SOL Boys/Girls Swimming Notebook (3-1-17)

Swimmers/divers from Pennsbury, North Penn and Cheltenham are featured in this week’s notebook.

National Conference

Catherine Kosko, Pennsbury
This year’s District One Class AAA meet will be a first for Pennsbury junior Catheine Kosko, who earned two automatic cut times at the conference championship meet.
Kosko’s individual events at districts will be the 100-yard freestyle and 200 freestyle. She won the 100 free at the SOL championships with a time of 54.55, under the automatic cut of 54.89 and was second in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:59.83, also an automatic cut time.
She anchored Pennsbury’s third place 200 medley relay, which has a consideration time of 1:53.97 and was on the winning 400 freestyle relay. 
“This is my first district meet so I’m so excited,” she said. “I got consideration the last couple of years and I came into leagues with consideration times. I wasn’t expecting to do as well as I did. I’m just so excited to have those automatic times.
“I was nervous coming into the meet because my goal this year was to swim at districts. There’s nothing that can beat this.”
Kosko has been swimming since second grade.
“I started with a summer team,” she said. “All my friends were doing it so I thought ‘Why not?’ and I fell in love with the sport.”
In addition to swimming, Kosko is in a club called Operation Smile, which raises funds to send doctors to Third World countries to help children with cleft palates.  
She has not chosen a college or major yet, but is leaning toward something in business such as marketing, or perhaps political science.
She does know that she would like to swim in college.
“I’m too competitive not to,” she said.

Continental Conference

Ian Boland Bintner, North Penn
Ian Boland Bintner posted a score of 518.50 points over 11 dives to capture fourth place and his fourth consecutive PIAA berth at the District One Class AAA diving competition.
“I think I did OK,” said Boland Bintner, a senior. “There are some of my dives where I was over or short, but states is really where it counts so I’m still looking forward to that. I’m really excited for it because I dove well last time at states (finishing fifth) so hopefully I can do it again.”
He began diving at age five or six.
“I originally was swimming for the Lansdale team then I did both for a couple of years but then I ended up quitting swimming and just doing diving because eventually you have to choose one or the other,” he said.
When he isn’t in the pool, he’s very interested in photography. So much so that it will be his major in college, although he hasn’t chosen a school yet.
“I’m waiting to hear from NYU, and if I get in, I think that’s where I want to go,” he said. “I’ve been doing photography for a long time. I take pictures of anything but I take a lot of portraits of my friends.”
He does know that he will not continue diving in college.
“I’m actually really excited for the end but I’m going to miss it,” he said. I only have one more meet and I’m really going to miss diving. It’s been a big part of my life.”

American Conference

Matt O’Neill, Cheltenham
The final meet of Matt O’Neill’s career was the conference championships, and it was memorable.
The Cheltenham senior captain, who has autism, finally broke the six-minute barrier in the 500-yard freestyle with his time of 5:57.91.
“I was like, ‘Yes!’,” said O’Neill when he saw his time. “I was so happy. It was everything I worked for.”
His older brother Patrick had also competed in the 500 freestyle for Cheltenham, posting a best time of 6:10.
“My goal was to beat Patrick’s time and I did it eight times,” O’Neill said. 
Patrick, who also has autism, is now a music major at West Chester. His senior year was shortened by an Achilles tendon injury.
“I was really sad when Patrick couldn’t swim so I wanted to swim the whole season,” said O’Neill. “Every time I swam the 500 I thought of him. When he was swimming, I was his lap counter.”
Although his season is over, O’Neill continues to go to practice every day to swim with Cheltenham’s district qualifiers.
“I like helping them prepare,” he said.
O’Neill never missed a practice in his career.
“I worked really hard and I think that’s what helped me to get my goals at the end,” he said.
He is grateful to coach Karen Wirtshafter, who coached him at Cheltenham Aquatics Club. She took over the boys program at Cheltenham this year.
“I was worried we wouldn’t have a coach and then she said she was coaching the team and I was so happy,” O’Neill said. “She helped me alot this year.”
He is considering joining the Carpenter’s Union after graduation.
“I’m still studying at Eastern Tech, a school for arts and technology,” he said.
In addition to swimming, he participates in Unified Sports, a program that pairs students with disabilities with other students in a variety of sports.
“I got a gold medal in bocce the other day,” he said.