Hopewell Swimming
Hopewell Varsity Swim Team Attends MAC Championship- Checkout the Top Finishers and Slideshow!
On Saturday, February 15th- Hopewell Swim MAC Championships!
Hopewell Varsity Swim Team attended the MAC Championship at Moon Area High School. All athletes that attended had one last chance after this meet to qualify for WPIALS held at Beaver High School following the conclusion of the MAC Championship. Both of these meets were great opportunities for team bonding, awesome support for each other, and a great chance to meet new people.
MAC Background:
The MAC (Midwestern Athletic Conference) is a five-county invitational meet that invites many swimming and diving teams from Mercer, Lawrence, Butler, Beaver, and Allegheny Counties to compete and show off their skills. The schools that attend this meet include Ambridge, Beaver Area, Beaver Falls, Blackhawk, Carlynton, Central Valley, Cornell, Freedom, Hopewell, Laurel Area, Lincoln Park, Mars, Mohawk, Monitor, Moon Area, Neshannock, New Castle, Quaker Valley, Riverside, Shenango, South Side Beaver, and West Allegheny. The MAC meet is outside of the normal competition season and the one big meet before WPIALS for athletes to show their best.
The atmosphere at the meet was incredibly supportive, with everyone having a strong support system despite it being a tough competition. Many swimmers have formed friendships and found encouragement from other teams and teammates. While they were competitive in the water, they were friendly and kind to each other outside of it, offering support when needed. Whenever someone felt anxious, their friends and team members were there to provide that extra bit of comfort. Swimming like many other sports is highly competitive but the cross town support and friendships made every season make the events fun and enjoyable.
Transitioning to the competition itself, it was tight; most swimmers were within milliseconds of each other, and all were competing for one thing: first place. There were a lot of amazing swims; for example, one standout moment was when Hopewell’s girls’ relay finished at the same time as another team.
HSN had the chance to speak with Sophia Magistro, a swimmer for Hopewell, who got a first-hand experience of the meet. She expressed, “MAC’s is important because it gives swimmers something to strive for during their season. It is also the last opportunity other than the Beaver Meet to get the best times and, most importantly, WPIAL cuts.”
“As a swimmer, the adrenaline that rushes through you just before a race can be incredibly motivating, driving you to achieve the best times you’ve been striving for as an athlete. Swimming, however, is a demanding and time-consuming sport that requires significant dedication to see the desired improvements. Often, a successful swim is not necessarily a comfortable one. The true reward lies in the mental satisfaction and sense of accomplishment that follows a good swim.”
Stay Tuned to HSN as we will have interview comments from the Coaches that will be added in the upcoming week.
Results of the MAC Championship:
Event #3 Women’s 200 Medley Relay
- Placing 10th (Emma Driscoll, Mia Blakeslee, Aleena Gray, and Maddie Shields)
Event #4 Men’s 200 Medley Relay:
- Placing 7th ( Mitchell Ryan, Charles Houston, Tyler Oliver, and Joey Gregory)
- Mitchell Ryan dropped .42 in his 50-back leadoff (first swimmer)
Event #7 Women’s 200 IM
- Aleena Gray placed 11th
Event #9 Women’s 50 Free
- Lindsey Brown Placed 2nd
- Jozlyn Marnhout Placed 13th
- Emma Driscoll Placed 22nd
- Mia Blakeslee Placed 28th (dropping .06 seconds)
Event #10 Men’s 50 Free
- Mitchell Ryan placed 11th (dropping .04 seconds)
- Joel Olshanski placed 21st
- Jacob Zupsic placed 26th (dropping .29 seconds)
Event #11 Women’s 100 Fly
- Jozlyn Marnhout placed 5th
- Aleena Gray placed 13th
Event #12 Men’s 100 Fly
- Charles Houston placed 8th (dropping .03 seconds)
- Tyler Oliver placed 16th (dropping .56 seconds)
Event #13 Women’s 100 Free
- Lindsey Brown placed 2nd
- Sophia Magistro placed 14th
- Emma Driscoll placed 20th
Event #14 Men’s 100 Free
- Joey Gregory placed 8th
- Joel Olshanski Placed 22nd
Event #17 Women’s 200 Free Relay
- Placing 2nd (Jozlyn Marnhout, Ava Yoder, Sophia Magistro, Lindsey Brown)
Event #18 Men’s 200 Free Relay
- Placing 6th ( Charles Houston, Joel Olshanski, Mitchell Ryan, and Joey Gregory)
- Charles Houston dropped .56 in the 50 free leadoff (first swimmer)
Event #19 Women’s 100 back
- Ava Yoder placed 7th
Event #20 Men’s 100 Back
- Mitchell Ryan placed 11th (dropped .98 seconds)
- Jacob Zupsic placed 17th (dropped 1.23 seconds)
Event #22 Men’s 100 Breast
- Charles Houston placed 5th
Event #23 Women’s 400 Free Relay
- Placing 4th ( Jozlyn Marnhout, Ava Yoder, Sophia Magistro, and Lindsey Brown)
Event #24 Men’s 400 Free Relay
- Placing 8th ( Jacob Zupsic, Joseph McCullough, Tyler Oliver, and Joel Olshanski)
- Jacob Zupsic dropped 1.09 in the lead-off (first swimmer
Results of the Last Chance Meet at Beaver:
Event #11 Women’s 100 Fly
- Jozlyn Marnhout placed 1st and dropped 1.36 Qualifying for WPIALS
Event #19 Women’s 100 Back
- Ava Yoder placed 4th
WPIAL Swimmer Shout Out:
The following individuals will be attending WPIALS:
Mia Blakeslee
Lindsey Brown
Emma Driscoll
Aleen Gray
Sophia Magistro
Jozlyn Marnhout
Ava Yoder
Joey Gregory
Charles Houston
Tyler Oliver
Joel Olshanski
Troy Palochak
Mitchell Ryan
Jacob Zupsic
