Villa Marie Girls Claim 2nd Consecutive PIAA 2A State Championships Title

2021 Pennsylvania HS 2A State Championships (Girls)

• Friday, March 19th, 2021
• Mechanicsburg, PA (Cumberland Valley High School)
• Short Course Yards (25 yards)
• Results

On Friday, Villa Maria (Erie) won their 2nd consecutive state championships title at the 2021 PIAA Class 2A State Championships consisting of the smaller schools in the state. In 2019, they broke Villa Maria Academy’s 8-time win-streak and out-scored 2nd place team Schuylkill Valley by a margin of 37 points.

Last season’s state championships were cancelled last-minute due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus impacted this year’s championships as well, as Cumberland Valley High School hosted a spectator-less version of the meet.

The diving portion to place on March 13th, prior to swimming. There, junior Alexandra Pastris of MN won the one-meter event with 412.10 points, followed by NCAT sophomore Maggie Foley who claimed 2nd place. Alexa Fegley, a MOR junior, placed 3rd with 333.05 points.

Note: There are two high schools named Villa Maria in Pennsylvania 2A swimming – the 2018 state champion is Villa Maria Academy, while the defending state champion will be referred to as Villa Maria (Erie.)

Team Scores

1. Villa Maria 157
2. Wyoming Seminary 152
3. Schuylkill Valley 136
4. Fairview 132
5. East Pennsboro 114

Their only event win came in the 200 medley relay where junior Megan Maholic, seniors Jasmine Chen and Olivia Mottillo, and sophomore Haley Palmer touched the wall about half-a-second ahead of Wyoming Seminary.

 Notably, Wyoming Seminary’s anchor Ryleigh Collins, a sophomore, posted the fastest 50 free split of 22.83 while no other anchor broke 24.00. That first relay was reflective of the final close battle in team standings between the two schools. Maholic was Villa Maria (Erie’s) highest point scorer with a total of 28 points.

While Villa Maria (Erie) only won one event, they garnered points through a series of high-placing finishes. Maholic was their highest point scorer with a total of 28 points after claiming 3rd in the 100 back with a time of 56.17.

Sophomore Ella Menear of Mapletown won the event with a time of 54.99, out touching Bedford freshman Leah Shackley by .66. 

Springfield Township senior Maura Fluehr defended her individual event title in the 100 fly, winning decisively by 3 seconds with a time of 54.49. She also claimed victory in the 100 free (50.34), finishing the race a second head of Fairview senior Halle Myers. 

Myers went on to touch the wall 1st in the 50 free with a time of 23.71, closely followed by South Park freshman Katie Jackovic (23.85.) Collins did not compete in this event, but she did anchor Wyoming Seminary’s winning 400 free relay in a 50 free split of 51.92, only beaten by 2nd place team Fairview’s anchor Myers who clocked a 51.04.

Fairview scored major points by winning the 200 free relay, as Myers anchor leg split here was a 23.02. The only swimmer with a faster 50 split was Fluehr who posted a 22.52, earning Springfield Township 2nd place.

Freshman Kimberly Shannon of Lewisburg claimed 1st in the 200 IM with a  time of 2:03.25, touching the wall over 2 seconds ahead of the rest of the field. With four events to rest in between,  Shannon won the 500 free with a time of 4:56.48, being the only swimmer to break 5:00. She won the race won by nearly 7 seconds

Warren junior Katie Beyer won the 200 free (1:53.06) after tight race with senior Ella Gross from GWYNEDD Mercy who touched the wall in 2nd place with a time of 1:53.32.

Trinity’s Karli Powell, a sophomore, won the 100 breast with a time of 1:03.48 and a half-a-second lead over the field.