Tigers Roar into Action at the New Year’s Challenge!

by: Swimming & Diving Contributor

Following an intense week of training, the North Allegheny swimmers and divers were reminded of their purpose as the NA Girls and Boys teams visited Bucknell University, the venue for States, to participate in the New Years Challenge. Max Thirkell and Tabari Morgan achieved further excellence with their initial WPIAL cuts! Thirkell in the 500 Freestyle and Morgan in the 200 IM.

Kicking things off in the 200 Medley Relay, the NA Girls secured fourth place with top finishers Dani Hinkson, Tori Tieppo, Eva Ogden, and Claire Bacu completing the race in 1:51.05. The NA Boys claimed second place in the medley relay with the leading relay team of Danny Lesinski, Gus Miller, Mason Shantz, and Dylan Seiford achieving a time of 1:36.55.

During the 200 Freestyle, the NA girls ranked ninth, 14^th, 25^th, and 27^th. The best finisher for NA, Emma Dietz, achieved a time of 2:02.28. The NA boys finished seventh, 15^th, 17^th, and 24^th. The top performer, Nicholas Klein, clocked in at 1:47.74.

In the 200 IM, the NA girls placed seventh, 25^th, and 28^th. The best swimmer from NA, Tieppo, finished at 2:14.79. The NA boys ranked fourth, ninth, 16^th, and 18^th. The Tigers’ leading finisher was Emmanuel Chu, who swam a 2:01.30.

During the 50 Freestyle, the NA girls ended in eighth, tenth, tied for 19th, 34^th, and 36^th positions. The fastest girl for the Tigers, Julianne Weaver, finished with a time of 25.60. The NA boys secured fourth, 11^th, 13^th, 20^th, 35^th, and 41^st places. The best swimmer for NA was Grant Regule with a time of 21.79.

In the 100 Butterfly, the NA girls secured fifth, ninth, 16^th, and 20^th positions. Hinkson was the top performer with a time of 1:00.87. The NA boys demonstrated a strong performance, finishing in the top 10 with third, fourth, seventh, and ninth places. Leading the group was Miller, who clocked in at 52.27.

The 200 Free Relay saw the NA Girls take third place. The team formed by Bacu, Madden Woycheck, Ogden, and Weaver finished with a time of 1:41.26. The NA boys claimed second place, as Lesinski, Regule, Miller, and Zachary Totin touched the wall at 1:26.24.

In the 100 Freestyle, the NA girls finished in 13^th, 25^th, 26^th, 39^th, 45^th, and 46^th positions. The best finisher for NA Girls was Dietz with a time of 55.88. The NA boys finished in 10^th, 11^th, 13^th, 15^th, 23^rd, and 28^th. The best swimmer among the Tiger boys was Seiford with a time of 49.66 seconds.

In the 500 Freestyle, the NA girls excelled in the distance race, finishing in first, 10^th, 19^th, and 28^th positions. The event winner was Bacu, achieving a time of 5:02.47. The NA boys placed 13^th and 20^th. The top swimmer among the NA boys was Thirkell, excelling with a time of 5:07.37.

In the 100 Backstroke, the NA girls finished in 10^th, 13^th, 14^th, and 26^th. The fastest swimmer among NA was Li, who achieved a time of 1:01.42. In contrast, the NA boys excelled, taking first, tied for eighth, and 17^th. The event winner was Lesinski with a time of 51.64.

For the 100 Breaststroke, the NA girls finished in sixth, 24^th, and 27^th positions. The best performance came from Tieppo, who clocked in at 1:09.26. The NA boys occupied 13^th, 15^th, 17^th, and 25^th places. The leading finisher among NA boys was Alex Harbaugh clocking a time of 1:04.38.

In the 400 Freestyle Relay, the NA girls ranked seventh. The fastest NA Girls team was composed of Bacu, Ogden, Hinkson, and Madden Woycheck, finishing with a time of 3:46.32. The NA boys finished in second place, with the nail-biting team of Miller, Regule, Lesinski, and Totin touching the wall at 3:11.30.

For a detailed look at the results from the New Years Challenge meet, click here.

For a detailed look at NA only results, click here.

North Allegheny will return to competition on Thursday, traveling to Moon High School to face the Tigers in a section contest starting at 5:00 p.m.