Article and photos submitted by Upper Dublin swimming.
RED ON REPEAT - UDHS Girls Win Second Consecutive PIAA Swim Title
“Repeat on Red” the States shirts said, stating their goal in plain words.
In their quest to repeat as PIAA AAA Team Champions, the Upper Dublin Girls’ Swimming and Diving Team started the meet with a “statement swim” at Bucknell’s Kinney Natatorium, resulting in a gold medal and reclaiming the state record in the 200-yard Medley Relay. In the first event of championship meet, the team of Vikki Williams, Sophia Sileo-Magliari, Olivia Auwarter and Maddie Shapiro, four seniors who had won the event as sophomores and lost by a touch last year, rebounded in an historic time of 1:40.98, the first Pennsylvania team to break the 1:41 barrier. That win started the Lady Cards on their long path to a repeat State
Championship. The relay was one of only two gold medals the Swomen earned over the course of the two-day meet, but it set the tone for the rest of the team’s performances.
Sophia Sileo-Magliari, the breaststoker on the relay, captured the moment: “As soon as Maddie (Shapiro) touched and I turned to the scoreboard and saw our time, my jaw dropped. After being touched out last year, that stuck with us. We worked so hard at practice, and it was worth it in the end. Ending my senior year, not only winning with my best friends, but getting a state record with them, it seriously couldn’t have gone better.”
However, the girls’ soon found out it wasn’t going to be as easy as their 231-point margin of victory at the District One championship ten days prior. A tenacious North Allegheny team proved to be the best opponent they had faced all year, and after the first day of competition, the two teams were deadlocked with 132 points each. No other teams were close, so it would be a two-horse race for the title.
But this Lady Cards squad had a strong veteran feel with ten of the twelve ladies having competed at states before, and that maturity showed up on the second day. “The girls didn’t panic. We knew our second day lineup was our stronger one, and the girls came through,” said Head Coach Brandon Pierce.
Over the course of Day Two, the lead flipped back and forth between the Tigers and Cards, with UD going into the final individual event, down by ten. That’s when the Swomen earned their only other gold medal of the competition. It was the penultimate event of the meet, the 100 breaststroke, when Sileo-Magliari won the event in a 1:00.67 with the second fastest time in PIAA history, a mere .13 off the record set in 2012. But it was Upper Dublin’s depth, their mettle, that proved to be a game changer, as the Lady Cards had qualified three athletes into the “A” final of the event, (only the second team in PIAA swim history to do so). Alyssa Auwarter and Maddie Shapiro finished fourth and fifth respectively, which added to Sophia’s first place scoring to total 49 points in the event, surging ahead of a stubborn North Allegheny team to lock up the team title with a 36 point cushion going into the final event.
Sophia reflected, “My favorite moment was swimming the 100 Breast final with two of my best friends. We had worked so hard all year, pushing each other to be side by side getting state medals. Racing together and sharing the podium made that moment unforgettable.”
It was the “been there, done that” experience of this senior dominated team that kept them locked in for the title victory. Olivia Auwarter, team captain and butterflyer on the medley relay, spoke for the seniors: “There was truly no better way to end my senior year. Standing on that podium, knowing we not only took first but brought the medley relay state record back home to Upper Dublin, was a feeling I’ll never forget. I couldn’t be more proud of this team and everything we have accomplished together.”
When asked for his final thoughts, Coach Pierce said: “Coming into the season, the team set three clear goals: win Suburbans for the fourth year in a row, win Districts for the third straight year, and win a state championship in back-to-back seasons. To watch them stay focused on those goals all year and accomplish them together as a team was incredibly special. I’ve never coached a team so locked in, so focused. Upper Dublin has a legacy of great swimming, but this group elevated it to another level. Their dedication and passion set them apart, and they proved they belong among the best ever in Pennsylvania.”
That legacy means there will be a seventh state championship banner hung in the UDHS pool to go with titles from 2025, 2020, 1994, 1993, 1977, and 1976. REPEAT indeed!
BUT States wasn’t just the girls’ team’s party. The UD boys’ in a rebuilding year, finished sixth out of the sixty teams in AAA with 108 points, the best in District One and Suburban One. They produced two individual state champions with sophomore Luke Sullivan winning the 200-yard Individual Medley in a time of 1:47.40, and junior Brady Manser who grabbed gold in the 50 free in 19.99. Both performances were the fastest times in the state of Pennsylvania this year, as well as Automatic All-American status, and both were new school records. Manser and Sullivan combined with juniors Jack McManus and Luke Wilmoth for a third place medal in the 200 Free Relay with a time of 1:23.05, another school record.
Coach Pierce summed up the boys' efforts: “Our boys’ team had a lot to live up to after last year’s season, one of the best seasons our program has ever had. As the year went on, though, more and more swimmers and divers stepped up and embraced bigger roles. Watching the group grow together and finish the season with so many strong performances says a lot about the culture these athletes have built.”
