P-O's Harris wins another regional title; Clearfield's Peterson captures 500 free
Monday, March 08, 2010
By Josh Mlot Sports Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK - Disappointment was shown the back door Saturday at the District 6-9 Class AA Regional Swimming and Diving Championships.
The Clearfield swimming and diving team followed up a strong showing on Day 1 with continued time improvements and more state qualifiers, plus two regional champions, while another Progressland diver flew solo to a four-peat at State College's McCoy Natatorium.
"More time drops," Clearfield head coach Jackie Morrison said. "That's what we want - that's the key. That's more important to me than anything, actually.
"Of course you want to get kids to states, but what was important to us was that the entire team perform to their potential. I do think that when we look back and reflect on this particular meet, we're going to be real happy with the results."
The Bisons crowned two regional champions Saturday - something they hadn't done during Friday's action - as Kraig Peterson went sub-five minutes in the 500 free and the 400 free relay team closed out the day with a big performance in the last event.
Jordan Mumma also picked up another automatic qualification as he landed in second in the 100 free.
"We're going to refocus, Morrison said. "Enjoy it for a few days, and then get back to work because we're going to states to put up a good performance and a good showing."
The Clearfield boys held their spot in the standings, wrapping up the meet with 213 points and a second-place result. District 9 rival St. Marys took the team title with 237.
For the girls, continued steadiness and depth kept the Lady Bisons in third. Their 158 points came in behind Westmont-Hilltop's 253-point championship and Bellefonte's 173.
The diving competition had its share of drama, as Clearfield's Jessica Shomo battled Brookville's defending regional champ, Jamie Hays, for the third time this year. After splitting the first two matchups, Hays' experience shined on the big stage.
Shomo found herself down only 4.05 points after the preliminary dives, but a troubled entry on the final dive of the semifinal portion of the program allowed Hays to slip away.
Shomo finished as a runner-up to her Brookville counterpart with a 338.55 and will face her rival again at states. Hays finished with a 358.90.
Lady Bison teammates Sarah Lowder and Misty Knapik helped the Clearfield girls own the diving podium, as they nabbed fourth and sixth, respectively.
The boys' drama was far more fleeting, as Philipsburg-Osceola's Jordan Harris returned to defend his last three regional titles, after setting a meet record in 2009.
A contingent of Clearfield divers - led by Jason Maines and Elliot Lauder - shadowed the Mountie athlete, but the glimmer of hope for them was short-lived.
After immediately impressing on his first jump, Harris went big on his second attempt, with a 3.0 degree-of-difficulty. But the execution was off and the senior suffered a failed dive.
"I did it really good in warmups," Harris said, "I was just a little too over the board. I didn't have enough time to set up and get the dive around."
The misstep seemed to open the door for those chasing him, but only temporarily. Harris relinquished his lead for three rounds, but was clearly charging back. His final dive of the preliminary portion vaulted him back on top of the field to stay.
Harris finished off his program with a splash, drawing judges' scores of 8, 8, 7, 8.5 and 9, as he cemented a 438.10 and his fourth and final regional championship in a four-year run of domination.
"I was still pretty confident," Harris said. "My DD's pretty high. I just take it one dive at a time.
"I ripped a lot of dives. I think I did pretty good on all my other dives besides the second one."
Clearfield followed him up with its own impressive group, controlling the podium with four top finishers. Maines landed in second, Elliot Lauder third, Nathan Brzezinski fifth and Garrett Lauder sixth.
Maines and Elliot Lauder will join Harris at the PIAA meet, an event the Philipsburg-Osceola diver returns to as the defending champ.
"I think I can take it again," Harris said. "I'm going to try to, at least."
Once the swimmers hit the pool, Mumma made the first noise for Clearfield in the 100 free.
The Bison junior couldn't catch familiar foe and eventual winner Seth Dippold of St. Marys, but a driving final 25 yards launched Mumma to a runner-up finish in 49-flat.
Peterson then brought the fans to their feet with Clearfield's first champion of the meet, rolling through a strategic 500 free to pick up a four-second victory with a 4:59.49.
"We knew he had two powerful kids beside him that were quicker in sprinting," Morrison said, "so we laid back a little to make sure we had enough at the end.
"I really wanted him to win a regional title. Getting to states wasn't enough in that, we wanted him to be a champion."
Peterson and Mumma then joined forces with Connor Shirey and Alex Fisher to bring home the gold in the meet's final event, the 400 free relay.
Shirey broke out of the gates with a 100-yard leg that topped his individual effort in the 100, and then Peterson took over the race in the second leg, setting things up for the final pair of swimmers.
"That was going to be our relay from the get-go," Morrison said. "Those boys wanted that. We had unbelievable swims. Kraig, that was the key leg. To drop three seconds from his season swims after doing that 500, that was heart."
After Fisher maintained the advantage, Mumma fired off the fastest final splits of the race, cruising to victory.
"Jordan just sealed the deal," Morrison said. "(He's) been sealing the deal for us all year. He's getting comfortable with stepping into the pressure role of being an anchor. ... Jordan wasn't relinquishing the lead. It didn't matter."
