Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski Hollidaysburg's Kaden Henderson (right) fist bumps Clearfield's Derrick Mikesell after winning the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 0:22.27.

By Michael Boytim

mboytim@altoonamirror.com

HOLLIDAYSBURG — The Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference closed its inaugural championship meet Thursday with a bonus event from traditional swim matches — a mixed boys and girls 400 medley relay.

The Hollidaysburg Area High School pool was packed with every athlete from the expanded new LHAC, many of their parents and plenty of coaches. Everyone was on their feet cheering, and because the event isn’t a traditionally scored one, the pressure was off and smiles, high fives and hugs were abundant.

“I’m really psyched that we were at home this year,” Hollidaysburg sophomore Kara Neeley said. “We have all been excited, and this has been such a fun day.”

Neeley also added some hardware to her fun by winning a gold medal in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:05.2.

“I’m excited, because it’s been a long season,” Neeley said. “My times haven’t been where I wanted them to be, but I finally got them down. It gives me confidence going into districts. I just have to work on my underwaters and my start.”

Neeley also finished third and won a bronze in the 200 IM in 2:29.41. The event was won by Penns Valley’s Mila Klena in 2:21.52.

Hollidaysburg’s Kaden Henderson also won a gold medal in his home pool, capturing the 50 freestyle in 22.72, edging top-seeded Derrick Mikesell of Clearfield, who swam it in 22.89. Henderson’s teammate, Maxwell Baronner, finished third in 24.39.

The Golden Tiger teammates came in separated by eight-hundredths of a second in seed time.

“I think we push each other some,” Henderson said. “Overall, we’re both great swimmers and doing what we need to do. We’re both pushing each other to new levels.”

Along with finishing second in the 100 breastroke in 1:01.93 behind only Penns Valley’s Liam Quigley, who set a pool record with a time of 59.95, Henderson also helped Hollidaysburg win a LHAC championship in the 400 free relay with Baronner, Chris Shilaos and Andrew Shanafelt in 3:33.04.

“It was great. I love this school,” Henderson said. “I love to represent the school, and I think we’re doing great things. It was good to win with my teammates. We have such a bond that has developed throughout the season.”

Tyrone and Central Cambria were the other teams in the Mirror’s core coverage area to compete in the inaugural event. Neither team had any champions, but they had several medalists.

Tyrone’s 200 free relay team won silver medals in 1:39.84 behind only District 9’s Clearfield, and Spencer Dunklebarger won a bronze medal in the 100 freestyle in 51.38.

Central Cambria’s Lindsey Hodge was the Lady Devils’ highest finisher with a runner-up performance in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:03.87, just fractions of a second behind champion Katelyn Packer of Bellefonte, who win in 1:03.43.

KEY: B–Bellefonte; CC–Central Cambria; C–Clearfield; Ho.–Hollidaysburg; Hu.–Huntingdon; J–Johnstown; R–Richland; S–Somerset; WH–Westmont Hilltop

BOYS

200 medley relay: 1, Clearfield (Day, Mikesell, Morgan, Vaow), 1:42.4; 2, Hollidaysburg, 1:48.12; 3, Bellefonte, 1:50.92; 4, Tyrone, 1:53.6; 5, Central Cambria, 1:59.42; 6, Huntingdon, 2:01.06. 200 freestyle: 1, Vaow, C, 1:49.17; 2, Boone, B, 1:50.61; 3, Rankin, C, 1:59.35; 4, Shanafelt, Ho., 2:03.24; 5, Zaleski, Hu., 2:06.8; 6, George, CC, 2:10,02. 200 IM: 1, Johnson, B, 2:08.01; 2, Morgan, C, 2:13.84; 3, Shilaos, Ho., 2:21.43; 4, Harris, C, 2:22.73; 5, Haycisak, CC, 2:24.78; 6, Heller, Hu., 2:25.51. 50 freestyle: 1, Henderson, Ho., 22.72; 2, Mikesell, C, 22.89; 3, Kovalsky, R, 24.07; 4, Baronner, Ho., 24.39; 5, Zitnay, WH, 25.11; 6, Yeskey, T, 25.25. 100 butterfly: 1, Boone, B, 54.35; 2, Morgan, C, 57.78; 3, Culp, R, 58.49; 4, Clark, S, 1:04.45; 5, Bonsell, T, 1:04.63; 6, Burns, CC, 1:05.46. 100 freestyle: 1, Quigley, PV, 48.25; 2, Vaow, C, 48.54; 3, Dunklebarger, T, 51.38; 4, Burns, CC, 53.84; 5, Coudriet, C, 57.28; 6, Zitnay, WH, 57.97. 500 freestyle: 1, Rankin, C, 5:23.17; 2, Scott, C, 5:37.46; 3, Shanafelt, Ho., 5:37.83; 4, Haycisak, CC, 5:38.33; 5, Zaleski, Hu., 5:53.81; 6, Kovalsky, R, 6:01.02. 200 free relay: 1, Clearfield, 1:33.48; 2, Tyrone, 1:39.84; 3, Bellefonte, 1:41.53; 4, Richland, 1:41.66; 5, Somerset, 1:46.54; 6, Penns Valley, 1:47.44. 100 backstroke: 1, Culp, R, 57.71; 2, Day, C, 59.76; 3, Shilaos, Ho., 1:01.2; 4, Yeskey, T, 1:05.92; T-5, Bagwell, B, 1:06.24; T-5, Miller, WH, 1:06.24. 100 breaststroke: 1, Quigley, PV, 59.95*; 2, Henderson, Ho., 1:01.93; 3, Mikesell, C, 1:02.84; 4, Johnson, B, 1:03.04; 5, Dunklebarger, T, 1:09.76; 6, Heller, Hu., 1:14.85. 400 free relay: 1, Hollidaysburg (Baronner, Shilaos, Shanafelt, Henderson), 3:33.04; 2, Clearfield, 3:37.58; 3, Richland, 3:46.42; 4, Central Cambria, 3:50.08; 5, Somerset, 4:02.6; 6, Penns Valley, 4:11.48.

