Jensen Goes 42.69 in 100 Free, La Salle Wins PIAA ‘AAA’ Champs

Full results

After Cal commit and Upper Dublin senior Michael Jensen nearly took down Tom Shields‘ 200 free national high school record last night with a 1:33.90, he returned for a huge 42.69 tonight to take the 100 free. The state and national HS record eluded him this time, however, as he sat just a few tenths behind David Nolan‘s 42.34 from 2011, which is both the state and national HS record. Jensen’s previous best was a 43.29.

La Salle’s Greg Brocato, who took the 50 free last night, finished 2nd in this race at 44.46. Brocato was a big point producer for La Salle, who finished the night with the team title.

Jake Sannem was another star for La Salle– after finishing with a very strong 1:35.44 in the 200 last night, which was overshadowed by Jensen’s big swim, he unloaded a statement swim in the 500 tonight. His time of 4:19.64 was more than a seven second drop from prelims and obliterated the state record by almost three seconds. Sannem is just a junior.

All of the meet’s studs met in the 400 free relay. La Salle got out to a big lead after Sannem’s 44.92 lead-off, but Upper Dublin got back in the mix with 100 breast champ Wyatt Amdor‘s 45.46 split. It came down to the two best sprinters of the meet, Brocato vs. Jensen, with the La Salle senior getting a slim lead at the exchange.

Jensen flipped at a 19.87 to Brocato’s 20.75, and the Upper Dublin senior pounded it home in 22.26 for a QUICK 42.13 anchor leg to give his team the title. Upper Dublin also broke their 2013 state record, bringing it under the 3-minute mark for the first time ever. Brocato, for his part, managed a 43.89 split which is impressive in and of itself.

Other winners on the day:

• Wyatt Amdor of Upper Dublin in the 100 breast (54.82)
• James Wilson of Conestoga Valley in the 100 fly (48.09)

FINAL TEAM SCORES

1. La Salle 252
2. Upper Dublin 207
3. North Allegheny 205
4. Mt. Lebanon 138.5
5. Hempfield 120