OREFIELD - Marian Catholic's Katie Kurzinsky knew that she didn't race the 'perfect race' in the 100 backstroke at the District 11 AA Swimming Championships Saturday morning at Parkland Area High School's Natatorium.

On her third flip turn, the junior speedster accidentally inhaled a gulp of water, causing her to not be able to inhale air for the turn. That shock to the system limited her natural ability, and caused her to have a mediocre finish to the event.It didn't matter. The talented Fillie had earned enough of a lead that she still managed to pull off her second gold medal at this year's district championship, as she cruised to the win and earned this season's Dennis McGinley Swimmer of the Meet Award."At the flags, going into my third flip turn, and I got a big gulp of water and no air," Kurzinsky smiled. "So from the flags, into the flip turn, and out past the flags again, I had no air. So it wasn't ideal, and I didn't get any underwaters in there. So, it isn't the best time that I've ever gone, but I'm still ecstatic."Coupled with her first-place finish in the 50 freestyle Friday, Katie picked up enough individual points to garner the highly-esteemed swimming award, which was announced at the completion of the day."I was not expecting it at all," she admitted. "I thought someone that swam relays would have or Mary Zimmerman (of Schuylkill Haven) would have gotten it. She had an awesome meet, but I couldn't be happier about getting the award. It shows how hard I've worked and I'm so grateful."The constant perfectionist wasted little time in getting to work on how she could possibly improve her time in the event for the PIAA State Swimming Championships in a couple weeks, but still took the time to show her appreciation for her 'team' of support."I want to thank my mom; she's my best friend (Maria Tacelosky), my step dad, and coach, Bill Moore, who gives such great pep talks and encouragement, along with my mom," Kurzinsky said. "Also, my dad, Rod Kurzinsky, for getting me to practices every day and providing me with encouragement. Also, my team, Danny (Berlitz), Timmy (Dando) and Angelina (Krupko) - without them, I wouldn't be where I am."Marian freshman Danny Berlitz stated his case for the McGinley Award, as well, earning his second gold medal of the two-day event. Berlitz blitzed the rest of the field in the 500 freestyle, as he touched the wall 12 seconds ahead of second place finisher, Northern Lehigh senior, Jose Avila.Berlitz made his presence felt, as he nabbed gold a day earlier in the 200 IM."It feels amazing. Since this is my first districts, I'm really excited about everything that I do," Berlitz said. "To win the 500, and almost break the district record in my first time is pretty exciting. I'm weird in my approach to the race, in that I try and sprint the first 200, and hang on from there."Avila and teammate, Timmy Dando (who finished second and third, respectively, in the event), pushed Berlitz for the first half of the race, before Berlitz pulled away."They pushed me from the beginning, but that's when I said 'Time to beat the clock now," he admitted.Avila, the senior Bulldog, finished his district swimming career with a second in the 500, along with his third place in the 200 free on Friday. "I think I could have done a little better, but that was my best time in that race by two seconds, so that's pretty good," Avila said.Dando, a junior at Marian, added his third place in the 500 to a second from the first day of competition in the 200 free.Another local male swimmer, Northern Lehigh's Wyatt Delans, a junior, picked up his game by finishing second in the 100 breast, after taking fifth on Friday in the 200 IM."I dropped two seconds off my time from last year, so I'm definitely happy," Delans said afterward. "My time was good enough to get a friend of mine to states a couple years ago, so I'm hopeful that I can make it with that time this