The Norwin Girls Track team races to a blazing start. While many teams have off years or years of struggle, that is not the case for the girls. The Lady Knights Track & Field Squad won the WPIAL Team Championship on Tuesday, May 6, along with their 7th straight Section title and a cumulative record of 39-0, with the last loss coming in the Spring of 2017. Additionally, the team won the Westmoreland County Meet as well as the Butler Invitational and TSTCA Championship.
The WPIAL Playoffs began with the first round on Tuesday April 30. The girls faced off against Pine-Richland, Plum, and Laurel Highlands for their bid to be in the Championship. The girls easily flew by the other teams with scores of 101-49 against PR, 110-40 against Plum, and 134-10 against LH. Despite the dominance in the first round, the competition in the championship is much larger. The girls face off against North Allegheny, Butler, and South Fayette on May 6.
Often in sporting events teams’ best moments come when they are put up against tough competition. That commonality is shared with the Lady Knights track team. The girls on May 6 faced off against three tough WPIAL opponents in Butler, North Allegheny, and South Fayette and won its first team WPIAL trophy since 2009.
“I feel awesome,” Senior Mel Schmidt said. “ We were able to be the greatest. We said we would come in and take care of business, and we did just that. Above all it always feels good to go out with a bang!”
Typically, track meets have one or two particular stars of the show, but all of the girls had to do their part to secure the long-awaited WPIAL trophy. For many of the girls this will be the capstone of their career, but for some, they have to keep running in hopes of more medals at WPIAL individuals, and eventually at the state level with some of the best competition in the state and the country.
“Earning a WPIAL title shows how much of a team Norwin is and the hard work we put in,” senior Brandi Brozeski said. “We have been runner-up for many years, which makes this moment so much more special.”
“The team has always been able to consistently come together for all of our success,” junior Alex Oestrich said. “ I used to only do triple jump, but I’ve been doing what I can to help the team elsewhere.”
Throughout the year, the girls’ team has been strong on the track and in the field. Both the track and the field have a strong senior core, but also are showing immense promise for the seasons to come. The future lies in the hands of the new freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. Despite having a promising future, the Lady Knights have one of the strongest teams they have ever had and are carving their own path to their WPIAL title.
The Lady Knights program is led by 5th-year head coach Timothy Van Horn has developed numerous great athletes, but this 2024-2025 season is some of the best. Athletes like senior Mel Schmidt are dominating in all of their events. Schmidt is a consistent point scorer for the Knights and is a big part of how the senior class of girls has been able to stay undefeated throughout their entire career. Most recently, on April 12, Schmidt took first in the 400-meter dash at the TSTCA invitational at West Mifflin with a time of 57.9 seconds.
“So far we have been absolutely unmatched,” sophomore Karina Karadus said. “ we have been working really hard this season to take what is ours.”
Senior Brandi Brozeski also fits the mold of a dominant track athlete. Specializing in hurdles and jumps, Brozeski’s versatility has been unmatched and vital to the girls’ success. Not just seniors are to thank for the ongoing success, but some younger faces as well. Following in the footsteps of Schmidt is Sophomore Myla McCabe. Both McCabe and Schmidt compete in nearly all the same sprinting events and have been pushing each other farther and farther every time they run. Sophomore Karina Karadus has been making a name for herself, too, in all of the hurdle events.
On the distance side of things, not much has changed. Not much has changed in the department of winning. The girls’ distance squad is as strong as they have ever been, with junior Annie Czajkowski leading the way for the girls. Czajkowski has been upping her running consistently for the past couple of years, and the fruits of her labor are starting to pay off with her ending her indoor season at New Balance Nationals in Boston. Picking up where she left off, Czajkowski took the win in the 3200-meter run at the TSTCA Championship, and has more Invites in sight. Czajkowski took 4th at the Butler invite in the 1600m with a time of 5:03.
Down in the pit, the Lady Knight throwers have been breaking barriers and making the team as a whole more and more dynamic. Senior Lexi Heller has been on a tear and leads the girls in multiple throwing events. Heller at TSTCA did not have any new personal records, but did take second in shot put with a throw of 33-1.5. Despite no new records Heller is still ready to make a push for a state medal.
The girls continued their streak of dominance at the Butler Invitational. Butler’s invite had more than 100 other teams and over 2000 athletes, and the girls still came out on top. All of the girls performed exceedingly well. No single individual won an individual gold for the girls, but lots of athletes medaled. Each athlete ran, jumped, or threw for each other, and that is why they came out with the win. While the team was a single cohesive unit, Brandi Brozeski was a particular standout. Brozeski broke the record for the girls 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.77 seconds, which was previously held by her sister Emily Brozeski.
