IN North Allegheny Spring 2017 | Page 54

Making A Splash

North Allegheny swimmers advance long history of competitive success .

BY JENNIFER BROZAK

When the North Allegheny swim team formed back in the early 1960s , the high school didn ’ t even have a pool — and girls ’ swimming hadn ’ t yet been recognized as a WPIAL sport .

It ’ s safe to say that the team has come a long way since those early days . Now recognized as one of the most competitive teams in western Pennsylvania , the team has amassed an impressive collection of championships and broken records , including eight consecutive WPIAL wins for the girls ’ team and five consecutive wins for the boys .
The team ’ s triumphant history is the result of consistency from both athletes and coaching staff , says head coach Patrick Wenzel , 41 .
“ A lot of our success has to do with the development of young athletes who are coming into the program ,” says Wenzel , who also serves as the head coach of the Allegheny North Swim Club . “ Some of our swimmers start with us as young as 7 years old , and by the time they get to us in high school and start competing , they ’ re already familiar with what we do and how we do it .”
Wenzel has served as the team ’ s head coach for the past four years , but has been with the program since 2002 , when he worked under head coach Kirk “ Corky ” Semler .
North Allegheny Swim Team circa 1963 .
Semler led the swim team through many of its winning seasons , retiring in 2013 after 35 years . He started coaching the boys ’ swim team in 1978 , and also served as the assistant girls coach during the 1978 season . In 1979 , he took over as head coach of both teams . Over the course of his career , Semler ’ s combined record for the boys ’ and girls ’ teams was 632-83-6 , and he coached his team to a myriad of championship wins , including 61 sectional , 26 WPIAL , 16 WPIAL runner-up , 9 PIAA and 7 PIAA runner-up titles .
“ I inherited a good team with talented swimmers , so the base was already there ,” says Semler , 63 . “ We ’ ve always had a strong program , but especially in the last dozen years , Patrick [ Wenzel ] has built that team into the strongest age group program in western PA , which has fed the high school team some really good swimmers , mainly contributing to our current run of success .”
The team ’ s successes date back at least as far as the early ‘ 60s , says Semler ; hanging in the pool office is a photo of 11 boys who competed in the 1963 WPIAL championships . The girls ’ team won their first WPIAL title in 1973 , the same year the team was established at North Allegheny , and the first year that the WPIAL recognized girls swimming as a sport .
One of those original girls ’ team members was Janis ( Hape ) Dowd , who remains the only North Allegheny swimmer to
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