Norwin notebook: Sophomore sets school record at WCCA swim meet

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Saturday, February 8, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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Norwin sophomore swimmer Amber Klingensmith came home from her first trip to the Westmoreland County Coaches Association Championships with more than a good story to tell.

She found herself in her school’s record book.

A first-year varsity swimmer, Klingensmith broke a long-standing program record in the 100-yard butterfly, taking second place with a time of 57.3 seconds.

The previous record of 58.50 seconds was held by Darci Bodnar and stood since 1981.

Klingensmith swims for Pittsburgh Elite Aquatics

Also at the county meet, Knights senior Tyler Turgeon placed first in the 100 backstroke, and senior Hanna Klingensmith won the 500 freestyle.

The girls’ 400 free relay — the Klingensmiths, Kismet Juart and freshman Remi Detschelt — finished second despite being seeded sixth.

With only 18 swimmers at the county meet, Norwin’s boys finished fifth, while the girls took sixth.

Bruno, Crnkovic to SFU

Norwin lineman Colin Bruno and receiver/defensive back Michael Crnkovic accepted preferred walk-on offers from St. Francis (Pa.) and made a commitment to the Red Flash.

Bruno (6-foot-3, 300 pounds) also snagged an offer from Lock Haven, his sixth offer overall. He had a Division I offer from Mercyhurst.

Crnkovic also had offers from Seton Hill and Clarion.

Knights make states

A season of firsts continued for the Norwin wrestling team.

After the Knights upset the No. 4 and No. 7 ranked teams in the state — Canon-McMillan and Bethel Park — to reach the WPIAL semifinals for the first time in program history, they edged out Thomas Jefferson, 36-30, in the third-place match to clinch a first spot in the PIAA playoffs.

Against Thomas Jefferson, the Knights ran off six consecutive wins in the lower weights, outscoring the Jaguars 33-0 to erase a 13-3 deficit.

Coleton Klipa (114), Brooks Blasko (127), Landon Sidun (133) and Gage Mamie (145) collected pins for Norwin.

1,000 for Berger

Senior Kendall Berger has a number of memories as a member of the Norwin girls basketball team.

She has a WPIAL championship, PIAA playuoff experience and a number of high-scoring performances.

Now, she has a scoring milestone. Berger scored the 1,000th point of her career when Norwin lost a home game to South Fayette.

The Clarion commit needed 10 but finished with 13 in a 48-36 setback.

Boys, girls playoff bound

The Norwin boys and girls basketball teams qualified for the WPIAL playoffs, which were scheduled to start the week of Feb. 9.

The boys team (9-10) took the fifth spot in Section 2-6A, defeating Hempfield, 61-56, for a key victory.

The girls (11-6), who are seeking a WPIAL 6A repeat, were leading Section 2-6A by one game over Upper St. Clair, a team they upset, 56-47.

On track

A number of Norwin athletes fared well at the Tri-State Track Coaches Association indoor meet at Edinboro.

Annie Czajkowski won the 3,000-meter run in a program-record 10 minutes, 19.64 seconds, while Nick Bognar won the long jump (20 feet, 9 inches), Tyler Beck was first in the 400 (51.85 seconds) and Alex Irwin won the pole vault (14-1).

Luke Simpson (8:55.03) and Thomas Gaydos (8:59.24) also set Norwin indoor records while finishing second and third in the 3,000 meters.

Recruiting

• Norwin football player Evan Archer (6-2, 230), an offensive tackle and defensive end, committed to Division II Clarion of the PSAC.

• Norwin’s Mike Strutt (6-0, 320), a nose tackle, received a local offer, from Division II Seton Hill.

College watch

Updates on Norwin athletes playing at the college level:

Women’s basketball

Cedarville: A 15-point halftime deficit meant nothing to Brianna Zajicek. The junior led a fervent comeback with a career day as the Yellow Jackets rallied past Findlay, 81-80, for a win in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.

Zajicek, a Norwin alum, poured in a career-high 25 points on 7-of-13 shooting and 9-of-9 free throws and also grabbed eight rebounds in the win.

She scored 19 in the second half, including two 3-pointers. She had 10 in the third quarter.

Cedarville trailed 49-34 at halftime before a second-half rally.

Wrestling

Bucknell: Fifth-year student Kurt Phipps (Norwin) notched his 100th career win but the Bison fell to Lock Haven, 17-15. Phipps used a late takedown to defeat No. 16 and two-time All-American Anthony Noto, 4-1, at 133 pounds. He is just the 11th wrestler at Bucknell to win 100 matches.

Men’s track & field

Seton Hill: Senior John Giansante (Norwin) won the triple jump at 12.90 meters at the Muskie Meet No. 2.

Women’s track & field

Seton Hill: The 800-meter relay of freshman Nemani Moon, freshman Artemis Conaboy, junior Layla Robertson (Norwin) and senior Koschinya Jefferson won their race in 1:45.60 for a school and meet record at the Muskie Meet No. 2.

Men’s volleyball

Saint Vincent: Freshman Jackson Genicola (Norwin) was named PAC Newcomer of the Week. He had 49 assists and 14 digs in a 3-2 loss to Wilkes and added 38 assists and 18 digs in a 3-1 win over Penn State Altoona.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

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