On Friday, December 9, West Allegheny hosted the home opener for the girls’ and boys’ swimming and diving. Captains Kris McEwen, Billy Heintz, Elizabeth Ashoff, Ally Kenny, and Meghan Busch kept the team positive throughout the meet and put in their best effort. Despite losing, the hopes for this season still remain very strong.

To start off the meet, the diving team welcomed four new divers to the sport. Hannah Ashoff, Luis Ortiz, Eduardo Escobar, and Andy Ehrlich, all new divers, broke 100 points at their first ever competition, which is challenging. On top of that, Meghan Busch took first place and made WPIAL cuts by achieving a score of 195.15. Giving their best effort, the divers, led by Sarah White, kept their heads high at this first competition.

Mary Clare Smith had a good night winning and qualifying for both the 200 free and 500 free. Sydney Davidson topped off her night qualifying in the 50 free, 200 IM, and 100 breast stroke. With a final score of 97 to 86, the girls team, despite their hard work, lost against a narrow match up. The girls will take on Moon next Friday in hopes to clench and make more WPIAL cuts. For the boys’ team, Neil Wible qualified for WPIALS in the 50 free and 500 free. Also, Drew Mahoney took first and qualified in the 100 free. Kevin Lovasik also won the 100 breast stroke with a WPIAL qualifying time of 1:02. The boys’ team will face Moon on Friday, December 16, in hopes for a better performance.