Ayala Shines Bright: Double Gold and Record-Breaking Performance at Shartle Invitational!

West Scranton sophomore Roy Ayala secured two gold medals and established a meet record to underscore the achievements of Lackawanna League swimmers at the yearly Ernie Shartle Swimming Invitational held at Tunkhannock High School on Saturday.

Ayala claimed victory in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2 minutes, 15 seconds, surpassing the former record of 2:00.77 set in 2019 by Scranton’s Aidan Drouse. He triumphed over Athens’ Brayden Pettitt who finished second with a time of 2:00.39.

In the 100 breaststroke, Ayala registered his second gold with a time of 1:00.14. It was another closely contested race as Scranton Prep’s Lukas Iannone secured second place in 1:00.99.

Iannone, last year’s Times-Tribune Swimmer of the Year, achieved a victory in the 200 freestyle, completing it in 1:47.72. He outpaced Abington Heights’ Jason Casper (1:50.88).

Abington Heights’ Derek Williams claimed victory in the 50 freestyle.

Tunkhannock, as the host institution, broke two meet records in the relay events. The team of Josh Gaudet, Jayden Baltrusaitis, Aidan Mislevy, and Kyle Kozloski won the 200 free relay with a time of 1:29.98, eclipsing the previous record of 1:30.00 set by Scranton in 2019. Gaudet, Baltrusaitis, and Kozloski, along with Patrick Williams, set a new benchmark in the 400 free relay with a time of 3:18.70, breaking the record of 3:22.56 from 2022 established by Dallas.

Dallas’ Lydia Gonzales established a meet record in the 200 IM with a time of 2:05.59, surpassing the former benchmark of 2:06.54 set in 2023 by Wyoming Seminary’s Ryleigh Collins. She also secured the top spot in the 100 freestyle and played a pivotal role in two victorious relay teams, amassing four gold medals.

Elk Lake’s Brynn Warriner won the 50 free in 25.61 seconds and joined Hannah Howell, Allison Grosvenor, and Cheslea Grosvenor in the victorious 400 free relay.

Scranton Prep’s Rebecca Oakes emerged victorious in the 100 butterfly (1:00.18) while Abington Heights’ Hailey Pallman clinched the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:25.71.

ERNIE SHARTLE INVITATIONAL

GIRLS RESULTS

200 Medley Relay: Dallas (Maria-Lucia Pirore, Peyton Stauffer, Lydia Gonzales, Audrey Haydu) 1:51.29; Scranton Prep 1:59.57; Athens 2:04.87; Tunkhannock 2:05.88; Lake-Lehman 2:06.08; Hazleton Area 2:09.90.

200 Free: Peyton Stauffer (DAL) 2:01.35; Hannah Howell (EL) 2:11.13; Elizabeth Denlinger (ATH) 2:12.70; Hannah Kuhar (LL) 2:17.41; Kacy Johnson (AH) 2:18.74; Olivia Cruz (DV) 2:20.41.

200 IM: Lydia Gonzales (DAL) 2:05.59 (meet record; previous mark, 2:06.54, Ryleigh Collins, Wyoming Seminary, 2023); Erika Doran (DAL) 2:16.41; Hadley Pallman (AH) 2:19.71; Lia Ochs (HAZ) 2:21.35; Karissa Legaspi (LL) 2:28.56; Abigail Ryu (SEM) 2:28.61.

50 Free: Brynn Warriner (EL) 25.61; Karissa Legaspi (LL) 26.03; Sophia Galko (SP) 26.29; Gianna Vachino (AH) and Evelyn Panek (ATH) and Eva Kaszuba (SP), tied, 26.34.

100 Fly: Rebecca Oakes (SP) 1:00.18; Audrey Haydu (DAL) 1:04.28; Karissa Legaspi (LL) 1:04.41; Allison Grosvenor (EL) 1:05.08; Lia Ochs (HAZ) 1:05.27; Maria-Lucia Pirore (DAL) 1:07.12.

100 Free: Lydia Gonzales (DAL) 52.52; Rebecca Oakes (SP) 55.65; Audrey Haydu (DAL) 57.06; Brynn Warriner (EL) 57.19; Gianna Vachino (AH) 57.84; Ava Betnar (SEM) 58.67.

500 Free: Hailey Pallman (AH) 5:25.71; Erika Doran (DAL) 5:26.13; Lia Ochs (HAZ) 5:33.80; Hannah Howell (EL) 5:59.49; Cassidy Gallagher (LL) 6:06.99; Hannah Kuhar (LL) 6:07.15.

200 Free Relay: Dallas (Peyton Stauffer, Audrey Haydu, Maria Lucia Pirore, Lydia Gonzales) 1:42.04; Scranton Prep 1:43.96; Elk Lake 1:45.90; Athens 1:48.78; Wyoming Seminary 1:49.01; Abington Heights 1:49.13.

