Five-peat! Riverside Boys Swimming Collects Another Section Championship, Next Up WPIAL Championships

Small, mighty, and ready to explode off the blocks!

The Riverside Boys Swimming Team has collected their fifth consecutive section championship and will next turn its focus to the WPIAL Swimming Championships scheduled for March 2-3 at the Trees Pool on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh. Class 2A starts at 3:00 PM both days.

“The team is the strongest I have seen in the last five years,” says head coach Gwen Nulph. “They do not back down from any of my workout challenges. Every year is designed to be more complex than the previous.”

The boys are seeded well in all event according to Nulph.

The coach points out a strong addition to the WPIAL championship field in a Kiski Area squad that enters the Class-AA field from a previous AAA classification.

“The WPIAL becomes more difficult every year,” says Nulph. “They [Kiski] will come with 15 swimmers and I will be there with my five swimmers.”

Last year the Panthers placed second overall as a team in the WPIAL Class-AA Championships with 205 points behind first place finisher Hampton (233 points).

The team also lost Alexander Roth from last year’s squad, but Michael Styn has stepped up to the blocks and is ready to go according to Nulph.

“He did a fantastic job filling some big shoes this year.”

Individually WPIAL events and relays in meet order and as provided by Nulph:

• 200 Free – Michael Styn (10) 152.24
• 50 Free – 129.97 Joe Roth (11) 21.96, Ryan Turner (11) 22.37, Sam Kline (12) 23.40
• 200 Free Relay – Ryan Turner, Sam Kline, Michael Styn, Joe Roth
• 100 Free – Ryan Turner (11) 48.58, 50.31
• 500 Free – Michael Styn (10) 508.87, Gavin Frederick (10) 520.62
• 100 Back – Joseph Roth (11) 51.22, Gavin Frederick (10) 101.72
• 400 Free Relay – 318.00 Ryan Turner, Sam Kline, Michael Styn, Joe Roth

Nulph hopes the team can draw some championship success from some modifications that have been implemented over the course of the season, including a swimming taper.

A swimming taper that can be complex based on weight and strength is the time leading up to a big competition where swimmers decrease their training volume while increasing their rest in order to prepare their bodies to go best times.

Nulph has spent many years with this group of boys and has been able to taper the boys well over the last few years.

“When you coach at this level, the coaches have to be willing to make changes in the program,” says Nulph. “The training is there.”

A critical regular season victory for the Panthers was its February road victory over West Allegheny.

“West Allegheny had four talented young men and we knew going in the coach would plan a formidable lineup,” says Nulph. “Our boys needed to perform, not just the big guns.”

The meet came down to the Riverside swimmers who may have not qualifed for WPIALs and in the end the Panthers had substantial time drops from all swimmers and collected the victory.

The victory over West Allegheny is just on one of the regular season victories for the five-time defending section champs who finished a perfect 8-0 in the section.

“Of course, the wins will not last forever,” concludes Nulph. “But we are enjoying the ride.”