After picking up their first career regional podiums on Day 1, Fisher and teammate Caleb Baas became more acquainted with that podium on Day 2. Fisher landed in fifth in the 100 breast, and Baas grabbed sixth by less than half a second in the 100 back.
The Lady Bisons lacked the flair of the boys, but solidified their third-place team standing with a series of strong performances from top to bottom.
The 100 free saw senior leader Brandie Centi back on the podium with a 58.74 sixth-place swim. Young teammate Morgen Turner earned praise for her efforts as well, swimming a 1:02.34 in the event.
"Morgen Turner had a big meet," Morrison said. "For a freshman that's never had an experience like this in her lifetime, not even through the (YMCA) program. Her whole meet - she did everything right and nothing wrong."
Juliana Mellgard was the other podium finisher for the Lady Bisons, coming out of the penultimate heat to top some of the higher seeds with her 1:17.11 - good enough for sixth in the 100 breast.
"We talk about that a lot - it's not about being in the top heat," Morrison said. "It's about going out and having an opportunity in the lane that you're given. We love seeing things like that because it's heart and it's guts and it's confidence.
"We're real proud of Jules. We love having her as (just) a sophomore."
Shirey (boys 100 free), Kaylee Bowser (girls 500 free) and Ashley Durandetta (girls 100 back) all had close-but-no-cigar results, just outside medal positions.
All automatic qualifiers (top-two regional finishers) will now prepare for the Class AA PIAA state championships set for March 19 and 20 at Bucknell University in Lewisburg.
Swimmers who did not finish in the top two may qualify based on top times, as 16 additional qualifiers will be announced.
NOTES: Despite his victory, Harris' failed dive cost him any shot at challenging the 502.35 regional record he set last year. ... Clearfield swimmers set three meet records a year ago, and all held up. The 200 medley relay record of 1:40.90 was set by Shay Flanagan, Mark Krchnak, Peterson and Shirey. Krchnak also holds benchmarks in the 200 IM (2:01.05) and 100 breast (59.40). ... A year after six regional records were broken, none were shattered. Boys
Team Standings and Key
1. St. Marys, SM, 237; 2. Clearfield, CL, 213; 3. Bellefonte, BEL, 132; 4. Somerset, S, 127; 5. Westmont-Hilltop, WH, 107; 6. Bradford, BRA, 104; 7. Brookville, BRO, 84; 8. Central, CE, 81; 9. Richland, R, 49; 10. Central Cambria, CC, 45; 11. Bishop McCort, BM, 31; 12. Cranberry, CR, 25; 13. (tie) Ligonier Valley, LV, and Tyrone, T, 24; 15. Huntingdon, H, 22; 16. Cambria Heights, CH, 16; 17. Penns Valley, PV, 15; 18. Northern Cambria, NC, 13; 19. Lewistown, L, 4; 20. Marion Center, MC, 3; Other: Philipsburg-Osceola, PO.
1 meter diving: 1. Harris, PO, 438.10; 2. Maines, CL; 3. E. Lauder, CL. 100 free: 1. Dippold, SM, 48.15; 2. Mumma, CL; 3. Ward, WH. 500 free: 1. Peterson, CL, 4:59.49; 2. Schwab, BRA; 3. Wilt, BEL. 100 back: 1. Dodson, CE, 55.76; 2. Beichner, CR; 3. Grasser, BEL. 100 breast: 1. Cotter, SM, 1:00.21; 2. Proudfit, SM; 3. Rosenberger, BEL. 400 FR: 1. Clearfield (Shirey, Peterson, Fisher, Mumma) 3:24.24; 2. Somerset; 3. Westmont-Hilltop.
Girls
Team Standings and Key
1. Westmont-Hilltop, WH, 253; 2. Bellefonte, BEL, 173; 3. Clearfield, CL, 158; 4. Bradford, BRA, 125; 5. St. Marys, SM, 103; 6. Ligonier Valley, LV, 96; 7. Huntingdon, H, 81; 8. Brookville, BRO, 68; 9. Somerset, S, 64.5; 10. Lewistown, L, 62; 11. Central Cambria, CC, 47; 12. Northern Cambria, NC, 37.5; 13. Bedford, BED, 19; 14. Tyrone, T, 18; 15. Bald Eagle Area, BEA, 16; 16. Saltsburg, SA, 12; 18. Central, CE, 8; 19. Marion Center, MC, 7; 20. Cambria Heights, CH, 6; Other: Conemaugh Township, CT.
1 meter diving: 1. Hays, BRO, 358.90; 2. Shomo, CL; 3. Holm, SM. 100 free: 1. N. Kovach, WH, 56.00; 2. K. Kovach, WH; 3. Green, H. 500 free: 1. Miller, WH, 5:18.40; 2. Rullo, CT; 3. Kahle, BRA. 100 back: 1. Schnars, BEL, 1:01.46; 2. Kahle, BRA; 3. Crust, BEL. 100 breast: 1. Scordato, BEL, 1:09.68; 2. Frownfelter, BRA; 3. McCulloch, BEA. 400 FR: 1. Bellefonte, 3:48.56; 2. Westmont-Hilltop; 3. Ligonier Valley.
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