A visit with WPIAL swimming champion Trinity Ward


Background Info: Trinity Ward in on the cusp of joining a legend. And maybe eclipsing her. Ward, a senior at Mt. Lebanon, has won the WPIAL Class 3A 100-yard butterfly title each of her first three years and, with a victory this year, will tie Penn Hills alumna and WPIAL Hall of Famer Melanie Buddemeyer as the only person ever to win the event all four years. In addition, Ward is the third-fastest swimmer in the 100 butterfly and has the fifth-best time with a 55.08-second finish as a sophomore in 2016. Buddemeyer, who set the bar, has the three fastest times with a still-record 54.16 her senior year in 1984.

Trinity Ward on her WPIAL experience.
"I think it’s a great experience because it’s so competitive and you have a lot of good teams, not just teams where they have one good swimmer. We have Upper St. Clair and North Allegheny to push us as a whole team and that makes an individual push themselves, too. During practice you talk about that you have this team goal and it makes the individual push themselves more and it’s a great experience."

Trinity Ward on her greatest high school accomplishment so far.
"I would say it’s probably just growing and realizing that it’s not just what you do but who you are."

Trinity Ward on competing in an individual sport with a team component.
"I think that swimming is such a great sport because it is individual and team. If you are on a bad team, you can’t just give up and not going to try because it is on you for a lot of it. At the same time, you’re swimming for more than just yourself and a lot of my best memories are from winning a relay or winning a meet as a team and not just by myself. A lot of my teammates are people that I care about so much and trust and know that I’ll remember forever."