥� Marlee Davis, Ava Bosetti, Melina Stratigos and Patterson were 21st in the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:43.82.