The four Penn-Trafford swimmers that competed at the PIAA championships last week had one common goal -- to improve on their times from WPIALs.

After their morning swims in the preliminary rounds, however, that goal was in jeopardy. Times from all across the state were lower than expected in the preliminary rounds, but the Lady Water Warriors rebounded quickly to post solid times in the consolation finals in the evening.

"It was a little disconcerting for our kids because they were going slower than they hoped. If you looked at the rest of the state though, the morning times were kind of slow," coach Dave Babik said.

"The times did get us to the consols, and when we swam in the evening, we swam great. I was really pleased with that, especially for them to come back from disappointing swims in the morning."

Leading the way was junior Ashley McAteer, who followed a 24.26 time in the preliminary heat for the 50-yard freestyle with a 24.01 finish in the consolation finals. She placed ninth despite boasting the fifth best time in the state.

The top eight swimmers advanced to the championship final, which guaranteed them a spot on the medal stand. The best anyone in the consolation final could do was ninth.

"Although she wasn't real thrilled with getting ninth, she was very happy with her time," Babik said of McAteer's fastest mark this season.

McAteer also finished 20th in the 100 free (54.12) on the second day of competition but failed to advance to the consolation finals.

The four Lady Warriors also competed in two relays at states. In the 200 medley relay, sophomores Michelle Yakubisin and Meredith Gibbon, along with McAteer and senior Carly Szmyd finished 11th in the consolation finals with a time of 1:50.45 after posting a 1:51.93 in the prelims.

The same group took 10th in the 200 free relay consolations with a time of 1:39.06, which was 1.07 seconds faster than their preliminary time. Both of the relay marks, along with McAteer's time in the 50 free, were good enough for All-American consideration.

Szmyd also competed individually in the 100 fly and placed 21st (59.69).

"I'm very happy with how they did. The kids were all excited," Babik said.

"We swam faster than we swam at WPIALs, and that was one of our main goals."