2021 Pennsylvania 2A State Championships (Boys)
- Friday, March 19th, 2021
- Mechanicsburg, PA (Cumberland Valley High School)
- Short Course Yards (25 yards)
- Results
On Friday, Bishop McDevitt claimed victory at the 2021 PIAA HS 2A State Championships, consisting of the smaller schools in the state. The school has been gradually sneaking up the ranks since 2016 where they placed 13th, 10th in 2017, 5th in 2018, and 3rd during the 2019 state championships. This year, their victory was by a close margin of 5.5 points over Riverside.
The defending champions, Cathedral Prep, tied with Belle Vernon for 5th place. Last year, the meet was cancelled last minute due to the COVID-19 pandemic therefore the Cathedral Prep was looking to defend their 2019 title. The virus had an effect on this year’s meet too, as Cumberland Valley High School hosted a spectator-less meet.
Diving was contested on March 13th, the week before swimming, where Upper Moreland junior Brandon Bush won the one-meter event with a total of 396.35 points. In 2nd place was Susquehannock junior Max Pflieger 328.20 points with 476.65 and in 3rd was South Park senior Cole O’Connor with 328.20 points.
Team Scores
- Bishop McDevitt 142.5
- Riverside 137
- Hampton 122
- Lower Moreland 117
- Belle Vernon / Cathedral Prep 109 *TIE
Bishop McDevitt’s highest point scorer was senior Patrick Hemingway who totaled 30.5 points after he snagged 3rd in the 50 free (20.79), 4th in the 100 back (51.79). He also helped the school to 1st in the 200 medley relay and 2nd in the 400 free relay.
In the 200 medley relay, sophomore Lucas Hancock anchored the Bishop McDevitt relay with fastest 50 free split in the field: 21.29. Hemingway’s lead-off backstroke leg was only slower than Riverside freshman Joseph Roth who clocked a 23.06 compared to Hemingway’s 23.21.
Senior Ian Shahan of Belle Vernon’s scored the most points on both his team and of the meet. He started off by winning the 50 free after a tight race with Neshannock’s Conner McBeth. Shahan touched the wall with a time of 20.00, .26 ahead of his fellow senior. His performance broke the PIAA 2A state record, previously set at 20.45 in 2018, by nearly half-a-second. Shahan went on to defend his 2019 title in the 100 fly with a time of 48.77 and nearly a 2 second lead over the field.
Indiana senior Kyle Thome had a decisive victory in the 200 free, touching the wall 1st with a time of 1:39.74 and a 4 second lead over Lower Moreland senior Noah Ferker (1:42.14). Ferker’s 2nd 50 yards was faster than Thome, but Thome’s last two 50’s were over a second faster than everyone else.
Thome then won the 500 free, although Notre Dame Green Pond’s RJ Farina challenged him the entire race. Farina took out the first 100 yards fast (in 52.46 compared to Thome’s 53.58) and they went back and forth throughout the race. But Thome touched the wall 1st with a time of 4:40.22, .08 ahead of Farina. The 2019 champion, Danny Berlitz, who won the event by breaking the PIAA 2A state record of 4:24.07, graduated in 2019.
McBeth took 1st in the 100 free (44.56), winning the race by almost exactly 2 seconds to 2nd place finisher Jacob Wade from Susquehannock (46.55).
Peter Kawash, a Lakeland senior, won the 200 IM with a time of 1:52.08, 2 seconds ahead of Boiling Spring sophomore Braelen Mowe (1:54.65.) Later, Kawash claimed 1st in the 100 back as well with a time of 50.34, fending off Riverside’s Roth by .02.
After a narrow race with Wyoming Seminary, Riverside won its first state championships gold relay medal in program history in the 200 free relay. Riverside’s team of Roth, senior Graham Kralic, sophomore Sam Kline, and junior Alexander Roth touched the wall with a time of 1:26.52, .05 ahead of Wyoming Seminary.
Notably, 5th place team Bell Vernon’s Shahan clocked the fastest 50 free split in the event: 19.86. Lower Moreland went on to win the 400 free relay, but Bishop McDevitt’s Hemingway had fastest anchor split of 45.32 to snag the school 2nd place.
Big Spring’s Matthew Raudabaugh, a junior, touched the wall 1st in the 100 breast with a time of 57.83, closely followed by Hampton senior Richie Donato (58.03).
