The Parkland girls put on an impressive showing at last weekend's PIAA Swimming and Diving Championships, finishing fifth in the team competition. While Siena Salvaggio led the way with two individual gold medals, there were a number of impressive showings in both individual and relay events.

Senior Erin Jordan, who will be entering the Naval Academy following graduation, finished fifth in the 500 freestyle event, just behind teammate Tori Connolly.

While states marked the final high school appearance for Jordan, it marked the first for junior Tori Connolly in an individual meet. A year ago, Connolly was a member of the 400-yard freestyle relay team, but didn't qualify for any individual races.

Connolly turned in a best time performance in the preliminaries and then beat that performance in the finals with a time of 5:00.42 to capture her fourth-place finish. Parkland coach Rob Robitaille credited Connolly's hard work and perseverance with helping her medal in the 500 this season.

"She's so dedicated, and was so focused on her goal of making it back for a medal that I was very happy for her when she met her goals," he said. "She's a tough worker, overcame the adversities that came her way, and deserves the ending that she got.

"It's a great feeling when you hold a PIAA state medal in your hands and get the chance to reflect on what it took, and all the pain it requires to know that you've achieved a goal that many don't get that opportunity."

Senior Erika Freeman finished 14th in the 200-yard individual medley and 16th in the 200 yard backstroke to finish out her high school career. Freeman also joined Connolly, Jordan and Salvaggio on the 400-yard freestyle team that finished 12th. Connolly, Jordan and Salvaggio teamed with senior Alex Bodnar for a 14th place finish in the 200 yard freestyle relay.

On the boys side, Adam Sicinski provided the highest finish of the weekend for Parkland swimmers, finishing 15th in the 50-yard freestyle.

In diving, sophomore Chris Lehman, who took gold in the District 11 meet, turned in a score of 392.20 to place 14th in the boys diving event.

Kelsey German finished 17th in girls diving.

"I was thrilled with our performance at states this year," said Robitaille. "In the end, both teams performed great at districts and those that qualified for states performed great, too.

"These kids put themselves through intensive training and pain to give themselves a chance to experience success on the state level.

"Like all athletes that have the goal to be at the top, the sacrifices to their lives, diligent focus on the end game, and training volumes that they have to go through on a daily basis, while being the best they can be in the classroom, are massive."