Can the Bobcat boys claw their way to a section championship? Only time will tell for the Beaver Area swim team.
The boys are currently 5-2, with one of these losses being against a non-section 3A team. The Bobcats are a 2A swimming team.
The boys have not won a section championship since 2015.
The Ladycats are also swimming fast but currently have a split 4-4 record.
To start back up after the holiday break, Beaver Area hosted a home meet against West Allegheny January 10. The outcome of this meet is what put the Bobcats on the map as contenders for a boys section championship; the final score was 93-76.
This win was unexpected and showed how the Bobcats were ready to make some waves.
The difference maker for Beaver Area proved to be junior Tony Rabatin. Rabatin won both the 50 and 100 yard freestyle and received the WPIAL championships cut in the 50. He was also the freestyle leg in the winning 200 yard medley relay that also qualified for WPIALs.
The boys relay that qualified was also composed of fellow juniors Jude Lovra on backstroke, Aden Prence on breaststroke, and sophomore Daniel Wang as butterfly.
The girls team lost with a final score of 94-72. Notably, senior Ava Sutter broke her own school record and received the WPIAL cut in the 50 yard freestyle by over a half of a second. She also won the 100 yard freestyle.
There was diving at this meet; however, the Indians had no divers so once again the Bobcats were diving alone. Freshman Bruce Sutter won for the boys while junior Izzy Niedbala won for the girls.
Following this meet, the Bobcats hit the road and were ready to swim against the Riverside Panthers January 15. Riverside has consistently been powerhouses in the pool and were section champions for eight years straight (2016-2023).
The Bobcats were seen as a threat to the Panthers but with only one problem: the meet was at Riverside’s pool.
Riverside is only a four-lane pool which means the number advantage that the Bobcats have are irrelevant.
The Panthers also did not have divers for a few years and were tired of having unanswered diving points, so they removed their diving board (and any visiting team’s diving advantage in the process).
The Bobcat boys would have won at home but now had to fight for a win.
In the end the meet was very close, but the Cats stomached their first loss.
On the girls’ side, the meet was an easy win with Riverside only having five girls.
For the boys Lovra’s win in the 200 yard individual medley allowed the Cats to stay in the running until the final event as well as Rabatin’s second place finish in the 50.
The girls had a multitude of wins on their side including sophomore Ava Harden in the 500 yard freestyle, junior Cora Rodgers in the 100 yard butterfly, and senior Maddy Mooney in the 200 yard individual medley.
The girls won by over 30 points and the boys lost by 7.
Following the Riverside meet, the Cats travelled to Pine Richland January 21. The Rams are a 3A school (Beaver Area is 2A) so the meet was seen as an exhibition.
There were few wins from either Bobcat team, and due to low pool temperature times were slow.
Chalking up that meet as a glorified practice, the Bobcat divers prepared for their first real competition. The third annual Bobcat Dive Invitational was held January 25 and had 28 divers competing from all around the region.
At the competition, freshman Bruce Sutter proved to be the most valuable diver earning eighth place for the boys.
January 27, the Bobcats had a meet that was the opposite of Pine Richland: extremely easy. Beaver Falls has a small team that lacks depth, and the Bobcats were able to pull out good swims.
There were multiple MAC cut swims notably including sophomore Marcus Anney earning a MAC cut in the 100 yard breaststroke and junior Chiara Schley earning it in the 100 yard breaststroke.
The meet went exhibition after the half, but the sprinters swam distance for a change and both Minnick and Rabatin earned MAC cuts in the 500 yard freestyle.
January 30 marked the next important meet for the Bobcat boys against Quaker Valley while the girls prepared to stomach a tough loss since the Quakers own multiple Beaver pool records and are consistently a female powerhouse.
To the boys' excitement, Riverside lost to Quaker Valley a few days earlier, so the boys still had a shot in the section.
Following numerous good swims the boys team were on their A-game. The boys 200 yard freestyle relay earned their WPIAL cut in the race and their second relay win of the night.
The boys won meaning that if they beat Blackhawk on senior night February 13 they will be co-section champions with Riverside.
For the girls, Schely earned a MAC cut in the 50 yard freestyle and Harden surpassed the 200 freestyle time.
The Cats competed at the Beaver County Championships February 1 against eight other teams and 110 swimmers. Be sure to check the next BASD ECHO for details and highlights of their performance.