The SV Raiders Swim and Dive Team took two away from Peters Township on the road on Tuesday, December 18th, beating the PT Indians 104 to 77 for the girls and 99 to 86 for the boys. The boys meet was a nail biter up until the last relay, when the Raider boys thundered into the wall to take first and second place and clinch the win. SV swimmers and divers secured another 20 individual WPIAL cuts and 2 relay WPIAL cuts, bringing their total to 48 WPIAL cuts so far for their season. And, as is tradition, all WPIAL qualifiers got to perform their very best belly smacker at the end of the meet to celebrate!
Diving
SV girls dominated diving, taking 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in all 6 dives. Junior Mackenzie Clark, new to the team this year, took first place overall and earned a chance to represent SV at WPIAL diving in February. Returning Sophomore Rylie Smith and Freshman Ashley Felitsky took 2nd and 3rd place, contributing to the girls’ win. Sophomores Trevor Elliott and Matt Laslavic and Freshman Sam Skeen took 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place with their 6 dives.
Girls
In the first individual event, Juniors Emily Tekelenburg and Julia Listwak pounded through the 200 yard freestyle, with Senior Sarah Stevens placing in the event as well. Seniors (and team captains) Katie Clark and Alyvia Meanor took 1st place in the 200 IM and 50 free, respectively. Backing them up were Sophomore Carly Brunello & Freshman Ria Dietz in the 200 IM and Sophomores Bella Stefanowicz & Edie Sawyer in the 50 free – all four girls placed.
Sophomore Kendall Craig took second place in the 100 yard butterfly, with Junior Gianna Petrella and Sophomore Dilini Ranaweera placing in the event as well. Julia Listwak destroyed the 100 yard freestyle with her first place finish, with Alyvia Meanor and Sophomore Annabel Morrisard coming in 2nd and 4th. Then Junior Taylor Schoeffel, Bella Stefanowicz, and Freshman Abby Perry went 1-2-3 in the 500 free.
The team of Kendall Craig, Alyvia Meanor, Edie Sawyer, and Julia Listwak won the 200 freestyle relay, with the team of Kristen Bedell, Emily Tekelenburg, Sarah Stevens, and Maya Dietz taking 3rd place. In the final events of the night, Ria Dietz and Kendall Craig took first and third place in the 100 yard backstroke, and Edie Sawyer, Carly Brunello, and Katie Clark teamed up to take 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the 100 yard breaststroke in a dominating performance. The SV girls finished off the Peters Township girls with a first place finish in the 400 freestyle relay, with Annabel Morrisard, Ria Dieta, Julia Listwak, and Bella Stefanowicz turning in an impressive finish for the win.
Boys
Junior Owen Blazer and Senior Max Bredl showed what they’re made of by annihilating the 200 free. Then the speedy Simoes brothers - Senior Jonathan and Freshman Daniel - took first and second place in the 200 IM, with Renhan Xu also placing in the event. Junior Max Skeen took second place in the 50 free with support from Freshman Zach Lozowski and Junior Pace Zec. Max Bredl took first place in the 100 yard freestyle with Renhan Xu and Zach Lozowski coming in third and fourth.
Max Skeen returned to the pool for another strong performance in the 100 freestyle, taking 2nd place, with Freshman Garrett Rogos also placing in the 100 free. Freshman Kevin Donaldson left nothing in the pool when he delivered a first place finish in the 500 yard freestyle, getting great backup from Matt Stevens and Connor Anderson. Then SV boys Max Skeen, Zach Lozowski, Kevin Donaldson, and Max Bredl took 2nd place in the boys 200 freestyle relay, with the team of Renhan Xu, Pace Zec, Sophomore Brian Whitney, and Connor Anderson coming in third. In the final events, Owen Blazer, Jonny Simoes, and Freshman Owen Tekelenburg placed 1st, 2nd, and 5th in the 100 yard backstroke, with Danny Simoes and Sam Skeen placing 2nd and 5th in the 100 yard breaststroke.
At this point of the meet, the SV boys score was only three points ahead of PT, and it all came down to the final relay, but our Raiders pulled it off, stunning with first and second place finishes in an exciting 400 freestyle relay race that had the crowd on its feet, with the team of Max Skeen, Kevin Donaldson, Jonny Simoes, and Owen Blazer seizing first place and the team of Zach Lozowski, Renhan Xu, Daniel Simoes, and Max Bredl taking second, finishing off the PT boys for good.
Well done, SV!