2023 PIAA AA Pennsylvania High School Swimming and Diving State Championships
- February 15-16, 2023
- Kinney Natatorium, Bucknell University
- Short Course Yards (25 Yards)
- Full Meet Results (PDF)
- Results on MeetMobile: “2023 PIAA Boys 2A Swimming and Diving Champ”
With help in the way of a state record-setting performance from sophomore Lily King, Mt. Pleasant claimed the state title this year after finishing second a year ago. After coming up short by less than ten points last season, Mt. Pleasant was dominant in 2023, capturing the state title by over 100 points.
On the boy’s side, it was Cathedral Prep who claimed the title. After winning the meet last season as well, the program retained its title by holding off Bishop McDevitt. Cathedral Prep has been among the best teams in PIAA in recent seasons, winning three out of the last five state titles.
Girls’ Meet Recap
After setting the state record in the 100 back a year ago, Bedford junior Leah Shackley returned to not only lower her record in that event but break the record in the 100 fly as well on her way to being named Girls’ Swimmer of the Meet.
In the 100 fly, Shackley took over a second off of Margaret Gruber’s 2012 record of 53.50, touching in 51.93. Not only was that time fast enough to demolish the record, but it was also a personal best by over a full second.
Shackley followed that performance by taking nearly a second off of her own record in the 100 back. After setting the record at 52.42 last year, she lowered it to 51.71 during her prelims swim of the event. In finals, she knocked another tenth of a second off, touching at 51.61 for gold.
While Shackley’s winning time was impressive, she was nearly a second faster just weeks earlier at the PIAA District 6 Championships. At that meet, she became the third fastest 15-16 girl all-time, touching at 50.83. That time ranks behind only Claire Curzan and Regan Smith in the age group.
The third record-breaking performance of the meet came from Lily King, although probably not the Lilly King you’re thinking of. A sophomore at Mt. Pleasant, King continued her assault on the PIAA record books, taking down the state record in the 100 free by half of a second. King broke Adriana Grabski’s record of 49.57 which had stood since 2013. Runner-up Elise Nardozzi was also under the previous record in the event.
King and Nardozzi also battled it out in the 200 free, with King once again getting the upper hand. Finished in 1:46.86, she claimed her fourth state title in just two years of high school swimming.
Last season, King was the state champion in the 50 and 100 freestyles as a freshman. In the 50, she set the state record, touching in 22.66. That event was won this year by 2022 bronze medalist Brenna Ross (23.73).
Mt. Pleasant also swept the relays at the meet, with King anchoring both the 200 and 400 freestyle relays. In the 200 free relay, she was joined by Kiersten O’Connor, Trinity Graft, and Sarajo Gardner to touch just .07 off of the state record in a time of 1:35.88. Graft and King were then joined by Reegan Brown and McKenna Mizikar on the 400 free relay to close the meet in 3:31.57.
O’Connor, Gardner, Mizikar, and Brown started the meet by winning the 200 medley relay by over two seconds with a time of 1:46.71.
The 200 IM went to Mapletown senior Ella Menear. Menear claimed her third title and second straight gold in the event with a time of 2:02.13.
Notably, Menear is the first and only swimmer to ever represent Mapletown High School. The school lacks both a team and pool, with Menear traveling to Morgantown, West Virginia to train with Club Mountaineer Aquatics. She’s committed to the University of Alabama for this fall.
Swimming in her hometown, Lewisburg junior Kimberly Shannon won a tight race again Dallas sophomore Lydia Gonzalez. The two time defending champion in the event, Shannon touched at 4:55.48.
While Shannon claimed her third straight title, Indiana High School sophomore Peyton Scott claimed her first. After finishing second in the 100 breast as a freshman, Scott returned as a sophomore to claim gold in the event. Finishing under 1:03 for just the second time in her career, Scott touched at 1:02.42.
Bethlehem Catholic junior Anna Petke also picked up her first state title. Petke finished with the top score on the 1-meter board, finishing with 242.50 for gold.
Team Scores
- Mt. Pleasant – 218.50
- Wyoming Seminary – 118
- Cathedral Prep – 116
- Northgate – 112
- Quaker Valley – 108
Boys’ Meet Recap
While the girls’ meet featured record-breaking swims, only one state record fell during the boys’ meet. Representing Bishop McDevitt, John Haskins, Isaac Hancock, Rocco Solimeo, and Lucas Hancock combined to set a new state record in the 200 free relay. The quartet knocked nearly half of a second off of the previous record to touch in 1:24.30. the previous record was set by Grove City back in 2017.
Bishop McDevitt also claimed the state title in the 400 free relay later in the meet. Lucas Hancock, Solimeo, and Haskins were joined by freshman Robert Dempsey to win gold with a time of 3:09.76.
Only a sophomore, Indiana’s Preston Kessler claimed finished the meet as a two-eventd state champion for the second straight year. Contesting the same two events as he did last season, Kessler left the meet with a gold medal in both the 100 and 200 freestyles.
In the 200 free, Kessler led the field by over a second, touching in 1:39.27. That swim marks over a full second improvement from his winning time last season as well as a new lifetime best in the event. He also now sits less than a second away from the state record in the race.
He followed that swim with a second dominant performance in the 100 free. The only swimmer to finish under 45.0, Kessler stopped the clock at 44.45. He still has over a second to drop to get near the state record in the race, with David Nolan’s 2010 time of 43.27 being the state’s oldest record. Nolan also holds the National High School record of 42.34 in the event.
Joining Kessler as a two-event winner was Southmoreland senior Henry Miller. Miller started his meet by narrowly missing the state record in the 50 free, posting a lifetime best of 20.16 for gold. He followed that performance by claiming his second straight title in the 100 fly. After winning the event last year in 49.83, he finished nearly a second faster in his senior season, winning in 48.88.
After taking fifth last season in the 200 IM, Woobie Kupsky returned as a junior to claim the state title in the event. Kupsky finished in a lifetime best, touching at 1:49.99.
Kupsy also finished third in the 500 free (4:32.09), with Kiski Area senior Parker Sterlitz claiming the gold. A 2023 commit to West Virginia University, Sterlitz took the top spot with a time of 4:30.40.
Cathedral Prep claimed the state title in the 200 medley relay, with Mitchell Bradford, Matthew Hinman, Aidan Levis, and Colin Troutman winning in 1:33.89.
After bringing home silver in the 200 IM, Mt. Pleasant sophomore Joseph Gardner finished in the top spot of the 100 breast. Gardner hit a new lifetime best in the race as he touched in 55.23.
On the diving board it was freshman Caleb Arnott of Interboro who claimed his first state title. Arnott finished with a score of 254.30 to win by over twenty points.
Team Scores
- Cathedral Prep – 194
- Bishop McDevitt – 164
- Indiana – 141
- Kiski Area – 136
- Northgate – 126
