North Allegheny grads make impact at ACC swimming championships

North Allegheny graduates Jack Wright and Jerry Chen were top contributors to their teams at the ACC men’s swimming championship meet Feb. 26-29 in Greensboro, N.C.

Wright, a Virginia freshman, made the A final of the 200-yard freestyle, the only freshman in the 12-team field to do so. He placed seventh in 1 minute, 34.69 seconds.

“One of my goals was to make the final heat,” said Wright, the 2019 WPIAL Class AAA champion and ’18 and ’19 PIAA champion in the boys 200 freestyle. “I was definitely satisfied when I saw the results.

“I would have liked to have gone faster, but my time was still a personal best. Being in that heat, (I) scored a lot of points.”

Wright helped the Cavaliers to second place, their best finish since 2013, when they were champions for the sixth year in a row.

Virginia coach Todd DeSorbo said Wright will be part of the 800 freestyle relay team at the NCAA championship March 25-28 in Indianapolis.

The team (6:16.68) took fifth in the ACC meet.

Chen, a Pitt freshman, placed 17th in the 100 breaststroke (54.30) as the top performer in the C final. He also made the C final in the 200 breaststroke (1:58.50).

“For my races, I was feeling the most nervous I have ever felt before stepping onto the blocks,” said Chen, the WPIAL Class AAA runner-up and a PIAA finalist in the 100 breaststroke last season. “I had to figure out how to stay relaxed under pressure and stop negative thoughts.”

Panther coach John Hargis said Chen is on the way to becoming one of the best breaststroke swimmers in the conference.

“It’s exciting to see a local kid excelling for our program,” Hargis said. “His time drops from a year ago were extremely impressive.

“He works so hard on a daily basis.”

The Panthers came in eighth, a one-place improvement over last season.

Chen said it was great to see Wright again.

“We actually are in contact frequently through various group chats we created in high school,” he said.