Penn Hills grad Sipple makes splash at Edinboro

Stephanie Sipple’s boyfriend would be on dry land holding bungee cords, while she would take 20 butterfly strokes in Edinboro Lake.

The Edinboro junior swimmer and Penn Hills graduate didn’t want to fall behind. With the school enforcing tight covid-19 restrictions, Sipple wanted to stay in shape. With few organized practices before the season started, Sipple got creative.

“The first semester, I had this bungee-cord thing,” Sipple said. “I would go and have my boyfriend hold the cord, and I would swim in Edinboro Lake. I would run sometimes.”

All of the work led to a successful first season with the Fighting Scots. Sipple found her way to the medal stand in a myriad of events at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championships April 21-24 in York.

Sipple earned silver medals in the 1,000-yard freestyle, 1,650 free, 200-yard butterfly and a bronze in the 100-yard fly.

“It didn’t matter how fast my times were,” Sipple said. “I didn’t care where I was seeded. I wanted to have a meet with my team and swim with them. I don’t want to say I didn’t have my doubts. I was scared. We only practiced for two months.”

Sipple’s success is partly because of being reinvigorated by a change in scenery.

Feeling pressure to attend a Division I program, Sipple originally went to Cleveland State. During her freshman season with the Vikings, she had the second-fastest times on the team in the 200 fly and 1,650 free.

While Sipple loved her teammates, she wasn’t happy at the school and decided to reach out to Edinboro coach Chris Rhodes, who originally had recruited Sipple. Edinboro was the first school Sipple visited.

“She’s a sweetheart, a hard worker and a great person,” Rhodes said. “I felt like when she reached out, it was a great opportunity for us and her. We were going to welcome her with open arms, and she could be even faster than what she was at Cleveland State and in high school.”

Sipple wasn’t sure what event she wanted to compete in for the Fighting Scots. Medaling in the 1,000 and 1,650 wasn’t something she would have put much thought into during the preseason.

In the 1,000 freestyle, Sipple finished second with a time of 10 minutes, 46.13 seconds. It was 45 seconds faster than her seed time.

“Coming into this season, I wasn’t really a distance swimmer,” Sipple said. “I’m more mid-distance. … I couldn’t put into words how happy I was to see how everyone finished (at PSACs). I knew I made the right choice.”

Rhodes believes with a full season of training, Sipple could be destined for bigger things at Edinboro. The Fighting Scots only had one dual meet, a 116-83 loss to Clarion in February, and a few virtual meets the PSAC put together.

“She could be at Division II nationals next year and, hopefully, be in the top 16 or top 8,” Rhodes said. “She has the talent. It’s about getting the opportunity to do the training.”