Zelienople Area Swim Club’s Gavin Blazer competes in the boys 50-yard backstroke during the AK Valley Swim Championships at SEBCO Pool on Sunday in Jefferson Township. Joseph Ressler/Butler Eagle 7/10/22
JEFFERSON TWP — Penn Valley was champion in terms of points.
In terms of pool time, all participants were winners during the annual AK Valley Swim League Championships hosted by SEBCO on Sunday.
There were 248 swimmers representing the league’s six teams — SEBCO, Sylvan, Belmont, Penn Valley, Zelienople and Vandergrift — at the meet. There was competition, but there was camaraderie as well.
“That’s what I like about this league,” SEBCO team president Bob Leroy said. “Everybody cheers for each other. Even the kids who come in last are encouraged to finish. The older kids help teach the younger ones.
“There are no hard feelings. This is like one big family.”
Swimmers wait for their heats during the AK Valley Swim Championships on Sunday. Joseph Ressler/Butler Eagle 7/10/22
Jamie Hartle has been treasurer of the SEBCO team — the pool located in Jefferson Township’s Laura Doerr Park — for eight years. Her son, Cody, is a sophomore at Slippery Rock High School and has been on SEBCO’s team for nine years.
The league’s age range is 6-18. The younger kids swim in the Lollipop Championship meet hosted recently by the Belmont Complex in Kittanning. The others swam in the championship meet at SEBCO.
“I’m a working mom and this is the only team in the league that practices at night, so we come down here,” Hartle said. “It’s a fun league and it serves as a feeder system for a lot of swim programs.
“Slippery Rock, Butler, Knoch, Freeport, Seneca Valley, Kiski Area, all of those high school programs draw swimmers from this league.”
Corrie Jones has been coach at Penn Valley — located in Penn Township — for more than 20 years. She has been president of the AK Valley Swim League for the past decade.
The league has had as many as 10 teams. Jones is hopeful Alameda in Butler returns to the league at some point, but other teams folded up due to pool closings.
Winners of the Corrie Jones Spirit Award Sunday during the AK Valley Swim League Championships were, from left, Austin Keally from Zelienople, Izzy Paglia from Sylvan, Bryce Dryden from Penn Valley, (Corrie Jones is in center), Levi Hanson from Vandergrift, Talon Smith from SEBCO, and Isaac Barton from Belmont. Submitted Photo
“Maintaining pools isn’t cheap and that’s the big issue right now,” Jones said. “But this league is strong. We lost a few swimmers to the COVID year, but the numbers are growing again.”
SEBCO was down to 54 swimmers two years ago, but is up to 75 now. Penn Valley has approximately 90 swimmers. Zelienople had 50 swimmers in 2020 and has 90 swimmers now.
“We don’t just want to make these kids better athletes. We want to make them better people,” Jones said. “Swimming is a great social sport during the summer. It gets the kids’ noses out of their cell phones and away from the TV and video games.
“Kids need to communicate with each other, do things together. Communication skills is the biggest thing here. When we practice or do dry land workouts, I don’t let them bring their phones out. We’re all about social activity.”
Jones added that the discipline needed in the water helps to transform a youth’s daily life.
“This is the only sport that tells you when to breathe,” she said, laughing. “Five seconds of rest feels like an eternity.”
Zelienople’s team was coached by a pair of young Seneca Valley graduates in Owen Tekelenburg and Ria Dietz. Both swam for the Zelienople team. Tekelenburg will continue his swim career at Denison University while Dietz will do the same at Illinois State.
They are grooming two current Seneca Valley swimmers — Hainhan Xu and Gavin Blazer — to take over as Zelienople head coaches next year. Xu and Sylvan’s Brenna Bonnett received the John F. Masarik Award as top point scorers at the league championships Sunday.
“We’re just interested in giving back,” Tekelenburg said. “Swimming has done a lot for us and it’s fun watching the younger kids progress. Watching these kids swim 50-yard events today ... some of them couldn’t swim 25 yards when they first joined us. That’s how far they’ve come.
“My sister swam for Edco when they had a team,. My mother (Anissa Tekelenburg) is heavily involved in swimming and I was taking swim lessons at 2 years old. It’s part of my foundation.
“Everything about this league is a positive experience for these kids,” Tekelenburg added.
Penn Valley won the Lollipop Championships with 342 points, followed by Sylvan (Natrona Heights) with 245 and Belmont with 204. Penn Valley claimed the AK Valley League Championships with 1,411.5 points, followed by Belmont with 1,213.5 and Sylvan with 1,167.5.
Asley Brenenborg of Belmont and Josh Benson of Sylvan received the Jane Thimons Excellence Award as top point scorers at the Lollipop Championships.
Winning the Corrie Jones Spirit Award, a new award to the league which recognizes team leadership, sportsmanship and love for the sport of swimming were Isaac Barton (Belmont), Bryce Dryden (Penn Valley), Talon Smith (SEBCO), Izzy Paglia (Sylvan), Levi Hansen (Vandergrift) and Austin Keally (Zelienople).