year."Tamaqua's duo of Rebecca Kanaskie and Lexi Kerstetter also added some more individual hardware to their collection, with strong finishes. Kerstetter, a sophomore, surprised herself with a second-place finish in the 100 back, behind Kurzinsky, while Kanaskie managed a third place in the competitive field for the 100 breast stroke event."Overall, I have to be pleased, because all of the kids did their best," Tamaqua head coach Al Bostdorff said. "We had some kids that came out of nowhere, like Lexi in the backstroke, our medley relay team, and the 400 free relay. As a coach, I can't be upset when the kids exceed their own expectations."The individual winners in each event automatically qualify for the PIAA meet, while the remaining positions are filled in with the next best times. So, the second and third place finishers are now playing the 'waiting game' to find out if they move on to further their seasons.DISTRICT 11CLASS AA SWIMMING(at Parkland Area High School)GIRLSTEAM STANDINGS(Final Results)1. Southern Lehigh (SL) 288.5, 2. Moravian Academy (MA) 277, 3. Allentown Central Catholic (ACC) 261, 4. Blue Mountain (BM) 245, 5. Tamaqua (T) 193, 6. Schuylkill Haven (SH) 188.5, 7. Salisbury (SAL) 180, 8. Saucon Valley (SV) 119, 9. East Stroudsburg North (ESN) 84, 10. Mahanoy Area (MAH) 69.INDIVIDUAL EVENTS(top four; other local swimmers)100 Free - 1. Mary Zimmerman (SH) 54.25, 2. Jill Spirk (BC) 54.52, 3. Kyra Manson (MA) 54.82, 4. Sarah Bobeck (SAL) 55.29; 10. Lexi Kerstetter (T) 58.76, 22. Emily Andrews (T) 1:05.16, 23. Krista Carlin (PALM) 1:05.83500 Free - 1. Paige Jackett (NDES) 5:26.11, 2. Zoe Geis (SL) 5:28.30, 3. Angela Burns (SL) 5:41.64, 4. Taylor Felty (SH) 5:43.12;100 Back - 1. Katie Kurzinsky (MC) 1:00.05, 2. Lexi Kerstetter (T) 1:02.52, 3. Nicole O'Neill (ACC) 1:03.65, 4. Karrison Dubbs (BM) 1:04.25;100 Breast - 1. Caroline Madigan (SV) 1:07.25, 2. Kaylee Davis (MA) 1:09.45, 3. Rebecca Kanaskie (T) 1:11.15, 4. Angelina Krupko (MC) 1:11.56; 8. Sarah Maue (T) 1:14.93400 Free Relay - 1. Southern Lehigh (Gwynn Kylish, Angela Burns, Samantha Talecki, Zoe Geis) 3:46.29, 2. Moravian Academy (Grace Cowen, Zoe Manson, Kaylee Davis, Kyra Manson) 3:51.50, 3. Allentown Central Catholic (Erin Chlebove, Nicole O'Neill, Grace Johnson, Angie Castano) 3:54.73, 4. Tamaqua (Abigail Brickler, Sarah Maue, Lexi Kerstetter, Rebecca Kanaskie) 3:59.16.BOYSTEAM STANDINGS(Final Results)1. Allentown Central Catholic (ACC) 341, 2. Blue Mountain (BM) 302, 3. Salisbury (SAL) 231, 4. Mahanoy Area (MAH) 213, 5. Pottsville Area (POT) 193, 6. Saucon Valley (SV) 173, 7. Moravian Academy (MA) 138, 8. Schuylkill Haven (SH) 129.5, 9. Tamaqua (T) 113.INDIVIDUAL EVENTS(top four; other local swimmers)100 Free - 1. Mahlon Reihman (SAL) 46.05, 2. Gabe Castano (ACC) 46.28, 3. Ryan Schreffler (NAT) 47.95, 4. Stephen Johnson (BM) 48.56;500 Free - 1. Danny Berlitz (MC) 4:42.01, 2. Jose Avila (NL) 4:54.62, 3. Timmy Dando (MC) 5:01.22, 4. Michael Smerlick (POT) 5:08.08; 9. Benjamin Turrano (T) 5:21.33, 22. Bryan Ramirez (T) 6:22.7100 Back - 1. Mark Boran (BM) 53.43, 2. Daniel Bonge (SAL) 54.40, 3. Liam Mansell (MAH) 56.94, 4. Jacob Wessner (BM) 58.27; 9. Keith Cullen (WEA) 1:03.18, 13. Jeff Letterhouse (T) 1:06.78100 Breast - 1. Reginald Crawford (MAH) 1:03.10, 2. Wyatt Delans (NL) 1:03.23, 3. Nick Yackenchick (BM) 1:03.51, 4. Thomas Madigan (SV) 1:03.60; 6. Mac Allen (PALM) 1:05.45, 9. Jacob Sirkot (WEA) 1:07.54, 21. Jacob Rudy (T) 1:16.26400 Free Relay - 1. Salisbury (Daniel Bonge, Timothy Sechler-Stone, Ben Wiener, Mahlon Reihman) 3:22.61, 2. Mahanoy Area (Joseph Antolick, Caleb Snyder, Reginald Crawford, Liam Mansell) 3:23.10, 3. Pottsville Area (Michael Smerlick, Charlie Botto, Zachary Turnitza, Ryan Scanlan) 3:28.33, 4. Allentown Central Catholic (Justin Burda, Andrew Johnson, Conner Miller, Andrew Waldron) 3:31.93; 9. Tamaqua (Jeff Letterhouse, Andrew Catsagna, Bryan Ramirez, Benjamin Turrano) 4:10.93.