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Park Girls, Boys Finish 3rd at State Swim Meet

Turner captures two individual titles

Photo by John McCabe Wheeling Park High School senior Sarah Heilman, left, is congratulated by Bridgeport High School’s Olivia Urse following Heilman’s final individual state championship Friday at the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission High School Swim Meet in Morgantown. Heilman won the 100-yard backstroke over Urse to cap a stellar high school career at Park that saw her crowned a multiple-time state champion.

MORGANTOWN — After winning her first individual state championship Friday in the 50-yard freestyle by .13 seconds, Wheeling Park sophomore swimmer Abby Turner set out to make sure there was no doubt she is West Virginia’s top sprinter.

Two events later, in the 100 free, Turner turned on the jets at West Virginia University’s Natatorium, posting a time of 52.9 seconds and leaving her closest competitor, Fairmont Senior High School senior Adriana Abruzzino, nearly two seconds behind.

Along with her two individual state championships, Turner added two second-place relay finishes and was named to the All-Tournament Team during the 2019 West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission’s High School Swim Championships.

Turner, along with Park senior Sarah Heilman, also a member of the All-Tournament Team, captured individual crowns for the Patriots.

The team finished third overall behind Parkersburg High School and Bridgeport High School.

The soft-spoken Turner said winning two state titles her sophomore year gives her plenty to look forward to.

“It’s one of the best feelings in the world,” Turner said of winning two individual crowns. “It showed that all my hard work and preparation paid off.”

The Park girls also placed two relays, the 200 medley and the 200 free, in second place, while sophomore Jenna Bopp placed second in the 100 breaststroke (1:06.92) and Heilman finished second in the 200 freestyle (1:56.65, also a new school record).

The 200 medley relay team of Heilman, Turner, Bopp and senior Melina McCabe posted a 1:53.22, placing second to Parkersburg. The same foursome hit a school-record 1:44.22 in the 200 freestyle relay to finish second to Bridgeport by .14 seconds.

Park senior Barbara Bilcher finished 12th in the 100 breaststroke, and the 400 free relay team of McCabe, Bilcher, Emma Delk and Maggie Kloss finished 10th.

The Park girls are losing several key seniors, but head coach Pat Durkin said having swimmers such as Turner and Bopp ensures the program will remain on strong footing for years to come.

“What can I say, Abby had such a great meet,” Durkin said. “She always gives her best, and that hard work comes through on days like this. I’m so proud of her.

“We will have a lot of holes to fill, but with Abby and Jenna and some others, we have a lot to build on for the coming years.”

Durkin also commended his senior girls for their four years at Park. “This senior group (Heilman, McCabe and Kloss) has been really special for me, from day one. They were part of a state title team in 2017, and really have helped to build on making Wheeling Park one of the top programs in the state each year. It’s going to be very hard to see them go.”

Wheeling Central sophomore Lauren Garan wrapped up a very successful swim season with a sixth-place finish in the 50 freestyle (25.63) and a fourth-place finish in the 100 freestyle at 56.38.

Central senior Patricia Tiu grabbed a pair of 11th-place finishes in the 200 freestyle (2:13.73) and the 500 freestyle (6:03.7).

John Marshall’s Zara Zervos placed eighth in the 100 breaststroke at 1:14.88, and teammate Laura Siler finished 12th in the 50 freestyle at 26.39.

Other regional results for the girls include Brooke freshman Veronica Mann, sixth in the 500 freestyle; Brooke seniors Emily Donley and Mary Ossman, 11th in the 100 backstroke and ninth in the 500 free, respectively; and Weir senior Mickayla Cook, 12th in the 500 free.

Boys competition

Much like on the girls’ side, Park’s boys found themselves with opportunities Friday, but a strong swim from champion Bridgeport and runner-up George Washington saw the Patriot boys go home with a third-place team finish.

Seniors Charles Schellhase, Caleb Lucas, Alex Dague, Manaved Kuttan, Nick DeFazio and Cole Franko capped off a solid career at Wheeling Park with a strong swim Friday, breaking four more school records in the process – the 200 free, the 100 free, the 500 free and the 400 free relay.

While the Patriot boys did not crown a champion at the meet, Schellhase did turn in second-place finishes in the 200 freestyle (1:49.53, breaking his own school record) and the 500 freestyle (4:57.68, also topping his record set Thursday). Lucas finished second in the 100 free at 49.16, breaking his own school mark in the process.

The 400 free relay squad of Lucas, Schellhase, Dague and M. Kuttan, in their final swim for Wheeling Park, also broke the school record by posting a 3:27.49, finishing third.

“What can I say, everyone swam well, and we finished better than expected,” Durkin said. “This is a great senior group of boys. You can’t imagine what this class has done for swimming at Wheeling Park. They leave behind some very big shoes to fill.” Lucas also finished fourth in the 200 freestyle at 1:52.43.

In the 100 breaststroke, Dague, who broke a 33-year-old school record on Thursday, turned in a 1:03.89 to finish second.

Park’s 200 freestyle relay of Lucas, Dague, DeFazio and Schellhase finished third at 1:34.22, one-tenth off the school record.

Individually for the Patriots, junior Devanand Kuttan grabbed a pair of seventh-place finishes in the 200 individual medley (2:12.41) and the 100 backstroke at 59.37.

Sophomore Max Kellas finished ninth in the 100 butterfly (59.39) and the 200 medley relay squad of D. Kuttan, Kellas, Dague and DeFazio finished sixth at 1:47.36.

Parkersburg finished fourth for the boys, while Parkersburg South finished fifth.

Brooke qualified two individual swimmers and one relay for the boys’ finals. The Bruins’ 200 medley relay squad of Brandyn Rouse, Ethan Robey, John Francis and Anthony Taylor finished eighth with a time of 1:53.01. Taylor finished 10th in the 100 freestyle at 53.63, while Robey finished sixth in the 500 freestyle at 5:19.45 and 12th in the 100 breaststroke at 1:08.31.

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