Leah Shackley Crushes PIAA Record in 100 Fly (50.29) at 2A Champs, 5th in 17-18 NAG Rankings

Pennsylvania High School 2A STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

• March 15-16, 2024
• Kinney Natatorium
  • Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
• SCY (25 yards)
• Championship central
• 3A recap

Girls Team Scores

1. Mt. Pleasant – 164
2. Cathedral Prep – 145
3. Springfield Township – 129.5
4. Dallas – 129
5. Northgate – 115

Only a week removed from an impressive showing at the Pro Swim Series stop in Westmont, Illinois, Bedford senior Leah Shackley broke two PIAA meet records en route to three-peats in the 100 butterfly (50.29) and 100 backstroke (50.76) at the 2A Championships last weekend in Lewisburg.

Shackley clocked a lifetime best in the 100 fly, shaving a few tenths off her previous-best 50.60 from December. The NC State commit crushed her own PIAA 2A standard of 51.93 from last year while also erasing the overall PIAA record of 51.26 set by Cal commit Annie Jia at the 3A Championships just a couple days prior.

Shackley’s winning time of 50.29 would have placed 2nd at the ACC Championships last month behind only Virginia star Gretchen Walsh. It also bumps her ahead of Kate Douglass (50.30) for No. 5 all-time in the U.S. 17-18 girls’ national age group (NAG) rankings.

In the 100 back, Shackley knocked almost a second off her own PIAA meet record of 51.61 from last year. She was within half a second of her personal-best 50.43 from her district meet last month. At the Pro Swim Series stop in Westmont the weekend prior, Shackley placed 2nd in the LCM 100 back (59.76) and 3rd in the 100 fly (58.39), 200 fly (2:12.03), and 200 back (2:08.87).

• Related: Leah Shackley Drives One Hour Each Way to Train By Herself at SCY YMCA 6 Days a Week

Mt. Pleasant junior Lily King also pulled off a three-peat in the 100 free (48.38) and earned a second consecutive 200 free crown (1:45.51). A fellow NC State commit, she broke her own PIAA meet record from last year (48.93) but narrowly missed her state record of 48.21 from her district meet a couple weeks prior. King posted a new personal best in the 200 free, shaving exactly half a second off her previous-best 1:46.01 from districts. She swept the sprint free titles as a freshman (22.66/49.78) before swapping the 50 free for the 200 free the past two seasons.

King’s 47.56 anchor on Mt. Pleasant’s 400 free relay (3:36.90) lifted the quartet to a 4th-place effort in the final race of the meet, clinching a second consecutive team crown 19 points ahead of Cathedral Prep. She also anchored Mt. Pleasant’s winning 200 medley relay (1:46.78) with a 21.62 free split.

Lewisburg senior Kimmy Shannon dropped more than four seconds in the 500 free (4:47.58) on her way to her fourth straight victory in the event. The Pitt commit tallied winning times of 4:56.48, 4:51.98 (previous best), and 4:55.48 before completing her perfect 4-for-4 run last weekend with her first trip into sub-4:50 territory. Shannon also returned atop the podium in the 200 IM (2:00.67), dropping more than half a second in the process. She swept both the 500 free and 200 IM (2:03.25) as a freshman before earning back-to-back runner-up finishes in the 200 IM as a sophomore (previous-best 2:01.20) and junior (2:04.23).

With three double winners, there were only two other girls who claimed individual 2A crowns. Mt. Pleasant junior Kiersten O’Connor took the 50 free title (23.48) for her winning squad, dropping .13 seconds along the way. Knoch junior Giona Lavorini triumphed in the 100 breast (1:02.11), just a couple tenths off her personal-best 1:01.90 from her district meet the week prior.

Boys Recap

Team Scores

1. Indiana – 184
2. Mt. Pleasant – 168
3. Northgate – 118
4. Blue Mountain – 115.5
5. Springfield Township – 109

Indiana junior Preston Kessler defended his individual title in the 200 free (1:38.57) to help his team capture the 2A championship by 16 points ahead of Mt. Pleasant.

Kessler couldn’t repeat in the 100 free as well with a runner-up finish in 44.01, but he did shave more than half a second off his best time from last April. He also anchored the victorious 200 free relay (1:25.38) and 400 free relay (3:06.81) with splits of 20.13 and 44.08, respectively.

Mt. Pleasant junior Joseph Gardner took down his own PIAA 2A record in the 100 breast (54.28), dropping almost a second off his old standard of 55.23 from last year. He also triumphed in the 200 IM (1:49.01), dethroning defending champion Woobie Kupsky (1:50.45) of MMI Prep after placing 2nd last year (previous-best 1:50.24).

Gardner’s teammate, Mt. Pleasant junior David Mutter, brought home another individual title in the 100 fly (47.52). He dropped more than a second off his runner-up finish from last year (49.06) and more than half a second off his previous-best 48.28 from December.

Blue Mountain junior Noah Powers put together one of the most incredible bounce-back efforts of the entire high school championship season nationwide. After placing 2nd in the individual 50 free final (20.58) behind North Catholic junior Luke Lamb (20.44), the Virginia commit blasted a personal-best 19.82 leading off Blue Mountain’s runner-up 200 free relay (1:26.22). That swim took more than half a second off his previous-best 20.41 from the week prior. Powers also dropped almost two seconds in the 100 free (43.82), winning another 2A title after placing 4th last year (45.92).

Lamb secured the 100 back crown (48.08) to go along with his 50 free victory (20.44). Both performances were lifetime bests as he dropped six-tenths of a second in the 100 back and more than half a second in the 50 free. He had never been under 21 seconds in the 50 free before his win last weekend.

Although Kupsky couldn’t repeat in the 200 IM, he did top the podium in the 500 free with a winning time of 4:30.74. The Hawaii commit barely missed his personal-best 4:30.63 from last month, improving upon his 3rd-place finish from last year (5:32.09).