Pennsylvania Women’s AAA High School State Championships

By Brian Savard

LEWISBURG, Pennsylvania, March 26. EMMAUS, who trailed Bethel Park by 20 points after the first day of competition, ended up defending its Pennsylvania Women's Class AAA title.

Team Scores
Emmaus eked out a win after taking third in the 400 freestyle relay, scoring 212 points. Hershey finished second with 208.5 points while Bethel Park placed third with 201 points.

Individual Results
200 medley relay

Bethel Park's quartet of Charlotte Brackett, Sarah Dunleavy, Kaitlyn Sweeney and Katie Brinkhoff edged out Emmaus in the first event, clocking a time of 1:46.12. Emmaus finished .85 second behind in 1:46.97 while Wilson placed third with a 1:47.92.

200 freestyle

Parkland's Jamie Malandra set a state record in the 200 freestyle, stopping the clock in 1:48.18. Malandra's swim eclipsed Hempfield's Katie Riefenstahl's 1:48.84 record that she set in 2005.

Malandra, who has yet to qualify for Olympic Trials, said that she won't be celebrating her state-record swim for long out of the pool.

"I'm just going to go back to the pool right after this [meet] and train for Trials," Malandra said.

Caitlyn Karr from Wilson finished second with a 1:50.60, and Angela Severn from Souderton beat out Patricia Leeson from Liberty by .04 to take third with a 1:51.37.

200 IM

Mikelle Masciantonio of Emmaus won by just less than two seconds in the 200 IM, clocking a 2:02.90. Sarah Dunleavy from Bethel Park touched second with a 2:04.80 standard while Alena Kluge of Emmaus used a strong backstroke leg to take third in 2:05.28.

50 freestyle

Bethel Park's Charlotte Brackett reached the top of the podium in the 50 freestyle, clocking a quick 23.46. Anna Munger of Conestoga and Sam Palser of Downingtown East duked it out for second, and Munger defeated the defending champion 23.73-23.76.

100 butterfly

The meet's most memorable performance came in the 100 butterfly, when the crowd cheered in Hershey's Katie Nolan as she posted a blazing-fast 53.42 100 butterfly. Nolan's time, which ranks fourth among high school swimmers this year, erased a 25-year-old record that Melanie Buddemeyer from Penn Hills set in 1983.

Nolan said that the time was her best in short course yards.

"I'm so happy, I never thought that I could go that at all," Nolan said. "All I know is that while I was swimming, I wanted to break the record."

Abby Myers, a Seneca Valley freshman, touched second in 56.48 while Megan Lafferty from Upper Dublin took third (56.77).

200 freestyle relay

Wilson won in dramatic fashion, as the foursome of Samantha Wierzbicki, Taylor Straub, Karr and Paige Impink touched out Hershey with a 1:35.81 time. Hershey settled for second with a 1:35.94 time while Bethel Park cruised to a third-place finish of 1:36.81.

100 freestyle

Nolan notched her second individual win of the meet with a 50.80 effort in the 100 freestyle. Karr placed second with a 51.28 time while Leeson checked in at 51.33.

500 freestyle

Malandra joined the double-event-winning extravaganza, easily pulling out a win with a state-record time of 4:48.43. Kelly Nelson of West Chester East, who currently is a junior at the Pennsylvania State University, set the former mark of 4:49.54 in 2005.

Courtney Beidler from Council Rock South held onto her second-place seed with a 4:54.89 while Claire Loht from Red Land placed third (4:57.77).

100 backstroke

Anna Gibas from Greater Latrobe pulled out a victory in the 100 backstroke, turning in a first-place standard of 56.22. Erica Rapp from Hershey, the top qualifier heading into finals, touched second in 56.38 while Emmaus' Allie Roberts earned the bronze medal with a 57.20 swim.

100 breaststroke

Masciantonio led the entire way, splitting a 29.94 followed by a 34.11, and won with a 1:04.05 time. Boyertown's Sara Hartman placed second with a 1:04.81 time while Great Valley's Kelly Carroll touched third (1:05.13).

400 freestyle relay

Rapp, Katelyn Miller, Jordan Liedholm and Nolan strung together a comeback performance in the 400 freestyle relay, as Nolan's 49.98 anchor split led the Hershey women to a 3:28.54 swim. Their swim nearly missed the state mark of 3:28.31 that Parkland set in 2001.

Wilson's quartet earned silver medals with a 3:30.63 time while Emmaus sealed its state-champion status with a 3:31.19 time, which was enough for third.

Diving Results

Sam Pickens from Franklin Regional topped the 24-woman diving field, scoring a 465.60. Amanda Lohman of Upper St. Clair scored a 440.10 and placed second while Chay Malvasio of Parkland ended up in third with a 403.65 score.

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