MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Things are heating up in pools around the state, and Tuesday night at the Mylan Park Aquatics Center was no exception.
“We scheduled this one as a prep for the MoHawk Invitational we’re holding here on Saturday,” Morgantown assistant coach J.C. Pettit said. “There will be 18 teams competing [from noon to 5:30 p.m.], and there will be some of the best swimmers in the state here. Everyone’s excited to come up here to have a chance to swim in the main facility ahead of the state tournament in February.”
Just in the second meet of the new season, Morgantown and University are going in fresh off Tuesday’s quad that saw both teams put up solid times while grabbing top placements.
To kick off the meet, Morgantown’s 200 medley girls’ A team picked up first place with a time of 2:02.56 over Fairmont Senior which clocked 2:06.27. The girls continued to impress, especially senior McKenna Moore and freshman Caroline Riggs. Moore picked up a second-place finish in the 50 free (26.84), just edged by Fairmont Senior’s Mia Abruzzino (26.65), while Riggs took top spots in the 200 IM (2:13.48) and 100 breast (1:07.68).
Her backstroke time clinched a new school record.
“Caroline has an opportunity to place well in individual events plus the relays in the state meet,” Pettit said. “She’s going to be concentrating on the breaststroke, IM and the 200- and 500-frees. She has the opportunity to become one of the best swimmers in the history of the school. No doubt about it.”
As for Moore, she’s heading into this season wanting to make this season her best one.
“I want to be there with all of my teammates and be immersed in the swim culture,” Moore said. “Swimming [is secondary], it’s about being here with my teammates and coaches. That really means a lot to me.”
The runner-up in last season’s state 500-free, Moore noted that one of her biggest personal goals doesn’t revolve around a redemption title, but rather is to snap a record she came close to last year.
“I was .03 seconds from breaking [Morgantown’s] fly record, so I’m focusing on that 100-fly that’s 1:00.01,” she said.
The Mohigans girls’ A relay teams managed to pull through in the end to escape a late push by Fairmont Senior, winning out the 200 and 400 freestyle.
The boys had more success, winning just competitive individual races. Each relay pitted the A and B teams against each other, however the Mohigans claimed five solo races.
Caleb Seol won the 200 free (2:25.65), Carson Gresak claimed the 50 free (23.46), Gavin Fragale won the 100 breast (1:13.091) and Spencer Redelman took the 100 free (58.42) and 100 backstroke (1:06.95).
“Spencer and Carson are both leaders as far as spirit of the state and in individual events, not only here but statewide as well,” Pettit said. “Carson’s 50-free really pumped up the rest of the team [for their contests].
“We’re very fortunate to have good numbers on these teams, it’s almost even 16-16 for boys and girls. The new swimmers coming in are exceptionally talented, and of course with the new facility, the [team’s] getting better and better.”
Morgantown took first in both the boys’ and girls’ team scores, scoring 112 and 62, respectively. University girls took second (53) and Fairmont Senior placed 3rd (51). North Marion took 2nd with a score of 12, followed by UHS (10) and FSHS (8).
Hawks show their prowess
Although neither University or Morgantown had high team placements at states, but both teams are looking good through the first two meets.
University had two first-place, three second-place and four third-place finishes on the day with senior Victoria Maumbe and Mia Rice taking the top finishes in the 100 backstroke and 500 free, respectively.
And although the Hawks lost six seniors, UHS coach Joanne White said that she wants to focus on constant improvement.
“I don’t think we’ve ever compared our teams year-to-year, every year it’s so different,” White said. “Just because we had an awesome relay one year, it [can] completely change the next year so our goal is to support each other and improve every individual swimmer.”
Maumbe has caught the eye of White over her three years, as White notes that individually Maumbe “is a fantastic swimmer and works as hard in the offseason as during the season.” Maumbe swam her fastest backstroke Tuesday, a 1:10.45.
The captains for University are seniors Emma Kitzmiller and Zeriel Wong, both of whom are great leaders according to White. Kitzmiller’s 2:24.25 final time was good for a second-place finish in the 200 free.
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