GIRLS

200 medley relay: 1, Bellefonte (McCool, Pringle, Packer, Litten), 1:59.98; 2, Westmont Hilltop, 2:01.67; 3, Clearfield, 2:05.72; 4, Hollidaysburg, 2:07.99; 5, Central Cambria, 2:08.42; 6, Somerset, 2:09.3. 200 freestyle: 1, McCool, B, 1:58.28; 2, Oswalt, J, 2:06.1; 3, Smith, Ho., 2:07.23; 4, Heller, Hu., 2:13.52; 5, Ramirez, WH, 2:18.56; 6, Sheeler, S, 2:21.23. 200 IM: 1, Klena, PV, 2:21.52; 2, Cline, C, 2:25.76; 3, Neeley, Ho., 2:29.41; 4, Dahal, Ho., 2:36.24; 5, Kohan, WH, 2:36.7; 6, Fetters, B, 2:38.51. 50 freestyle: 1, Innis, WH, 25.59; 2, Miller, S, 26.56; 3, Pringle, B, 26.92; 4, Rossman, B, 27.4; 5, Brown, C, 27.85; 6, McCullough, CC, 28.0. 100 butterfly: 1, Packer, B, 1:03.43; 2, Hodge, CC, 1:03.87; 3, Delaney, PV, 1:04.69; 4, Dick, Ho., 1:07.52; 5, Baloglou, WH, 1:07.57; 6, Heller, Hu., 1:09.72. 100 freestyle: 1, McCool, B, 54.94; 2, Innis, WH, 56.61; 3, Cline, C, 57.42; 4, Hodge, CC, 57.73; 5, McCullough, CC, 1:01.42; 6, Brown, C, 1:01.64. 500 freestyle: 1, Packer, B, 5:28.46; 2, Delaney, PV, 5:31.72; 3, Oswalt, J, 5:34.02; 4, Smith, Ho., 5:39.11; 5, Moretz, B, 6:12.43; 6, Bevan, Ho., 6:14.62. 200 free relay: 1, Clearfield, 1:50.01; 2, Westmont Hilltop, 1:51.49; 3, Hollidaysburg, 1:53.38; 4, Somerset, 1:53.78; 5, Central Cambria, 1:58.41; 6, Penns Valley, 1:59.48. 100 backstroke: 1, Kar. Neeley, Ho., 1:05.2; 2, Fetters, B, 1:07.92; 3, Miller, S, 1:08.52; 4, Miller, C, 1:09.91; 5, Walker, S, 1:11.28; 6, Baloglou, WH, 11:11.38. 100 breaststroke: 1, Klena, PV, 1:13.57; 2, Kohan, WH, 1:17.91; 3, Pringle, B, 1:18.27; 4, Basala, S, 1:21.07; 5, Rossman, B, 1:22.23; 6, Dahal, Ho., 1:23.76. 400 free relay: 1, Bellefonte (Pringle, Rossman, Packer, McCool), 3:58.39; 2, Hollidaysburg, 4:05.34; 3, Central Cambria, 4:08.95; 4, Clearfield, 4:19.12; 5, Huntingdon, 4:43.17; 6, Tyrone, 4:43.45.

MIXED

400 medley relay: 1, Bellefonte (Boone, Packer, McCool, Johnson), 4:09.71; 2, Clearfield, 4:18.35; 3, Hollidaysburg A, 4:22.28; 4, Central Cambria, 4:41.3; 5, Hollidaysburg B, 4:43.46; 6, Westmont Hilltop, 4:48.47.

Officials: Meet referee–Dara Kendera; Starter (female events)–Nadine Delozier; Starter (male events)–Todd Roth; Judge–Carl Raup; Clerk of Course–Michele Graham; Meet Director–Dave Templeton.

*–Pool record