Gateway freshman shines in 100 freestyle
Olivia Livingston accomplished something of note when she set a record Thursday in her first individual event at the WPIAL Class 3A finals. What she did on the second day of the meet Friday at Pitt’s Trees Pool might put the spotlight squarely on her for the next three years.
Livingston, a freshman at Gateway, set her second WPIAL record in as many days after she won her second title in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 49.53 seconds. Not only did she set the record, but to do it she had to
WPIAL swimming championships
beat three of the best swimmers in the area, North Allegheny senior and Princeton recruit Lauren McGrath, Mt. Lebanon senior and Alabama recruit Kathryn Nicholson and Blue Devils sophomore Trinity Ward, a two-time champion in the 100 butterfly.
“It’s really exciting and I was really nervous before the race,” Livingston said. “But I knew that they would push me so I could get a really fast time.”
Winning against that trio is accomplishment enough, but breaking the record — more specifically whose record she broke — is what makes it noteworthy. Livingston — who also set the record in the 50 freestyle a day earlier — shattered the previous mark of 50.48 seconds originally set in 2013 by Oakland Catholic alumna Leah Smith, who won an Olympic gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
“We had a party with my swim team and we watch the trials and it was really exciting,” Livingston said. “It was great watching someone that also came from the Jewish Community Center Sailfish.”
Smith set three records in her final WPIAL meet and the other two, in the 200 and 500 freestyles, are still on the books. The one Livingston broke was set while Smith swam the first leg of Oakland Catholic’s 400 freestyle relay. A record only can be set in a relay if it’s on the first leg.
Still, breaking a record originally held by an Olympic gold medalist is a tremendous accomplishment. It’s especially satisfying when it was held by someone with a similar background in the sport.
“It makes me really proud of myself and I’m just happy that I had those girls to push me,” Livingston said.
North Allegheny junior Mason Gonzalez, who won the 50 freestyle Thursday in record time, also broke his 2016 record in the 100 freestyle by 0.65 with a 44.17.
“I broke my old record so it’s nice to get a best time,” Gonzalez said.
North Allegheny got another record as the 400 freestyle relay posted a 3:03.20 to knock out the 2014 Upper St. Clair mark by 0.43 seconds. The Tigers girls also broke their record in the event, a 3:26.41 from 2014, with a 3:26.39, but it wasn’t enough to win as Mt. Lebanon took the title with a 3:25.76.
Despite the loss in the final heat, North Allegheny still had enough to bring home a 342-307 triumph over Mt. Lebanon to capture its record-tying ninth consecutive Class 3A team title. The Tigers tied Bethel Park (1974-82) for the classification mark, but Oakland Catholic (2000-10) holds the overall mark with 11 in a row in Class 2A.
North Allegheny’s boys won their sixth in a row, 433238 over second-place Peters Township, which extended the WPIAL titles for most concurrent boys and girls championships held by the same school to six. Quaker Valley won the Class 2A boys title for third consecutive year with 188 points. On the girls side, Shady Side Academy won its third consecutive title.