Highlands senior closes out an impressive career

Tri-State Sports & News Service

Highlands senior Bailey Bonnett is about to cap off one of the best careers in WPIAL Class 2A swimming history.

Only it isn’t exactly what might have been scripted heading into the season.

Bonnett, a Kentucky recruit, had the rare opportunity to become a four-time champion in two events, the 200-yard individual medley and the 500 freestyle. She swam the individual medley Thursday, but opted against the 500 freestyle this year and instead will hit the pool for Friday’s second day of competition in the 100 breaststroke.

When she steps onto the block, she will be the top seed coming into the day with a seed time of 1:04.52, nearly two seconds faster than Mount Pleasant freshman Heather Gardner, who is second at 1:06.39.

What also makes this particular event interesting is that Bonnett’s training partner, Knoch senior Brooke Zukowski, is a three-time defending champion and is seeking her fourth title to close out her career.

Zukowski, a New Mexico recruit, is seeded 12th coming in with a time of 1:13.10 and, if she wins, will have to do it from the next-to-last heat. It’s not an unheard-of feat, but it is quite rare to even have a top-eight medalist from outside of the final race.

More 2A girls

A year ago, Ellwood City’s Taylor Petrak broke the WPIAL Class 2A record in the 100 freestyle and didn’t even win the race.

Instead, she had to settle for silver as Emily Zimcosky of Geibel swam a 50.08 to beat her own 2015 mark by 0.44 seconds. Petrak came in with a 50.33second showing.

This year, the senior comes in as the favorite with a seed time of 51.68 seconds, nearly a second faster than Northgate’s Karen Siddoway, who posted a qualifying time of 52.61.

Class 2A boys

Most swimmers find an event and train specifically to win the WPIAL or at least qualify for states all four years.

Springdale senior Kevin Kondrit isn’t changing his event per se, just adjusting his mileage.

Last year, Kondrit won the 200 freestyle and finished third in the 100 freestyle on the second day of the meet. This year, he swam the 200 Thursday but opted to increase his distance from the 100 to the 500 freestyle on Day 2.

It might seem like a bold move to increase yardage in that way, but Kondrit must have had a pretty good idea of what he was doing. He will enter Friday’s event as the No. 1 seed with a time of 4:51.87, a whopping 8.23 seconds faster than Andrew Pierre of Mars.

Class 3A girls

Every year it seems that there is one race that might turn out to be a signature event for the entire meet.

In 2010, it was the Class 2A 500 freestyle that featured three future Division I swimmers who all went to the Olympic Trials, one of whom, Oakland Catholic’s Leah Smith, won a gold medal in 2016 in Rio. Those three, Ambridge’s Lindsay Vrooman, Indiana’s Rachel Zilinskas and Smith, also finished 1-2-3 — in the same order — in the state finals.

This year that race could be the Class 3A girls 100 freestyle.

North Allegheny senior Lauren McGrath, a Princeton recruit, is the defending champion and top seed coming in with a time of 50.62. Olivia Livingston of Gateway, one of the top freshmen in the WPIAL, is second at 52.04, third is Mt. Lebanon’s Trinity Ward, who opted to swim this event instead of the 100 backstroke where she finished second last year, and fourth at 52.14 is the Blue Devils’ Kathryn son, an Alabama recruit who missed most of last season with an injury.

North Allegheny freshman Torie Buerger, by far the top seed in the 100 backstroke, will be chasing the WPIAL record. She comes in with a time of 55.86 and will be looking to break the mark of 53.59 set by the Tigers’ Jacquilyn Du in 2015.

Class 3A boys

North Allegheny will be looking to win its sixth consecutive team title Friday, but there is a possibility of a true rarity at the WPIAL 3A finals. A clean sweep. North Allegheny has the potential of winning every event on Day 2 of the meet as the Tigers have the top seed in every event.

Junior Mason Gonzalez and sophomore Jack Wright are 1-2 in the 100 freestyle, while senior Eben Krigger and freshman Rick Mihm are the top two seeds in the 500 freestyle with Maxwell Gonzalez a solid fourth. Andrew Zhang had the top time in the 100 backstroke with a 51.41, but Jack Fitzpatrick of Upper St. Clair is second at 51.44 and Stephen Hopta of Peters Township is in the mix at 52 seconds.

North Allegheny also has the top two seeds in the 100 breaststroke with Jerry Chen and Matthew Kuhn and the top 400 freestyle relay time at 3:07.76.