PIAA swimming: La Salle wins fourth straight title

La Salle continued its dominance in the pool Saturday, clinching its fourth straight team title at the PIAA Swimming and Diving Championships at Bucknell University.

The Explorers came into Saturday with a 28-point lead over Upper St. Clair. A strong performance on the final day of events gave La Salle a big boost. The Explorers finished with 302 points, while Upper St. Clair finished with 221.

The icing on the cake for the Explorers was their first-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The team of Jake Sannem, Vincent Everman, Joseph Vizza, and Greg Brocato won the event with a time of 3:00.93.

Upper Dublin's Michael Jensen paired his victory in the 200 freestyle Friday with a title in the 100 freestyle Saturday. He finished in 43.29. La Salle's Brocato was second in 43.91.

North Penn's Thanas Kountroubis took first place in the 100 breaststroke (55.16), edging Upper Dublin's Wyatt Amdor (55.26).

Hatboro-Horsham's Michael Thomas touched the wall first in the 100 backstroke, coming home in 46.19. Conestoga's Brian McKenrick was third (49.73).

La Salle's Sannem was third in the 500 freestyle, finishing in 4:28.25.

The North Penn girls team finished in third place, helped by Olivia Distefano's third-pace in the 100 backstroke (56.06). Haverford High's Maddie Hart was just ahead of Distefano, placing second (54.98).

Pennridge finished fourth overall. The Rams were led by freshman Morgan Scott, who was second in the 100 freestyle with a time of 49.86 seconds.

CLASS AAA BOYS

Top 10: 1. La Salle, 302; 2. Upper St. Clair, 221; 3. North Allegheny, 183; 4. North Penn, 170; 5. Hershey, 154.5; 6. Mt. Lebanon, 132; 7. Upper Dublin, 117; 8. Cathedral Prep, 81; 9. Dallastown, 78; 10. Hatboro-Horsham, 64.

100 freestyle: 1. Michael Jensen, Upper Dublin, 43.29; 2. Greg Brocato, La Salle, 43.91; 3. Brian Lovasik, North Hills, 44.75.

500 freestyle: 1. Sam Magnan, Bethlehem Freedom, 4:23.92; 2. Fynn Minuth, Upper St. Clair, 4:26.53; 3. Jake Sannem, La Salle, 4:28.25.

100 backstroke: 1. Michael Thomas, Hatboro-Horsham, 46.19; 2. Kevin Liu, Upper St. Clair, 49.57; 3. Brian McKenrick, Conestoga, 49.73.

100 breaststroke: 1. Thanas Kountroubis, North Penn, 55.16; 2. Wyatt Amdor, Upper Dublin, 55.26; 3. Casey Melzer, North Allegheny, 55.58. 400 freestyle relay: 1. La Salle (Jake Sannem, Vincent Everman, Joseph Vizza, Greg Brocato), 3:00.93; 2. Upper St. Clair, 3:03.04; 3. North Penn, 3:04.94.

CLASS AAA GIRLS

Top 10: 1. Hershey, 262; 2. North Allegheny, 257.5; 3. North Penn, 168; 4. Pennridge, 156; 5. Parkland, 89; 6. Haverford, 83; 7. Mt. Lebanon, 79; 8. Avon Grove, 77; 9. Upper St. Clair, 66; 10. Unionville, 64.

100 freestyle: 1. Siena Salvaggio, Parkland, 49.61; 2. Morgan Scott, Pennridge, 49.86; 3. Morgan Soulia, North Allegheny, 50.96.

500 freestyle: 1. Kathryn Painter, Norwin, 4:50.49; 2. Shannon Howell, Freedom, 4:57.09; 3. Frances Resweber, Strath Haven, 4:59.61.

100 backstroke: 1. Jacquelyn Du, North Allegheny, 53.29; 2. Maddie Hart, Haverford High, 54.98; 3. Olivia Distefano, North Penn, 56.06.

100 breaststroke: 1. Vivi Tafuto, Hershey, 1:00.74; 2. Allie Raab, Hershey, 1:00.84; 3. Olivia Paoletti, Avon Grove, 1:03.22.

400 freestyle relay: 1. Hershey (Vivi Tafuto, Kaley Buchanan, Maggie Lee, Allie Raab), 3:22.82; 2. North Allegheny, 3:23.27; 3. Pennridge, 3:24.72.