Young Norwin freestylers set school record at WPIAL championships

By: Karen Kadilak
Friday, March 8, 2019 | 7:33 PM

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The Norwin girls swimming team earned no medals at the WPIAL Class AAA championship meet Feb. 28-March 1 at Pitt, but it probably is just a matter of time before the Knights do.

First-year Norwin coach Doug Watson believes all the young squad lacks is confidence.

“(We had) lot of time drops,” Watson said. “(I was) very happy overall.”

Norwin’s best showing came in the 200-yard freestyle relay, where freshmen Berna Zukina and Joey Testa and sophomores Sarah Todaro and Jordan Kutchak set a school record to place ninth (1 minute, 40.21 seconds). They missed a medal by one place.

Testa said the relay team came close to the record early in the season.

“(I was) so happy when we broke it,” she said.

Testa is encouraged that everyone in the relay will return.

The Knights collected two 15th places from the 200 medley relay team of Testa, sophomore Elizabeth “Lizzie” Smeltzer, senior Courtney Kosanovic and Zukina (1:51.66) and Smeltzer, 500 freestyle (5:16.36).

Kosanovic, who also competed individually, was excited to swim her last high school race.

“I was right around my best times,” she said. “I am happy with how I performed (under) the new coaching staff.”

The girls 400 freestyle relay team of Smeltzer, junior Allie Plassio, Todaro and Kutchak came in 18th (3:46.56).

Kutchak, Zukina and Testa placed in the top 20 individually.

The Knights finished 20th.

The boys team had no qualifiers. Watson expects things to pick up on that side next season.

Tags: Norwin