Bonus coverage from PIAA swimming & diving

Although he finished just out of the running for a medal, missing by a mere 2.65 points, McLain wasn’t the least bit disappointed.

“I am really, really happy,� he said. “All of my dives went really well today. I was really consistent. I hit all my dives. I couldn’t have done any better.�

He also got to see his name on the board as the leader after two rounds after his highest scoring dive -- a 47.60.

But he knew that wasn’t going to hold, especially with Dave Roberts in the pool.

Roberts, the defending champ from Perkiomen Valley, took the lead after round three and never looked back.

The diving machine racked up an incredible 513.85 points and won the event by 69.70 points over David Giambra of Pennsbury.

“He is amazing. He is spectacular. And he has one more year left,� McLain said of Roberts. “That is what I have to shoot for next year.�

McLain improved greatly from his sophomore season last year when he didn’t survive the preliminaries at states. He also bested Wilson’s Ryan Kuser, who won the District 3 championship.

His strategy was simple, just concentrate on the next dive.

“I did not look at my score the whole time,� he said. “I didn’t want to know where I was. I think it helped. It kept me focused on my dives.�

Now that they have seen how solid the field is, he and coach Allison Turnbull have some work to do.

“He was in it,� Turnbull said. “If you look at the final scores, he is not that far out. Next year we are going to break down some hard ones.�

What is next for Weaner?: After winning a gold medal in the 100 breaststroke on Wednesday the question was how could Gettysburg’s Tricia Weaner top that feat.

Weaner topped it on Thursday, when she won her third consecutive PIAA 100 backstroke, breaking her own state record in the process with a time of 55.08 seconds.

The junior once again got a boost from Michelle Myers of State College, who managed to stay with Weaner for almost three quarters of the race but, in the end, the Warrior was just too much for the competition.

“Michelle was a great way to push me and keep me going to whole way,� Weaner said. “I like competition. I am here to race, I love racing.�

Still, she admits she thought about breaking her mark from last year, which was 55.44, but there was another priority.

“Actually I was thinking about it in the warm-down pool,� she said. “(But) that can’t be a goal of mine. My goal has to have fun.�

Weaner was also named the outstanding swimmer of the girls’ PIAA AAA meet.

She started the day in style too, dropping nearly a second and a half off of her seed time in the preliminaries.

Fisher makes incredible jump: Bonnie Fisher of Susquehannock entered her first PIAA state meet not sure what to expect.

After all, the junior was seeded No. 29, out of 32, in the girls’ AAA 100 backstroke.

So all Fisher did was swim a lifetime best 1:00.35 in the preliminaries that, not only won her heat, but put her in the consolation finals.

Fisher swam a 1:00.38 in the consolations and ended up in 14th place, an incredible climb of 15 spots in the standings.

Safe to say, she even amazed herself.

“I have no idea,� she said laughing, when asked how she made such a drastic drop. “I didn’t even think I’d make it to districts and I am at states.�

While Fisher may have been surprised at her accomplishments, Warriors’ coach Karrisa Brown wasn’t.

“After the district meet I knew there was so much we could improve on,� the coach said. “We have been working the last two weeks on some stuff. I knew she was going to drop time.�

The work on her turns in particular paid immediate dividends as she was able to eliminate an entire stroke during her races.

“There is someone up there thinking about me,� Fisher said. “It feels awesome. This is like the happiest time of my life.�

Central York freshman Grace Tarka also placed in the consolations in the backstroke as well, finishing 15th with a time of 1:00.85.

Lain strong in backstroke: Spring Grove’s Anthony Lain had a strong preliminary swim in the boys’ 100 backstroke and stayed on course in the consolation finals.

The junior set a new personal-best and school record with a time of 54.02 in the preliminaries.

Lain put on a super push at the end to take third in the consolation heat. His season-ending time was 54.13.

“His fourth lap was amazing. I was impressed,� Rockets’ coach Troy Smith said. “He was clearly behind those guys and he caught up. I am so proud of Anthony.�

Smith’s message to Lain before the swim was make the most of his final swim of the high school season.

Overall, Lain was pleased.

“I dropped my time from districts and kept it close to what I did this morning. I can’t ashamed of it,� he said. “I wasn’t as close to a 53 as I wanted, but there is always next year.