The Norwin Swim season is underway. With intense training and motivation, the team gears up for a WPIAL run.
The Norwin knights girls and boys swimming team is off to a solid start. With intense competition, the boys are 4-3 and the girls are 3-4.
“We have a strong group of returning swimmers. A difference this year is our new swimmers – Particularly our freshmen swimmers,” said coach Katherine Bernardi. “This year we had several swimmers join the team who had never swum competitively before and, in a few cases, did not know how to swim at all.”
The team had a swim meet on January 5th against the Franklin Regional Panthers. Although the Knights lost, they bounced back against Connellsville.
Both the boys and girls beat the Connellsville Falcons. The team continues to keep pushing through the season. One could even say they’re making their way through the water.
It’s important to recognize some of the young strength the team holds. With some upcoming stars, the Norwin swim team presents strength at all ages.
“Grant Friday is a freshman who got a WPIAL cut in the 100 back,” said Bernardi. “Another freshman to watch is Even Bowen – He is swimming well.”
Coach Bernardi expressed how Adelle Brown is “making a huge impact on the girls’ side.” With these new additions, the team has become stronger with power in all different grades.
Coach Bernardi also added that she has a strong group of swimmers this year. She has hopes that many of them will go to WPIALS this 2025/2026 season at the end of February.
“I’ve gotten a good amount of cuts so far with the amount I’ve been training. I’ve also still been able to preform well at some of the meets,” said Amber Klingensmith. Klingensmith’s older sister who graduated in 2025, Hannah, was a huge help to the team in previous years. But, Amber is stepping up and continues to demonstrate strength.
“I was proud that our team was able to get cuts in the relays within our first meet we had. I was so proud of the team for that,” Klingensmith exclaimed.
The swimmers demonstrating excellent performances qualify for WPIALs. These swimmers are junior Amber Klingensmith, sophomore Adam Samuels, freshmen Remi Oetschelt, and freshmen Grant Friday.
The Westmoreland County Championship is Friday January 23 and Saturday January 24 at Derry High School. They hope to perform well and show what Norwin swimming is all about.
Post Season
Numerous Knights are set to swim in the WPIAL Swimming Championships at the University of Pittsburgh on Thursday, February 26th and Friday, February 27th.
3 Relays: the 200 Medley Relay, the 200 Freestyle Relay, and the 400 Freestyle Relay qualified for both the girls and boys relay teams.
Individually, the Knights have seen a lot of success too.
On the boys’ side, junior Liam Samuels hit the qualifying cut in the 200 Free, 200 IM, 50 Free, and 100 Free. Aidan, his twin brother, earned cuts in the 50 Free, 100 Fly, 100 Free, 500 Free, and 100 Back.
Sophomore Ellis Slavin added 3 more cuts to the board in the 200 Free, 200 IM and 500 Free. While junior Preston Montag got a cut in the 500 Free and freshman Grant Friday earned a spot in the 100 Back.
For the girls’ team, junior Amber Klingensmith earned every single cut (a total of eight): the 200 Free, 200 IM, 50 Free, 100 Fly, 100 Free, 500 Free, 100 Back, and 100 Breast.
Additionally, sophomore Remi Detschelt earned cuts in the 200 Free, 200 IM, 50 Free, and the 100 Free. Adelle Brown qualified for the 50 Free and the 100 Back. Also, Kismet Juart qualified for the 50 Free, while Amelia Vecchio qualified for the 100 Breast.
