King, Vikings star at WPIAL swimming championships

The WPIAL boys and girls swimming championships took place last Thursday and Friday at Trees Pool at the University of Pittsburgh, and Lily King and Mount Pleasant Area had several more golden moments. King, a senior for the Vikings, set new WPIAL records in taking gold in the 200 freestyle (1:47.13) and 100 freestyle (47.65). Meanwhile, Vikings classmate Kiersten O’Connor won gold in the 50 freestyle with a mark of 23.30 and the 100 backstroke with a time of 54.62. The Vikings girls relay team of King, O’Connor, Laney Brown, and Maddie Barrick took gold in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:45:22, while the quartet of King, Barrick, Brown, and Riley Shinsky won the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:36.46. On the boys side, senior David Mutter captured gold for Mount Pleasant, winning the 100 butterfly with a time of 48.01 and the 500 freestyle at 4:34.54. Joseph Gardner, another senior for the Vikings, took first in the 100 breaststroke at 55.77. The Viking boys relay squad of Mutter, Gardner, Seth Painter, and Gunnar Probst stood atop the podium with a time of 1:35.08. Despite all of their first-place finishers, the Vikings took silver in both the girls and boys overall team races, finishing behind Indiana Area in both. Meanwhile in Class 3A, Norwin sophomore Amber Klingensmith captured gold in the girls 100 butterfly with a time of 56.34, while Greater Latrobe junior Chris Heese stood atop the podium in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 55.94. Greater Latrobe was the best Westmoreland finisher on the girls side, placing seventh, while the Wildcats also finished seventh on the boys side.

Westmoreland quartet begins PIHL playoffs

The PIHL Penguins Cup postseason commences tonight for the four Westmoreland County teams that made the tournament. In Class AA, third-seeded Greater Latrobe (15-5-0-0) hosts No. 6 Hempfield Area (8-10-1-1) at 7:15 at the Kirk Nevin Arena in Greensburg. Elsewhere in the bracket, No. 4 Penn-Trafford (14-4-1-1) welcomes five seed Bishop McCort at the Palmer Imaging Arena in Delmont. The winners advance to the semifinals next Tuesday at the RMU Island Sports Center at Neville Island. In Division 2, second-seeded Burrell (15-2-2-1) opens postseason play with a home matchup against No. 7 Elizabeth Forward at the Pittsburgh Ice Arena at 8 p.m. With a victory, the Buccaneers would move on to the semis at the RMU Island Sports Center next Wednesday.

Smetanka hired by The Kiski School

Aaron Smetanka, the former football coach at Saint Vincent College and Greensburg Central Catholic, will lead another school in Westmoreland County. Smetanka was hired as the head coach at The Kiski School last week. Smetanka was not retained by Saint Vincent College, his alma mater, after the conclusion of the 2024 season. During his six years leading the Bearcats, Smetanka achieved a record of 19-36. Prior to that, he was at the helm of the Centurions for two campaigns. The Cougars, who play a prep school schedule that includes opponents from Maryland, New Jersey, and West Virginia, went 6-3 last season.

Bearcats MBB falls in PAC semis

Saint Vincent College men’s basketball came up just short of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship Game, as the Bearcats fell to Washington & Jefferson 87-79 in the semifinals last Thursday. The host Bearcats had four players score in double figures, led by Osyon Jones, who had 17 points. Meanwhile, Mike Iuzzolino and Dev Ostrowski each posted 15 points, while Jaden Gales contributed 14 points and 16 rebounds. Matthew Carte scored 23 points to pace the Presidents, who outscored SVC 47-40 in the second half. As a result, Saint Vincent concludes its campaign with a mark of 20-6, including 16-4 in the PAC.