Indiana swimmers set three records at the WPIAL Class 2A swim meet at Pitt’s Trees Pool on Thursday.
Indiana junior Preston Kessler knocked almost three seconds off his 1:41.19 seed time and finished the 200 freestyle with a record 1:38.26 for his third straight title in the event.
Kessler bested the time held for 14 years by Trevor Scheid of Shady Side Academy. He recorded a time of 1:39.87 in 2008. Kessler’s record also beat the current PIAA record of 1:38.31 held by Luke Mikesell of Clearfield in 2019, but PIAA records must occur at the state meet at Bucknell University to be counted.
Kessler wasn’t the only Indiana swimmer to make his mark in the WPIAL record book. Senior Alex Bauer swam a 1:49.62 to defeat Kiski Area junior Justin Tucker by 4.83 seconds and dropped 1.76 seconds off the 2023 record set by Matthew Purcell of Northgate.
Finally, the Indiana 200 freestyle relay team of Kessler, Bauer, junior Rey Nunez and junior Joey Margita set a new WPIAL record with a time 1:24.43, besting their own record from last year.
Indiana holds a 175-135.5 lead over Mount Pleasant in the team standings, with a second session beginning today at 3 p.m.
Here’s a recap of both boys’ and girls’ events from the Indiana Area Athletics web page:
With the first day in the books at the WPIAL AA Swimming Championships, both Indiana boys’ & girls’ swimming teams are in the top five of the standings after the first 14 events.
The Indiana boys’ have a total of 175 points to secure them in 1st place, 41.5 points ahead of Mt. Pleasant and 74.5 ahead of Northgate who share 2nd and 3rd place respectively. The Indiana girls’ currently sit in 4th place with 112 points trailing Quaker Valley (149), Mt. Pleasant (120) & Kiski Area (113) as they head into the 2nd day.
The buzz from the day came when Indiana set WPIAL records in three events. Not only were they AA WPIAL records, but the three events also bested the AAA times as well. Those events and individuals were Preston Kessler in the 200 Freestyle who broke his own record with a time of 1:38.26. He also bested the AAA record in the event which still stands at 1:40.85. Secondly, Alex Bauer broke the record in the 200 IM by nearly 2 seconds with a time of 1:49.62. He also bested the AAA record in the event which still stands at 1:49.64. Lastly, the boys’ 200 Free Relay broke the WPIAL record of their own with a time of 1:24.43. That relay includes the likes of Joey Margita, Rey Nunez, Alex Bauer & Preston Kessler. The AAA record in the event which still stands is 1:25.45.
Complete Results
Girls’ Events
1. 200 Medley Relay – 3rd place – 1:49.17 – Lily Vello, Peyton Scott, Emme Fry & Sydney Anderson
3. 200 Free – 6th place – 1:57.92 – Sydney Anderson | 14th place – 2:03.28 – Maddy Bauer | 27th place – 2:09.88 – Ellie Long
5. 200 IM – 13th place – 2:18.58 – Ellie Speer | 22nd place – 2:23.51 – Hadley Long
7. 50 Free – 7th place – 24.75 – Bella Donatelli
11. 100 Fly – 4th place – 56.98 – Peyton Scott | 10th place – 1:01.38 – Emme Fry | 15th place – 1:02.71 – Morgan Grove | 23rd place – 1:06.04 – Veronica Major
13. 200 Free Relay – 8th place – 1:41.76 – Maddy Bauer, Morgan Grove, Peyton Scott & Bella Donatelli
Boys’ Events
2. 200 Medley Relay – 4th place – 1:38.18 – Eli Aiken, Rey Nunez, Joey Margita & Joshua Reed
4. 200 Free – 1st place – 1:38.26* – Preston Kessler | 8th place – 1:48.38 – Eli Aiken
6. 200 IM – 1st place – 1:49.62* – Alex Bauer | 17th place – 2:11.21 – Evan Speer | 29th place – 2:15.00 – Micah Weigner
8. 50 Free – 7th place – 22.15 – Joshua Reed | 21st place – 23.52 – Kody Griffith
12. 100 Fly – 4th place – 51.85 – Joey Margita | 17th place – 57.31 – Hagen Jones
14. 200 Free Relay – 1:24.43* – Joey Margita, Rey Nunez, Alex Bauer & Preston Kessler
*denotes WPIAL AA record
