H-S Athlete of the Week: Lily King, Mount Pleasant
Name: Lily King
School: Mount Pleasant
Class: Senior
Sport: Swimming
King鈥檚 week: Lily King solidified her status as one of the greatest girls swimmers in WPIAL history by earning four more gold medals at the district Class 2A Swimming Championships held at the University of Pittsburgh鈥檚 Trees Pool last Thursday and Friday. King won individual golds in the 100 freestyle (47.65) and 200 freestyle (1:44.62) 鈥 breaking the WPIAL and Trees Pool record in both events 鈥 and helped Mount Pleasant finish first in the 200 medley (with Kiersten O鈥機onnor, Lainey Brown and Maddie Barrick) and 400 freestyle (with Riley Shinsky, Barrick and Brown) relays, setting yet another WPIAL mark in the former (1:45.22). King ended her WPIAL career with the incredible feat of having won eight individual gold medals in eight starts. Add in seven relay victories and the 18-year-old daughter of Matthew and Stephanie King has accumulated a total of 15 gold medals in the WPIAL championships.
She broke her own pool record in the 100 freestyle but the 200 freestyle mark was a new accomplishment. 鈥淚 had that in the back of my mind going into the meet,鈥 said King, who is a North Carolina State recruit. 鈥淚 knew that if I went in my time from states last year I鈥檇 be able to get it. But the time I did it in I was not expecting so I was very happy with that.鈥 King now owns two Trees Pool records, second to only Leah Shackley鈥檚 three. Ironically, Shackely is now a freshman at North Carolina State so the two will be teammates next year. 鈥淚 would say that having the Trees Pool records is one of the things I鈥檓 most proud of, just because I remember when I was going to Pitt for meets when I was a lot younger I always saw the pool records and thought how cool it would be to maybe have one of those some day,鈥 King said. 鈥淚t still surprises me that I was able to do that, twice.鈥
Next up for King is the PIAA Championships at Bucknell University which begin March 12. King already possesses 10 state gold medals with six in individual events and four in relays, giving her 25 gold medals in the district and state finals combined.
Zoning in on swimming: Surprisingly, it took King awhile to find swimming as her main sport. 鈥淲hen I was younger I bounced back and forth between a bunch of sports,鈥 King said. 鈥淚 seriously think I tried every sport under the sun. I was playing soccer for a while and then swimming was the only thing I hadn鈥檛 done yet and my mom said why don鈥檛 you give it a try. The first couple years I only swam a couple times a week. Once I got towards middle school I started taking it more seriously, realizing how much I loved it and that I was kind of good at it. My coach and I both realized right around then that I had some potential and she encouraged me to keep doing it.鈥
Being a Viking: Mount Pleasant coach Sandy Felice, a former PIAA coach of the Year, and her teammates are beloved by King. 鈥淚 really could not have gotten luckier with a coach than I did with Sandy,鈥 King said. 鈥淚 owe everything that I鈥檝e done to her. She鈥檚 always been so encouraging, pushed me, believed in me even when I didn鈥檛 really believe in myself all the time. We have a really great relationship. I鈥檓 so thankful for her. And I love my team. My teammates are some of my best friends and I wouldn鈥檛 be where I am today without them. We have a really great atmosphere on our team. I love it.鈥
Outside of high school: King鈥檚 times in the 50 and 100 freestyle were good enough that she was invited to the U.S. Olympic Trials in June of last year, and she represented the United States at the Junior Pan Pacific Championships in Canberra, Australia in August. 鈥淎fter I went to the Olympic trials they picked the top 18-and-under swimmers in each event and I got chosen for my time in the 100 free for the Junior Pan Pacifics,鈥 King said. 鈥淐anada, Australia, Japan, Korea and others were there. It was an amazing experience, a great group of people to be there with. I鈥檓 so grateful that I got to go. It was one of the most fun things I鈥檝e ever got to do, and it was an honor representing the USA.鈥
Swimming idols: King鈥檚 name is very similar to 28-year-old U.S. Olympic gold-medal winning swimmer Lilly King. 鈥淚 always thought it was cool there was another swimmer with the same name as me,鈥 King said. 鈥淚 also got a chance to meet her and she鈥檚 super nice. So I would say her as one of my idols, but also like Katie Ledecky or Simone Manuel or really any of the Olympians, I think they鈥檙e all great and have looked up to them all.鈥
Long-term goals: King tries to stay in the moment most of the time. 鈥淚 try to take everything like one practice at a time, one meet at a time,鈥 King said. 鈥淩ight now I just want to finish up my high school season, tackle my summer season and then get ready for college. My biggest goal for college is to make an impact, to help them to reach their goals as a team.鈥
Wolfpack: King had several NCAA Division-I offers but fell in love with North Carolina State after taking an official visit there. 鈥淚 ended up also visiting UVA, Texas, Indiana and Louisville,鈥 King pointed out. 鈥淥ne of the main reasons I chose NC State was because of the people that were there, the coaches and the girls on the team. I immediately clicked with all of them. I just felt so welcomed there. They made the recruiting process very personal. I feel like I鈥檓 already part of the team.鈥 King foresees competing in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle with the Wolfpack but realizes that could change. 鈥淚t鈥檒l probably mainly be the freestyle events but you also never know with college because I feel like a lot of times people go in having been recruited for some events then ended up swimming in other ones,鈥 said King, who wants to major in criminology.
Hobbies: While swimming is a big part of her life, King, who has one sibling, 21-year-old brother Jonas King, does enjoy a few hobbies. 鈥淚n the free time that I do have I love reading and painting and hanging out with my friends and family,鈥 said King, who also fancies styling fingernails. 鈥淚鈥檓 a big fan of doing nails. I do my mom鈥檚 nails, my nails, my friends鈥 nails. That鈥檚 just something fun that I like to do.鈥
鈥 Compiled by Rob Burchianti