Swimmers, divers make splash at WPIAL championship meet

Jackelin Mejia

The diving team poses for a pic with their coach on Senior Night.

Several members of the coed varsity swimming and diving team found themselves standing on the awards stand with medals around their necks at the AAA WPIAL championships.

Starting off, senior Jasper Harter-Hughes placed sixth overall in the boys 1-meter diving. 

Harter-Hughes competed in this meet last year, but this was his best performance yet.

“I was very happy to be on the podium for my senior year, and I was so glad to have all my teammates watching,” he said. “Also, I was determined to be the self-proclaimed best dressed.”

He improved his score by a total of 188.05 points and gained 13 points for the team. 

For our swimmers, there were a number of great swims that resulted in time drops.

The boys relay teams placed in the 200-yard medley relay and the 200-yard freestyle relay. 

In the medley, Trent Powell, Luke Myers, Luke Kallaur, and Nathan Stutzman earned seventh place and qualified for states, and in the freestyle, Trent Powell, Luke Kallaur, Nathan Stutzman, and Lenny Demartino earned fifth place and also qualified for states.

On the girls side, sophomore Cally Edner crushed her old time in the 500-yard freestyle and dropped 3.67 seconds, going 5:23.21 to earn sixth place overall.

When asked about what motivated her to earn this victory, she said that she was upset with how her 200-yard IM race went earlier on in the meet and “had to make the race count” to redeem herself.

Senior Lenny DeMartino and sophomore Trent Powell earned the most points for the team with DeMartino earning 23 points and Powell earning 22.

DeMartino placed seventh in the 100-yard free going 47.64 and eighth in the 200-yard free going 1:43.67. He qualified for states in both events.

Powell, on the other hand, placed eighth in both the 100-yard butterfly and backstroke. In the butterfly, he went 52.80 and in the backstroke, he went 52.67. He qualified for states in the backstrokes.

Returning as a junior next year, he said he is excited about next season because you must “celebrate endings, for they precede new beginnings.”

Congratulations to all the swimmers and divers on representing Bethel Park. Best of luck to those who qualified for states.

 

Complete results:

200 Medley Relay:
Trent Powell
Luke Myers
Luke Kallaur
Nathan Stutzman
7th Place, 1:37.45 State Qualifier

200-Yard Freestyle:
Lenny DeMartino
8th Place, 1:43.67 State Qualifier

50-Yard Freestyle:
Nathan Stutzman
5th Place, 21.87 Alternate State Qualifier

100-Yard Butterfly:
Trent Powell
8th Place, 52.80

200-Yard Freestyle Relay:
Trent Powell
Luke Kallaur
Nathan Stutzman
Lenny DeMartino
5th Place, 1:27.07 State Qualifier

100-Yard Freestyle:
Lenny DeMartino
7th Place, 47.64 State Qualifier

100-Yard Backstroke:
Trent Powell
8th Place, 52.67 State Qualifier

500-Yard Freestyle:
Cally Edner
5th Place, 5:23.21