100 Back: Maria-Lucia Pirore (DAL) 1:02.14; Sophia Galko (SP) 1:06.09; Ella Schofield (SP) 1:06.94; Ava Betnar (SEM) 1:07.00; Miranda Anderson (TUN) 1:07.37; Lorelei Lucas (HAZ) 1:07.45.

100 Breast: Peyton Stauffer (DAL) 1:10.64; Erika Doran (DAL) 1:11.08; Elizabeth Denlinger (ATH) 1:16.62; Abigail Ryu (SEM) 1:16.62; Ella McKernan (WA) 1:17.89; Olivia Cruz (DV) 1:18.02.

400 Free Relay: Elk Lake (Brynn Warriner, Hannah Howell, Allison Grosvenor, Chelsea Grosvenor) 3:51.91; Scranton Prep 3:54.41; Wyoming Seminary 3:57.49; Abington Heights 4:06.00; Dallas 4:19.63; Delaware Valley 4:23.45.

BOYS RESULTS

200 Medley Relay: Athens (Eli Hicks, Brayden Pettitt, Ethan Hicks, Ryan Gorman) 1:43.03; Tunkhannock 1:44.59; Scranton Prep 1:45.56; Delaware Valley 1:50.65; Hazleton Area 1:52.92; West Scranton 1:55.07.

200 Free: Lukas Iannone (SP) 1:47.72; Jason Casper (AH) 1:50.88; Ben Kessler (SP) 1:51.33; Connor Runquist (LL) 1:51.48; Tyler Ingraham (DV) 1:55.31; Braydon Christopher (TUN) 1:55.54.

200 IM: Roy Ayala (WS) 2:00.15 (meet record; previous mark, 2:00.77, Aidan Drouse, Scranton, 2019); Brayden Pettitt (ATH) 2:00.39; Andrew Morris (LL) 2:10.24; Jack Kashatus (LL) 2:13.74; Aidan Mislevy (TUN) 2:14.97; Jay Rosenstock (HAZ) 2:19.44.

50 Free: Derek Williams (AH) 22.49; Kyle Kozloski (TUN) 22.62; Ethan Hicks (ATH) 22.66; Jayden Baltrusaitis (TUN) 22.70; Ben Kessler (SP) 23.02; Eli Hicks (ATH) 23.18.

100 Fly: Josh Gaudet (TUN) 52.26; Jason Casper (AH) 53.87; Andrew Lance (TUN) 57.25; Andrew Morris (LL) 59.34; Chase Kaschak (HAZ); Shane Naturale (DV) 1:01.06.

100 Free: Jayden Baltrusaitis (TUN) 49.09; Ethan Hicks (ATH) 49.92; Derek Williams (AH) 50.65; Ryan O’Connell (DV) 51.59; Eli Hicks (ATH) 51.87; Joseph Kessler (DV) 53.97.

500 Free: Connor Runquist (LL) 5:02.12; Kaleb Legaspi (LL) 5:12.34; Liam Fass (DV) 5:18.37; Tyler Ingraham (DV) 5:20.02; Isaiah Jones (EL) 5:26.37; Chase Kresge (DAL) 5:27.57.

200 Free Relay: Tunkhannock A (Josh Gaudet, Jayden Baltrusaitis, Aidan Mislevy, Kyle Kozloski) 1:29.98 (meet record; previous mark, 1:30.00, Scranton, 2019); Athens 1:32.04; Tunkhannock B 1:35.05; Delaware Valley 1:35.54; Abington Heights 1:35.94; Lake-Lehman 1:36.02.

100 Back: Kaleb Legaspi (LL) 56.99; Aidan Mislevy (TUN) 57.13; Jack Heiser (SEM) 58.78; Liam Fass (DV) 59.05; Logan Teeman (TUN) 1:01.05; Chase Kaschak (HAZ) 1:02.34.

100 Breast: Roy Ayala (WS) 1:00.14; Lukas Iannone (SP) 1:00.99; Brayden Pettitt (ATH) 1:01.22; Josh Gaudet (TUN) 1:03.23; Kyle Kozloski (TUN) 1:06.08; Jordan Ayala (WS) 1:07.81.

400 Free Relay: Tunkhannock (Josh Gaudet, Patrick Williams, Jayden Baltrusaitis, Kyle Kozloski) 3:18.70 (meet record; previous mark, 3:22.56, Dallas, 2022); Lake-Lehman 3:28.12; Abington Heights 3:28.36; Delaware Valley 3:28.70; Scranton Prep 3:33.90; Hazleton Area 3:55.31.

Initially Published: January 19, 2025 at 2:21 PM EST