Reflections on a repeat:
Vikki Williamson, senior backstroker and freestyler: “Winning states for the second year in a row, breaking a state record, doing it all with my best friends…looking around at everyone cheering on deck and realizing what we had just accomplished…that’s unforgettable. It was the perfect way to finish senior year with a team that truly feels like family.”
Maddie Shapiro, team captain: “Winning the state title two years in a row, wouldn’t be possible without our super supportive coaches. Not only do they work us hard in practice, but they make the team feel like such a family. The best moment was seeing the coaches jump in the pool with us at the end, fully clothed, and doing our “GO RED” cheer one last time.”
Olivia Auwarter: “One of my favorite moments from the meet was counting for my teammate Casey Braun in the 500 freestyle. Being “front row” and watching her swim a lifetime best and go sub 5:00 to qualify for finals was the best! Turning and seeing all the girls on the side of the pool cheering and jumping with excitement…unforgettable!”
Coach Pierce: “Our girls’ team is something special, and this year they really showed what Upper Dublin swimming is all about. They competed for each other all season long, and when you have a group led by a special class of seniors that truly believes in the team ahead of themselves, special things can happen — and they did.”
Some other Suburban One highlights:
The individual standout was Reed Harris, senior distance swimmer from Wissahickon. Reed was selected Male Swimmer of the Meet for his double gold medal performance in the 200-yard Freestyle (1:36.93) and 500 Freestyle (4:22.43). Souderton boys finished in eighth place as a team, powered by a gold medal finish in the 400 yard Freestyle Relay (3:04.09) with Kelly Moody, Nate Kleppinger, Jack Bollinger and Ryan Christie. Christie earned a bronze medal in the 100 Butterfly (48.11) and fifth place in the 100 Free (45.06). All told, the Suburban One boys’ swimmers won gold in five of the meet’s twelve events. Quite a show.
On the girls’ side, Central Bucks East finished ninth overall led by Grace Petrakis who finished third in the 200 IM (2:02.19) and sixth in the 100 Free (51.32). Petrakis combined with Victoria Sipperly, Yulia Ashbaugh, and Sofia Urena in the 200 Medley Relay for a sixth place finish (1:46.20). Hatboro-Horsham’s Megan Luddecke grabbed bronze in the 200-yard freestyle (1:51.47), while CB West placed two breaststrokers in the finals with Maisey Shaffer finishing sixth and Anna Majewski eighth. Souderton’s Julia Yaglenski took fifth in diving while Morgan Goldcamp finished seventh in the Breaststroke. Abington’s Ruby Tucker grabbed a fifth in the 100 Backstroke (55.83).
Overall, the Upper Dublin Girls’ and Boys’ teams won 16 medals over the course of the meet.
The medalists:
- First Place in Girls 200-yard Medley Relay: Vikki Williams, Sophia Sileo-Magliari, Olivia Auwarter, Maddie Shapiro - New State and School Record
- Third Place for the boys’ 200 yard Freestyle relay: Luke Sullivan, Luke Wilmoth, Jack McManus, Brady Manser - New School Record
- Fourth Place for the girls' 400-yard Freestyle Relay: Alicia Taylor, Olivia Auwarter, Jessie Motelson, Vikki Williams
- Fifth Place in Girls' 200-yard Freestyle Relay: Alicia Taylor, Sophia Sileo-Magliari, Alyssa Auwarter, Maddie Shapiro
- First Place for Luke Sullivan in the 200-yd Individual Medley - State Champion and new School record- and Eighth Place in the 100-yd Breaststroke
- First Place for Brady Manser in the 50-yd Freestyle - State Champion and new School record
- First Place for Sophia Sileo-Magliari in the 100-yd Breaststroke - State Champion and new School record
- Fourth Place for Olivia Auwarter in the 200-yd Individual Medley (new school record) and Eighth Place in the 100-yd Butterfly
- Fourth Place for Alicia Taylor in the 50-yd Freestyle and Eighth Place in the 100-yd Freestyle
- Fourth Place for Alyssa Auwarter in the 100-yd Breaststroke
- Fifth Place for Maddie Shapiro in the 100-yd Breaststroke
- Fifth Place for Vikki Williams in 100-yd Freestyle
- Seventh Place for Casey Braun in the 500-yd Freestyle
Girls’ Team Standings — Top 6
- Upper Dublin 257
- North Allegheny 225
- Fox Chapel 150
- State College 149
- Parkland 129
- Wilson and Cumberland Valley 125
Boys’ Team Standings — Top 6
- North Allegheny 227
- LaSalle College 190
- Upper St. Clair 144
- Chambersburg 139
- Parkland 130
- Upper Dublin 108
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