After a close meet on February 13th, Riverside boys varsity swimming edged out Beaver 99-83, earning their second undefeated section championship. Girls swimming also claimed a win, beating the Bobcats 89-85 for an overall a 6-2 season record. The girls swim team has its share of championships but is still in the process of rebuilding after the loss of eleven graduating seniors in 2015.
“It’s hard for a small school to replace that many seniors, but we are bouncing back,” said coach Gwen Nulph. “The girl’s program has slowly evolved over the last few years, and I look for big things next season from them.”
The small, co-op team consisting of Ellwood City and Riverside athletes is off to the championships carrying their boys Class-AA section title with them.
Following on the heels of the Beaver win, the Panthers attended the Midwestern Athletic Conference (MAC) swimming championship on February 15th. MAC highlights for the girls’ team included a 3rd place finish in the 200 medley relay, followed by 6th in the 400 free relay. For the boys, senior Josiah Shaffer took 3rd in the 200IM and 2nd in the 100 breaststroke. The boys’ relay teams also posted a strong showing, earning a spot at the top of the podium after a 1st place 200 free relay win by Shaffer, junior Graham Kralic, sophomore Alexander Roth, and freshman Sam Kline. Second and 3rd place wins in the 200 medley and 400 free relays helped position the boys’ for an overall 3rd place finish, behind Moon and West Allegheny swim teams. It’s worth noting that Moon had 34 swimmers and west Allegheny had 22. The Panthers were able to bring home a successful third-place finish with only 17 swimmers, and in some cases outscored larger teams.
Riverside Swimming Team has several top placements in the upcoming 2020 WPIAL Swimming Championships according to psych sheets published by the WPIAL.
The Swimming Championship will be held at the University of Pittsburgh Trees Pool on Thursday, February 27, 2020, and Friday, February 28, 2020.
The boys swimming team have first place seeding in the 200-Yard Freestyle Relay, second in the 200-Yard Medley Relay, and third in the 400-Yard Freestyle Relay.
Individually, Josiah Shaffer secured a second seed in the Boys 200-Yard Individual Medley (IM) behind Alex May of Montour. Shaffer will also compete in the 100-Yard Breaststroke.
Additional Panther swimmers participating in individual events include:
Juniors:
Graham Kralic – 50 free
Hayden Panek – 200 free, 500 free
Sophomores:
Jenna Hayson – 200IM, 100 breast
Alexander Roth – 50 free
Alyssa Jeffcoat – 100 breast
Freshmen:
Kate Henderson – 100 back
Sam Kline – 100 free, 200 free.
As to the success of the team, Nulph attributes a substantial part of this to the Riverside Aqua Club of Ellwood City (RACE). RACE is a feeder program for varsity swimming, offering swim lessons and competitive swimming opportunities for children of all ages.
Nulph forwarded the following quote regarding RACE’s impact on the varsity program:
“We may be small, but we are mighty. Our swimmers come from our RACE program, where they have spent countless hours training and racing for years. Sr. Josiah Shaffer has been swimming for 13 years. Big Thanks to our RACE program for supporting and feeding our Riverside Swim team for years!”
Riverside enters in Zone D located near the diving board area. All descriptions of zone locations are from the spectator area looking out towards the pool.
Swimming events for AAA and AA boys and girls conducted on Thursday, February 27, 2020, are as follows:
200 MEDLEY RELAY – 200 FREE – 200 IM – 50 FREE – 100 FLY – 200 FREE RELAY
Swimming events for AAA and AA boys and girls conducted on Friday, February 28, 2020, are as follows:
100 FREE – 500 FREE – 100 BACK – 100 BREAST – 400 FREE RELAY
AA Timed Finals follow AAA and play out from 3:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Last year, the boys broke three school records helping Riverside get the Panthers into states after placing 6th in the 54-team meet.
Full psyche sheets available here, wpial.org/wp-content/uploads/2020-AA-Final-Psyche-Sheet.pdf
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