PIAA swimming championships: Slippery Rock’s Mollie Massella eyeing 1st state medal after District 10 dominance
The only thing missing on Mollie Massella’s trophy case is a state medal.
The Slippery Rock senior has one more chance to reach that goal next week at the PIAA Swimming and Diving Championships at Bucknell University.
She heads there having won four more medals last week in Class 2A at the District 10 Swimming Championships: a gold in the 100-yard butterfly, silver in the 200 freestyle and bronzes in the 200 free and 400 free relays.
It was her third straight butterfly championship, and the silver in the 200 free followed two previous golds in the event.
“It was really, really exciting,” Massella said on the phone this week. “I was a little bit nervous going in.”
Massella has 12 district medals and is committed to Grove City College, her father and Slippery Rock’s assistant coach, Bob Massella, said. She also holds program records in the fly (58.62 seconds) and the 200 free (1:56.79).
“She’s a hard worker, she works hard in and out of the pool,” he said. “She’s a positive team leader.”
Mollie Massella hopes to make the state finals in both her individual events and the relays. That would nearly guarantee a state medal. She is the 13th seed by fastest time in the 200 and the sixth seed in the fly behind Freeport sisters Kira Schrecongost (top-seeded time) and Kasey Schrecongost (fifth).
The PIAA Class 2A championships will be held March 12-13, and the 3A championships are March 14-15.
“Definitely just having a positive mindset (going in),” Massella said.
Teammate Raely FaJohn, who also won four District 10 medals, is seeded 13th in the 50 free and 11th in the 100 free. The Rockets’ two relay teams are seeded 17th (200 free relay) and 18th (400 free relay).
The following are the Butler County swimmers and divers who qualified for the state championships, including their seed position:
Butler County swimmers at PIAA Championships
Class 3A Boys
200 medley relay: Mars (26th seed)
50 free: Luke Lamb, Mars (1st)
100 back: Luke Lamb, Mars (1st)
Class 3A Girls
200 medley relay: Seneca Valley (24th)
Diving: Mya Lee, Mars (3rd); Ali Waters, Seneca Valley (6th)
200 free relay: Seneca Valley (23rd)
100 breast: Katie Bookwalter, Seneca Valley (7th)
Class 2A Boys
200 medley relay: Knoch (23rd)
200 free: Nathaniel Tarbi, Freeport (15th)
200 IM: Adrian Lavorini, Knoch (6th); Hudson Bliss, Union (32nd)
100 free: Nathaniel Tarbi, Freeport (15th)
200 free relay: Knoch (31st)
100 back: Hudson Bliss, Union (29th)
50 free para: Isaac Barton, Freeport (1st)
100 free para: Isaac Barton, Freeport (1st)
Class 2A Girls
200 medley relay: Freeport (2nd); Knoch (16th)
200 free: Mollie Massella, Slippery Rock (13th); Isabelle Barton, Freeport (25th)
200 IM: Kira Schrencongost, Freeport (5th); Giona Lavorini, Knoch (6th)
50 free: Raely Fajohn, Slippery Rock (13th); Mary Anne Altman, Freeport (18th)
100 fly: Kira Schrecongost, Freeport (1st); Kasey Schrecongost, Freeport (5th); Mollie Massella, Slippery Rock (6th)
100 free: Kasey Schrecongost, Freeport (9th); Mary Anne Altman, Freeport (15th); Raely Fajohn, Slippery Rock (11th)
500 free: Isabelle Barton, Freeport (23rd)
200 free relay: Slippery Rock (17th); Freeport (25th)
100 back: Rylee Freshcorn, Freeport (21st); Olivia Walewski, Knoch (25th)
100 breast: Giona Lavorini, Knoch (1st)
400 free relay: Slippery Rock (18th)
