PIAA Swimming: Ellwood’s Petrak Wins Silver and Bronze

Ellwood City’s Taylor Petrak earned a silver and bronze at the PIAA swimming championship at Bucknell University over the weekend.

Petrak, a junior, claimed second in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 23.19 seconds, a .14 improvement from her WPIAL performance. In the 100-yard freestyle, Petrak finished in 50.70 seconds, .37 seconds slower than her WPIAL performance.

Prior to the state championship, Petrak said her primary goal was to improve her times. With the USA YMCA Nationals approaching in April, she’s shooting for times of 22.89 and 49.89.

As a sophomore, Petrak won the 50 and placed second in the 100. However, Emily Zimcosky, the WPIAL record holder in the 100-yard, didn’t participate at states. This year, Zimcosky, a senior at Geibel-Catholic, did and claimed the gold in both events. Hannah Blaser, a senior at District 1 school Gwynedd-Mercy, placed second in the 100.

Petrak will compete in the YMCA nationals in April, take a week off in the summer, and dive right back into the pool for the next season of club swimming. In the long term, she is aiming for college scholarships.

Riverside Swimming

The Riverside girls 200-yard freestyle relay won the WPIALs and placed 10th at the PIAA with a time of 1:40.98. The team consists of junior Erica King, junior Alana Nulph, freshman Meghan Rosendale and senior Kelly Krechowski.

King also competed as an individual in the 200-yard freestyle and 500-yard freestyle. In the 20o, King placed 14th with a time of 1:55.97. She placed 11th in the 500 with a time of 5:08.56.

For the boys, sophomore Dean Kralic placed 13th in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 53.25.