Tigers junior breaks record
Gonzalez finishes 50-yard freestyle in 20.03 seconds
Tri-State Sports & News Service
North Allegheny coach Patrick Wenzel asked junior Mason Gonzalez earlier this season if he would be willing to switch his opening event at the WPIAL Class 3A finals from the 200-yard freestyle, where he was the reigning champion, to the 50 freestyle.
When Gonzalez acquiesced, he didn’t just give himself a new challenge. He helped spread the wealth to the rest of the Tigers team.
Gonzalez also made the most of the switch as he finished in 20.03 seconds in the 50 freestyle that broke the WPIAL record of 20.13 set by Upper St. Clair alumnus Ryan Dudzinski in 2015.
“Last year I swam really well in the relay in the district meet and it was crazy,” Gonzalez said. “Going into it, I had my eyes set on it, but I wasn’t really sure if I was going to do it.”
By moving to the 50 freestyle, Gonzalez opened up a spot for teammate Eben Krigger to take over as the favorite in the 200 freestyle and he didn’t disappoint. Krigger didn’t set a record — he actually missed it by 0.02 seconds — but he did lead a Tigers triumvirate that finished 1-2-3 in the event.
Krigger hit the wall in 1:38.91, followed by sophomore Jack Wright with a 1:39.31 and freshman Rick Mihm with a 1:39.68.
“It’s amazing and there’s no better feeling than to look at the scoreboard and seeing your teammates right with you,” Krigger said. “It’s awesome because we know we can go even further and focus on our state meet and set us up real well for that.”
North Allegheny has been the prohibitive favorite to win the boys team championship and did nothing to disappoint. The Tigers capped the day with another record as Wright, Mihm, Krigger and Gonzalez swam a 1:22.93 in the 200 freestyle relay, which helped them to a 221-152 lead over second-place Hempfield in the team standings.
In the girls competition, the Tigers had an individual win from Princeton recruit Lauren McGrath in the 200 freestyle and the team won the 200 freestyle relay. But a pair of freshmen, Butler’s Laura Goettler and Gateway’s Olivia Livingston, made record-setting statements in their first foray into the WPIAL finals.
Goettler was the No. 3 seed in the 200 individual medley but shaved 6.50 seconds off her personal-best time and touched the wall in 2:01.78, which beat the record of 2:01.94 Kaitlynn Orstein of Mt. Lebanon set in 2014.
“I was just trying to go like I was going in practice,” Goettler said. “I actually did not discuss winning at all. I was just looking to go 2:04 and I’m real surprised.”
In her first individual event, she trimmed nearly a second off her seed time and finished the 50 freestyle in 22.83, virtually obliterating the previous mark of 23.21 seconds set by Katie Ford in 2014.
“I’m very excited and I really wanted to break it,” Livingston said. “I really wanted to go 22.”
Despite the individual accomplishments, no team could stay with North Allegheny as the Tigers, who are seeking their record-tying ninth consecutive title, have a 221-175 lead over Mt. Lebanon.
Zach Baum sang the national anthem before the Class 2A meet and his timing in the water was spot on as well. The Derry senior swam a 50.29 to set the record in the 100 butterfly by 0.53 seconds and beat Obama Academy junior Sead Niksic, who also eclipsed the old mark, by just 0.23 seconds.
“The record was nice, but the national anthem makes me so nervous, singing in front of all these people,” Baum said. “I knew going into it because I had a lot of respect for those guys because they have beaten me multiple times and I worked hard this season and it showed.”
One record was also tied in the Class 2A meet, but it wasn’t in an individual event. Highlands senior Bailey Bonnett, a Kentucky recruit, won the 200 individual medley for the fourth consecutive time as she posted a 2:01.99 to take the title by 7.25 seconds over Lindsey Grune of Shady Side Academy.